New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-28
THE AMMONIA ENGINE.

PROFESSOR sKwCoMBs COMMENTS ON PROFESSOR
GAMGEE's NEW pEvICB-THE CLAIMS MADE FOR
1T IN VIOLATION or WELL KNOWN LAWS.
tBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNEl
WASHINGTON, April pa correspondent Of TIE
TRIBUNE asked Professor Simon NewcOmb. the emf
nent ply ysicst this evening for his opinion of the
now device of Professor Gamgee, described editor
ially iu The TRIBUNE of yesterday.
Professor Newcomb said: 1.-The question is purely
one of physics and not of steam engineering. The
proposed machine, Mr. Gamgee has explained 1t
TO me- and as / see it described in Mr.. lsherwoods
report lacks the essential conditions which all ex
perience shows a steam engine must fulfill; not
merely because ammonia is used instead OF steam,
but because no source of external cold or exit for
the vapor is employed, except that furnished by the
engine itself. think there is some mistake in
describing the respective functions of the high and
low pressure boilers in the printed remarks in yes
terday's TRIBUNE but think sec clearly what
the essential principle is We have boiler of liquid
ammonia cxerting enormous pressure at ordinary
temperatures A quantity of the vapor from this
boiler is admitted into the cylinder of the engine,
and thus presses upon the piston, expanding and
moving the piston Its heat is changed into force
communicated to the piston, and il thus becomes in
the cylinder intensely cold so cold that portion
Of il 6quefes.
$50 far there is no trouble in the action of the
gine. 1t will make one stroke without doubt. The
question is TO dispose of this cool and expanded
vapor. The great mistake made by the pro-
moters is in supposing that they can,
by some ingeniously contrived machinery,
force the vapor back again. 70 act again the
engine and still have Surplus Of force left 1t
Is perfectly establ.hed law Of gaseS-as certain
and universal as that of gravtation-that gas
when condensed generates the same amount of heat
and exerts the same pressure as IN expanding. The
consequence is that when the gas is condensed with
out some external source Of cold all the power ex-
pended in its expansion is used mp again in contract
ing and heating it, Unless, therefore, ~ in the
ordinary steam engine, some external source of cold
is provided TO absorb the heat which would thus be
generated, the machine cannot act. Now this is
the very condition which Nr. Gamgee proposes TO
dispense with With the ammonia engine working
at ordinary temperatures the eextenal source of cold
must be as low in temperature the expended
ammonia itself, and therefore the ammonia cannot
be used for the cold.
"Io judge of all this we must remember that there
Is absolutely no new principle claimed III connection
with the machinery, and claims made for il are in
direct contradiction TO the second law of thermO
dynnmics, Yet do not think a prudent physicist
would claim that 1t impossible TO find in nature
some mechanism by which this law could be evaded
we can say Is that to reach this result rad
icaliy new discoveries in the properties of matter
must be applied. As there is nothing new in any of
the principles called into play in the proposed en-
gine, 10 may be pronounced a chimera with as mnch
safety and certainty as call perpetual motion
machines by that namen