Philippe le Bon
Encyclopedia
Philippe le Bon (D'Humbersin) (May 29, 1767 – December 1, 1804) was a French engineer, born in Brachay
, France
.
There is much confusion about his life and accomplishments. His main contributions were improvements to steam engine
s and industrializing the extraction of lighting gas from wood. He died assassinated in 1804.
He also designed, though apparently did not build, a wood gas engine. (Not the first.) Like other early engines, it had no compression in its main cylinder. It has three mechanically connected cylinders, each double acting, one to compress the air, one to compress the gas and one driven by the burned mixture.
This engine resembles an internal combustion engine, but the combustion actually takes place in a combustion chamber separated by mechanically controlled valves from the cylinders. This makes it a steam engine running on combustion products instead of on steam, or the piston equivalent of a gas turbine.
Hardenberg's analysis shows a theoretical efficiency and specific power much less than those of the earlier Street engine, but this assumes that the intake valve stays open during the whole power stroke. Assuming that the inventor had more in his mind than what he wrote on paper and therefore allowing arbitrary valve timing, its idealized thermodynamic cycle is similar to that of a gas turbine
, which can have a high compression ratio
and relatively high efficiency. This assumes, contrary to what Hardenberg seems to assume, that the combustion chamber would have been big enough to act as a pressure reservoir. Of course one's place in history depends on what one does and writes more than on what one can be assumed to have thought. Certainly, all but possibly Hardenberg, must have seen that it would give more room for optimization than the Street engine did. The reasons that it has never been used must be the obvious thermal and mechanical problems, such as heat loss from the combustion products to the containing structures.
In 1801, Philippe Lebon invented an engine that improved on Robert Steele's design. It used coal gas ignited by an electric spark
. This was the first internal combustion engine. Although, very inefficient it would be later improved in the future. In current society the internal combustion is used in the exceptional modern car.
Brachay
Brachay is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
There is much confusion about his life and accomplishments. His main contributions were improvements to steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s and industrializing the extraction of lighting gas from wood. He died assassinated in 1804.
He also designed, though apparently did not build, a wood gas engine. (Not the first.) Like other early engines, it had no compression in its main cylinder. It has three mechanically connected cylinders, each double acting, one to compress the air, one to compress the gas and one driven by the burned mixture.
This engine resembles an internal combustion engine, but the combustion actually takes place in a combustion chamber separated by mechanically controlled valves from the cylinders. This makes it a steam engine running on combustion products instead of on steam, or the piston equivalent of a gas turbine.
Hardenberg's analysis shows a theoretical efficiency and specific power much less than those of the earlier Street engine, but this assumes that the intake valve stays open during the whole power stroke. Assuming that the inventor had more in his mind than what he wrote on paper and therefore allowing arbitrary valve timing, its idealized thermodynamic cycle is similar to that of a gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
, which can have a high compression ratio
Compression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
and relatively high efficiency. This assumes, contrary to what Hardenberg seems to assume, that the combustion chamber would have been big enough to act as a pressure reservoir. Of course one's place in history depends on what one does and writes more than on what one can be assumed to have thought. Certainly, all but possibly Hardenberg, must have seen that it would give more room for optimization than the Street engine did. The reasons that it has never been used must be the obvious thermal and mechanical problems, such as heat loss from the combustion products to the containing structures.
In 1801, Philippe Lebon invented an engine that improved on Robert Steele's design. It used coal gas ignited by an electric spark
Electric spark
An electric spark is a type of electrostatic discharge that occurs when an electric field creates an ionized electrically conductive channel in air producing a brief emission of light and sound. A spark is formed when the electric field strength exceeds the dielectric field strength of air...
. This was the first internal combustion engine. Although, very inefficient it would be later improved in the future. In current society the internal combustion is used in the exceptional modern car.
Further reading
- François Veillerette Philippe Lebon ou l'homme aux mains de lumière, Ed. Mourot, 1987.
- Horst O. Hardenberg, The Middle Ages of the Internal Combustion Engine, 1999, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
- Lebon, Philippe, Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, 2006.