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Rudolf Diesel
The inventor in the hot seat with the INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
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Born in 1858 in Paris, France, Rudolf Diesel moved to London with his family aged 12 to escape the Franco-Prussian war. Graduating from the Technical University of Munich in Germany with brilliant results, he worked on various engineering projects, including plans for a refrigeration plant. A lecture about thermodynamics (the study of heat as a form of energy) was a turning point, inspiring him to design the INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. Fuel injection valve where the fuel enters
Diesel engine
Existing engines were big and slow, but Diesel worked on a more efficient design in which the fuel added to compressed air was ignited by heat rather than a spark. In 1893, he received his patent for the new internal combustion engine. Named after the inventor, it was called the DIESEL ENGINE. Running on cheap fuel with twice the efficiency of steam engines, the diesel engine was a huge success.
Compressed air heats up inside the cylinders, and the high temperature ignites the fuel.
Factories, generators, and the modern transport system are all powered by engines based on Diesel’s original designs. How he changed… the wor ld
