The limitations of the steam engine

✍ Scribed by William Dennis Marks

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1880
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 572 KB
• Volume: 110
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/0016-0032(80)90006-x

✦ Synopsis

Perhaps there is no more unsafi, proceeding in science than t,, attempt to predict tile limitation ,,f the development of am" of its results. Yet the theory of tim steam eng'ine has so thr been developed as to seem to permit us to mark out lhc boundaries of its pr ,~'r,s.with tolerable accuracy.

Xt least, we trust that a full criticism of its present delici(qmies. lind a deduction of its/imitations from known laws, will interest such ,,f our readers as are engaged in the improvement of this tam'bilge, t(, which ore: civilization is more indebted fi)r its adv~meem~m~ thau t~, any other one thing.

In this article we will consider the steallt engine alone, a~ it is in no wise responsible tbr the economy of th(, 1)oile~" which supplies tile steam, or fin" the losses incurred in co, veying the steam from th,. boiler to l:he engine.

The boiler should be considered apart from the (mginc, and it i~ well to incidentally remark here that the p(,rfi)rmimdes of the hi.st typ,-.f boiler leave I)tlt little room for impr,~x'ement so flu' as ev'q,)ralioll is concerned.