Internal Fire a bronze winner of a 2022 IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Award) in Reference!
This book is a reprint of an important publication that was first published by the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1989. It is an authoritative and entertaining account of the evolution of the very early internal combustion engine. We at Octane Press believe it to be a critical piece of automotive history and are happy to have a revised edition to offer to our readers. If you want to understand how the engine in your favorite machine came to exist, this book and Diesel's Engine, the companion book by the same author, are critical additions to your library!
Internal Fire is the captivating history of the internal combustion engine and the creative individuals who brought it to life. From gunpowder to diesel, the development of these early powerhouses has been recorded from all sides. The influences of new technologies, patents, and obtainable fuels, as well as a growing understanding of the very nature of heat itself are all explored.
Internal Fire is not intended as a textbook, but as the well-researched and readable chronicle of a mechanical servant that has greatly influenced life in the 20th century and beyond.
You will find in this comprehensive book:
■ Gunpowder and Steam
■ Air Engines
■ Thermodynamics: Carnot Charts a Course
■ Patents: Origin and Influence
■ Internal-Combustion Engines: 1791-1813
■ Searching and Perfecting: 1820-1860
■ The Genesis of an Industry
■ Otto and Langen
■ Otto's Four-Stroke Cycle
■ Brayton and His "Ready Motor"
■ The Two-Stroke Cycle
■ Gas and Gasoline Engines to 1900
■ Oil Engines: An Interim Solution
■ Rudolf Diesel: The End of the Beginning
"This new and well-researched work by Lyle Cummins has at last provided a readable account of the work and people concerned in the search for a more efficient heat engine cycle."
– The Newcomen Society Bulletin
"Thoroughly researched and eminently readable."
– The Institute of Mechanical Engineers
"Fascinating tour through the early efforts to design a practical internal-combustion engine."
– Road & Track
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