Internal Fire

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