The Earliest Machine Alternative to the Steam Engine (Or How to Make a Primitive ICE)

That said, however, can there be an engine that, let's say, ran on coal powder, that can be a good contender as an alternative for the Steam Engine?

Source: one old conversation at LTTW
 

Md139115

Banned
I'd like to point out that as early as 1815, the good Rev. Robert Stirling and Capt. John Ericsson were developing hot air engines that generally were more efficient than steam engines.

Ericsson in particular developed over his lifetime a highly advanced hot air engine that was reproduced extensively and used in many applications that we would now find suitable for small gasoline engines (though not cars). I'm actually working on a large paper about him developing it.
 
One of the problems with this is that machining tolerances were awful. It's easier to file to fit a large piston like in a steam engine than the finicky bits in a turbine or ic engine.
 

Md139115

Banned
One of the problems with this is that machining tolerances were awful. It's easier to file to fit a large piston like in a steam engine than the finicky bits in a turbine or ic engine.

Agreed, but the hot air engines, being fairly similar to steam engines, did not have this problem.
 
One of the problems with this is that machining tolerances were awful. It's easier to file to fit a large piston like in a steam engine than the finicky bits in a turbine or ic engine.

One of the problems is the lack of really good measuring equipment. Development of the first practical screw micrometer was a long process
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAgegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw3q9NpHRL7IY16RQercf8eq
Plus you really need the machine tool technology of the day to advance. High precision items could be produced (mainly in the optical field) but mass production wasn't a reality until the 1850s at a minimum. Even then you need a fuel available in large enough volumes to be practible. Kerosine/Paraffin had been in use for quite sme time. The Chinese had used it for heating and lighting as early as 1500 BC if Wekipedia can be believed. This provides the fuel. There other item you need is metalurgy. Not just for the engine components but the tools for machining those components.
 
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