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floaniach’

ERIC880N'S CALORIC ENGINE.

- _ (frimthefltwbrunswirk Courier. Oct. 2.)

We Hat week promised to lay before our readers a description of ibis tlbw Invention. which proriiiees to supersede the use of steam -ash motive power. '1‘ articles descriptive of the Caloric Engine ‘iris published in Hunt's .MsrcIiant’s Maguzim, for July, I852. Qiluted in New York.

Allsr mentioning several circumstances to show the wisdom of ‘the course Captain Ericeson. in not subjecting hie inven-

tion to pubic examination, until he could ‘present it in a shape so conclusive, esto satisfy the judgment o practical men; and to trample down tlnt carping. sneering criticism, with which envy and rivalr sometimes seek to strangle the productions of inspired ‘ ' Iiich' in the opinion of the writer, be hes accomplished,-

guiius; w the article proceeds :— We be itb est care, examined this machine, the princi-

l

as and construction of which were fully explained to us by the istinguisbed inventor. is alike remarkable or subliinity of conception and aim licity of detail. Like the forces of usture, its operations, athough mighty, ere gentle. wo ma_- chines u n this plan are now in operation at the works of hhssrs. loggdt Deliiinuter—one of live horse, the other of sixty one power. -

The hitter is the most extraordinary piece of machinery we have ever seen. It has four cylinders. 'lwo, of seventy-two inches in diameter, stand side by side. Over each of these is placed one much sinsllsr. Within these are pistons, exactly fitting their res- pective c linders, and so connected that those within the lower and upper ey inders inoveiogether. Under the bottom of each of the lower cylinders, a fire is applied. No other furnaces are employed. Neither boilers nor water are used. The lower is called the work- ing cylinder; the upper the supply cylinder. As the piston in the supply cylinder moves down, valves placed in its top open, an it becomes filled with cold air. As the piston rises within it. these valves close, and the air within, unable to escape as it cairie, passes through another set of valves, into a receiver, from whence It is to pass into the working cylinder. to force up the working pis- ton wit iri it it eaves the receiver to perform this duty, it passes through what is called the regenerator. which we shall soon explain, where it becomes heated to about four hundred and ti degrees. and upon entering the working cylinder. it is further beat- od by the tire underneath. We ave said, the working cylinder is much larger in diameter than the supply cylinder. Let us. for the sake ofillustration merely, suppose it to contain double the area. The cold air which entered the upper cylinder will, therefore, but half fill the lower one. In the course 0 its passage to the latter, however. we have said. that it passes through a regenerntor, and let us suppose, that as it enters the working cylinder, it has be- come heated to about four hundred and eighty degrees. At this temperature. atmospheric air expands to double its volume. The same atmospheric air. therefore, which was contained within the supply cylinder. is now capable oflilling one of twice its size. With this enlarged capacity. it enters the working cylinder.

We will further suppose the area of the piston within this cylin- der to contain a thousand square inches, and the area of the piston in the supply cylinder above." to contain but live hundred. 'I'he sir presses upon this with a mean force. we will suppose, of about eleven pounds to each square inch; or in other words, wit a weight of 5.500 pounds. Upon the surface of the lower iston, the Hosted air is. however, pressing upwards with u like orce upon seen of its one thousand out-e inches; or in other words, with a force of H.000 pounds. love. then, is a force which, alter over- coming the weight above, leaves a surplus of6.500 unds. if we make no allowance for friction. This surplus furnishes the working power of the engine. It will be readily seen, that after one stroke of its pistons is made, and it continue to work with this force, so long as sulficierit heat is supplied to expand the air in the working cylinder to the extent suited; for so long as the area of the lower piston is greater than that of the up er, and a like pressure is upon every inch of each. so lon will t e greater piston push forward the smaller. as a two- u weight upon one end of'a balance will be quite sure to bear own one pound placed upon the other. nsodhardl say, that aller the air in the working cylinder has forced up i e piston within it. it valve opens, and as it passes out, the pistons, by force of gravity descend. and cold air again rushes into, and fills the supply c finder, as we have before described.

it this manner, the two cy inders are alternately supplied and dis- - rged, causing the pistons in each to play up and down, substati-

_ lly us they do in the steam-en in

c.

We trust our readers will be asble, from the brief description we have here attempted. to understand at least the general principles upon which this machine operates. Its c lindeis draw their supply from the atmosphere. The cylinders of the ste:iin—engine are sup- plied by sc.ildiiig vapour. drawn from hissing boilers. The caloric engine draws into its iro_ii lun s.t e some element which expands those of the most delicate oiild. and derives its motion and its power from that sustaining source. upon which depends the exis- tence of all animate life.

We have endeavoured to explain the construction of the caloric engine. Its most striking feature consists in what is called by its inventor, the regeiierntor. Before describing this. we will present the grand idea upon which it is based. irst let it be remembered, that the peiver of the steam-engine depends upon the heat em- ployed to reduce steam within its boilers. It will be seen that from t e very nature of steam the best required to pro-

uce it. amounting to about 1.200 d rice. is entirely lost by condensation the moment it has once exerted its force upon the pis- lt'. instead of being so lost, all the heat used in creating the steam employed could. at the moment of condensation. be recon- vcysd to the furnace. there again to aid in producing steam in the boilers, butsvery little fuel would be necessary; none, in fact. except just eitough to supply the bout lost by radiation. The reason is obvious. l.et useu poset steam has passed from the boiler, has entered the eyli er, has driven the piston forward, and is about to pass into the condenser. there to chs its form, and be again converted into water. This steam. yet in the cylinder. and uncoudensed, possesses all the heat it contained before tllitlll out of the boiler. It has driven the iston forward, but in t at cl on it has last no heat. That source o power it still contains.

Let it be supposed that the heat ccntniiisd in the steam could, at the moment it is converted into water within the condenser. be saved. and by some device be again used to create steam from water within the boiler, with what exceeding oheapne-is could the power of the steam-engine be em in ed. list is quite impossible thus to re-ciiploy the heat of steiim : it ctiunot. thus be saved; and ‘hence every elfort to economies in this manner would be unavail-

i . ‘I110 propositions we have have advanced were. it appears, more than twenty-live years since familiar to the si:ie;ti&- mind of Cap- tain l:2ric.«on. He was at that early rind deeply iitiprcased with their importance; and regarding get as the sole source motive power, was anxious to discover some element in which it could be so employed, that after giving motion to m:i- chinevy, it aliould be returned to set over and over iigaii or the seine purpose. llut little rcfisction was necessary to cm nos iin that steam was not this element. It must eoneiu of some periiia- nsnt gas, and stinfiplisric sir seemed sdinirsbly adapted to the

rpcee. I it was srii lo edb him. In a work entitl {A Dictirrnaliy ’of the’ Arts of Life and Civi- lization.‘ pol-lislied in l.o...| in III I533. the author, Sir llichard Phillips, iiieotioxis an engine wliicli Captain I-Zricsuon then had in opsrstion in that dry, as ' his application of excited or_ rarefied air iotlie performance of those powers of macliiuery. which bitherio lbsvs been mode to depend on the intervention of boiling water and itsst .' The author further states, that he ' but. Will! "'0!- pressible delight, seen the first model machine, of ftve-horse- wer, st ivnrk. With a handful of feel spplledte the very. .OOltIrl).0 ine- dism of ulmosplteric air. and u most ingenious disposition of its dif- ferestist powers. be beheld u resetting action. in narrow iioinpsss. capable ofeiisnsiou tess great across as ever can be wielded or b mes.’ - _ The int». stlds :—-4 rs. principle of this new _«e-n- emit- lll this: that the best which is required to give Il0||_oI to the en- llls at the eoinnienoeirient, is returned b u peculiar process of llllfer, and thereby made to set over s ever again. tastes bslq, as is the steam-engine. tboiva bites ooedeusc. or late the I , as so much waste fuel.‘ 2

- v -.

nineteen years. COW“ I-"'l""°" ll" °"l’l'!°ll

the lust , Issb his dais, sud expended lsrgs amounts of money. in ever-

ooming those practical dillcultles which are ever stumblingblooks in the way leading to the successful development of a great prin- ciple in new machinery. This now so iev The prin- ciple of his invention, as stated b Sir Richard Phillips, is still re» tainod. embodied in that practice and complete form. whic ren- ders this engine econornlcsl, absolutely safe, durable. simple in con- struction. and in action e ec ‘v Let us now stteinpt to describe the regenerator, to which we have referred. Without this, the machine we examined would ossess, in point of economy. no advantage over the best constructs steam- en ine. With it, the advantages are lnculculsble. We have also fully illustrated the leading idea conceived by Captain Ericsson, of em- ploying heat over and over again. To attain this, is the object of the regenerator. For the purpose of understanding this instrument, our readers will bear in mind the construction and operation of the machine. We have before stated. that atmospheric air is first drawn into the sup- ply cylinder, from whence it is forced into a receiver, and that rom this it proceeds towards the working cylinder, before reach- ing which it passes through the regenerator. This structure is composed of wire net, somewhat like that used in the manufacture of sieves, placed side b side. until the series attain a thickness. say of twelve inches. ’ ‘brnugh the almost innumerable cells, form- by the intersection of these wires, the air must pass, on its way to the working cylinder. In passing tlanouglt these, it is so minute- ly subdivided, that the particles composing it are brought into close contact with the metal which forms the wires. at us sup- pose. what actually takes place, that the side of the regenerator nearest the working cylinder is heated to a high temperature. Through this heated substance the air must pass before entering the cylinder, and in elfecting this passage. it to e up, as is demon- strated by the thermometer. about 450 degrees of the 480 degrees ofthe heat required, as we before suited. to double its volume. 'I‘he additional 30 degrees are communicated by the fire beneath the cylinder. The air has thus become expanded; it forces the piston upward; it has done its work—valves open—-and the impri- soned nir. lieatedto 430 d a. use from the cylinder, and again enters the regenerator, through which it must pass before leaving the rnacliirio. We have said. that the side of this instru- ment nearest the working cylinder is hot, and should be here stated, that the other side is ke action upon it the ' entering in the opposite direction at each upstroke of the pistons. Consequently, as the air from the working c liuder passes out, the wires iibsorbs its heat so slfectually that. w u it leaves the re- generator, it has been robbed of it all, except about 30 degrees. ‘ In other words, as the air passes into the workiqg cylinder, it gradu- ally receives from the regenerator about 450 egress of heat; and as it passes out, this is returned to the wires, and is thus used over and over again. the onl purpose of the fires beneath the cylinders being to supply the 30 degrees of heat we have mentioned, and that which is lost by radiation and expansion inary as this stateriient may seem, it is nevertheless incontrovertibly proved by the thermometer in be quite true When physical causes. productive of unexpected mechanical re- sults. nre carefully examined, they will always be found adequate to elfsct what, upon a cursory view, might appear marvellous or incredible. Thus, after an examination of the reasons why this compact regsnerutor so elfectuslly absorbs and transmits host, its operation, will cease to create wonder. although it cannot fail to excite profound admiration. We will state the causes of its edi- cienc The regeaerator, contained in the sixty-horse en iae we have examined, measures twenty—six inches in|height an [width inter- nall . Each disc of wire composing it, contains 676 superficial su- pe ial inches, and the not has ten meshes to the inch. Each superficial inch. therefore, eouteius I00 meshes. which, multiplied by 6‘I6,~givcs t‘7.600 meshes in each disc; and as 200 discs are employ , it follows. that the rsgeneriitor contains 18,520,000

meshes. and consequently, as there are as many small spaces be- ,

tween the discs as there are meshes. we find that the air within is distributed in about 21,000,000 minute cells. Hence, it is evident, that iieiirly every particle of the whole volume of air, in passing thmuglt the regenerstor. is brought into ver close contfict with a surface of iiistal, which beats and coo s alternately. The extent of this surface. when accurately estimated, actually surpasses

ie .

The wire contained in each disc. is 1,140 feet lon , and that contained in the regenerator, is consequently 228.000 eat, or 4|} Hillel in length. the superficial iiieasureiiient of which is equal to the entire surface of four steam-boilers, each forty feet long, and four feet in diiiiiieter; and yet the regeiierator, presenting this great amount of heating surface, is only about two feet cube—less than I-I920 of the bulk of these four boilers.

Involved in this wonderful process, of the transfer and re-trans- fer of heat, is a discovery which justly ranks as one ofthe most re- markable ever made in pliysicnl science. Its author,Captain Erics- eon, long since ascertained, an upon this is based the subliiiiest feature of his caloric-engine. that atmospheric air and other per- manent gases, in passing through a distance of only six inches, in the fiftieth part ofe second of time. are capable of acquiring. or

arting wit , upwards of four hundred degrees of heat. II has lieen the first to discover this marvellous property of caloric, without which atmospheric air could not be efi'ectively employed as a motive power The reason is obvious. Until expanded by bout, it can exert no force upon the piston. If much time were required to ell‘ect this, the movement of the piston would necessarily be so s w as to render the machine ineflicient. Captain Ericsson has deinoiistrated, however, that host may be communicated to and expansion effected in atmospheric air with almost electric speed; and that it is therefore. eminently adapted to give the greatest desi- rable rapidity of motion to all kinds of machinery.

\Ve here close our imperfect description of a ruacliins destined, as we believe, to work a revolution in the commerce of the lobe. It consumes but a very small proportion of the coal required or the steam-engine. It is entirely free from every element of efilosion or ofdonger. Watchfiilness is not imperatively required , as in the steam-engine. If left unattsnd . the worst that can happen is, that after exhausting the heat of its fires and of its regenerutor. it will stop. The one we examined, of sixty horse-power, has been run at full speed during twenty-four consecutive hours, consuming but nine hundred and sixt pounds of coal. After feeding the fires. it continues to run three tours without replenishment, and after withdrawing them from the grates, it operates with a full power for the period of one hour, in consequence of the astonishing ection of its regenerator alone. W'c believe, we have not, in tie sliglituit degree, overruled the immense advantages of this engine, in point of economy and safety. we have not, the world may well start with exultatinn. Iu ma eitude of results, no invention can rank with it. The electric te egraph is one ofgi-eat interest and value, and to him who reflects, that the fierce lightriin has by that process heen'tained, and brought to the very lips o man. there to be freigliteil with human language, and sent abroad. to girdle the earth with thought, it becomes sublime. till, it is °greetly inferior. in

iciil iiiiportarice, to the discovery of n motive-power such as tteinpted to describe. llurnisn speculation fails adequate- aate its influence upon the social and comruercisl relations of men and of nations Its effects will naturally be lirat exerted upon the ocean. It is here that the value ofsuch a power will be most appreciated Here it will soon become the strong arm an right ltaiitl of Coiriinerce. It may be iifftflned with ciiiilideni-e, that with eifliues on this plan. a ship of ii thousand tons csri be propel from ' I"rancisoo to Cliina and back, with less coal than is new reqnimbr an ordinary ocean-«teaiiier to cross flie Atlantic

The annals of the niecliniiic arts furnish no instance ofeu impor- tant iiivenlion having been brought before the public in so com- plete ii form as to warrant its heir carried out on a seals of the first magnitude from the outset. l:‘.ricssori'e Caloric Engiiie will form an exception. ship is new building (she beu since been launch- ed) for its reception b Messrs. Perrlee. Patterson It Stack. mea-

hsndnd inns berilien. and her engines.

2.

sur' twenty-two whic are bs' ooustrsoted by llleurs. ll & Dslemater. eons- We

prise four work g cylinders. each of III in in diameter. have visited both the ship- srd end the engine-niunufaotovy, and have inspected with more I n erd'—ry' interest the work on which more than four hundred men are uevI.beeily snguge_d. The ship is quite a remerkstile structure, both in point of fortreed strength. The e lues bei plseed is the osetve ef the read sdrult ofe better oriri of in" ‘ship section thee it _steu flps.. Of lbw the builders have svstlsd themselves by giving each a rise to the host

CIIARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1852.

that _strength are! easy lines for passin through the water are up- propriately combined. 'I‘he lines o the ship at the entrance are l_Ingu|arly.fi_rie; tud yet by a ver judicious application of the ‘wave line.‘ _as it is tinhnically calls . the bow possesses all the fullness requisite for s e run is alike peculiar for us lines combined pith stability and requisite hearing. The strsngt of floor, which is built entinely solid from stem to stern, sur

any thing we have seen in this country. noted as it is for uci the best ships is the world. In order to give udditiouulwulrenglfh to the ample timbers, the entire frame is bun y a cubic series of diagonal braces, of llat bars of iron, let into the timbers at in- tervals of about three feet. each series being riveted .together at all the points ofvlntersection. In addition to the ordinary central keelsons, thereure six engine keelsons, bolted on the to of the floor timbers, fix three-fourths of the length of the ship. a these keelsons the bed-plates of the engines are secured b bolts ssing through the floor timbers. These bed-plates exten over t a en- tire area occupieil by the engines, and present a continuation of iron flooring, not witnessed in any steamship. The security thus attained is further enhanced by dispensing entirel with the nume- rous lioles through the bottom of the vessel, whic in steamers are necessary. and have ollen brought that class of vessels to sinking condition. The engines being arranged in the centre of the vessel, the decks are not cut oil‘ as in steamers; and as the whole of the nincliinery is cosfined within a vertical trunk 76 feet lon and 18 799‘ Wide. ample space is left on each side of the shi or state- rooms along its entire length. with unbroken passages, ore and all, on either si e. '

'I‘he freight-deck also presents an unbroken area fore and aft, diminished only in width in the central part of the vessel. The coal being carriid in the bottom, at each side of the engines. the fore and aft hell are clear for freight. The central arrangement of the engines involves, of necessity. is central crank. and thus the ‘PM’-dfick presents an uninterrupted area, on both sides, the ordi- nary objectionable crank-lietches being die with. The slow coiiibustion pecsliar to the caloric engine renders the huge smoke- ftlnnel unnecessary. A short pipe to carry olf the gases produced by the combustion in the furnaces takes its place in the caloric ship. The absince of stoain in every form is suflioiently impor- ll"! in uci n more pleasant atmos here than in steamers, but far more remarkable is the fact, that the uantity of air which will be drawn out ofthe ship by the action 0 the supply cylinders of the engines, will exceed rt'i:tr tons in weight every hour Cap- tain Eriositon, is calling our attention to this fact. furnished as with afew figures tlut we feel certain our readers will need. as much as we did. to ixiinprehend how so vast a ventilation is effected. Each supply piton presents an area of I02 su rficial feet, stroke of six feet. 6l2 cubic feet of atmospheric air will therel‘ore be drawn into the engine at eac stroke; and when the engine makes fourteee strokes per minute, 8,568 cubic feet. But as there are four supply cylinders, they will, in this space of time, draw in 34,212 cubic feet : and in 60 minutes there will be thus circu- lated 2.056.320 cubic feet. The weight of atmospheric air is nearly I3} cubic feet to the pound; and thus it will be seen, that 68 tons ofair drawn from the interior of the ship. tliroogh the engines, an passed 01 'into the atmosphere, every hour. The elfect of such an extraordinary system of ventilation, in purifying the atmosphere of the ship. is self-evident.