Motors — A Closer Reading

Chapter I. Motors and Motive Power 5-21

The Water Fall. Water moves in One Direction only. What is Energy. Stored or Potential Energy. Kinetic Energy. Friction. Resistance. Inertia. The Law of Bodies. Internal and External Resistance. Momentum. Energy Indestructible. Wind Power. Rectilinear Motion. Oscillating Motion. Movements in Nature. How Man Utilizes the Various Movements. Kinds of Potential Energy. The Power in Heat. Energy in Steam. Energy from the Sun. Power from Water. The Turbine. Calculating Power of a Turbine. Horse Power. Foot Pounds. Power and Time. Gravitation. Utilizing the pull of Gravity. Taking Advantages of Forces. Pitting Forces Against each Other. Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces. Power not Created. Developing the Power of Motors. Experimenting.

Chapter II. The Steam Generator 22-31

Water as an absorbent of Heat. Classification of Boilers. Mode of applying Heat. The Cylindrical Boiler. The Cornish Boiler. The Water Tube Boiler. Various Boiler Types. Compound Steam Boiler. Locomotive Steam Boiler. Vertical Steam Boiler.

Chapter III. Steam Engines 32-59

The Original Turbine Engine. The Reciprocating Engine. Atmospheric Engine. The Piston. Importance of the Valve. Expanding the Steam. Balanced Valve. Rotary Valve. Engine Accessories. Efficiency of Engines. How Steam acts in a Cylinder. Indicating the Engine. Mean Efficiency. Calculating Horse Power. Condensation. Atmospheric Pressure. The Condenser. Pre-heating. Superheaters. Compounding. Triple and Quadruple Expansion Engines. The Steam Turbine. Pressure and Velocity. Form of Blades. Compounding the Jet.

Chapter IV. Fuels and Combustion 60-67

Solid Fuels. Liquid Fuels. Combustion. Oxidation. The Hydro-Carbon Gases. Oxygen and the Atmosphere. Internal Combustion. Vaporizing Fuel. Explosion by Heat Compression. How Compression Heats. Elasticity of Gases. Advantages of Compression. The Necessity of Compression.

Chapter V. The Internal Combustion Engine 68-82

Fixed Gases. Gas Engines. Energy of Carbon and Hydrogen. The Two-Cycle Type. Advantages of the Two-Cycle Engine. The Four-Cycle Engine. The Four Cycles. Ignition Point. Advantages of the Four-Cycle Type. The Loss in Power. Engine Construction. Valve Grinding. The Crank Shaft. The Cams.

Chapter VI. Carbureters 83-101

Functions of a Carbureter. Rich Mixtures. Lean Mixtures. Types of Carbureters. The Sprayer. The Surface Type. Governing a Carbureter. Primary Air. Needle Valve. Secondary Air. Requirements in a Carbureter. Size of a Carbureter. Rule for Size of Carbureters. The Throttle. Flooding. Adjustability. Surface Carbureters. Float Chamber.

Chapter VII. Ignition, Low Tension System 102-120

Electricity. Magnetism. The Armature. Characteristics of Electricity. Make and Break System. Voltage. High and Low Voltage. Low Tension method. Disadvantages of Make and Break. Amperes. Resistance. Direct Current. Alternating Current. Induction. Generating Electricity. Primary Battery. Making a Dry Cell. Energy in a cell. Wiring Methods. Series Connection. Multiple Connection. Series Multiple. Watts. Testing a Cell. Testing with Instruments. Simple Battery Make and Brake System. To Advance the Spark. The Magneto in the Circuit. Magneto Spark Plug.

Chapter VIII. Ignition, High Tension 121-140

Magnetos. Alternating Current. Cutting Lines of Force. Plurality of Loops. The Electro Magnet. The Dynamo Form. The Magneto Form. Advantages of the Magneto. Induction Coil. Changing the Current. Construction of a Coil. Primary Coil. Secondary Coil. Contact Maker. High Tension with Battery and Coil. Metallic Core for Induction Coil. The Condenser. Operations of a Vibrator Coil. The Distributor. Circuiting with Distributor.

Chapter IX. Mechanical Devices Utilized in Power 141-157

The Unit of Time. Horse Power. Proney Brake. Reversing Mechanism. Double Eccentric Reversing Gear. Balanced Slide Valve. Balanced Throttle Valve. Engine Governors. Injectors. Feed Water Heaters.

Chapter X. Valves and Valve Fittings 158-171

Check Valve. Gate Valve. Globe Valve. The Corliss Valve. Corliss Valve-operating Mechanism. Angle Valve. Rotary Valves. Rotable Engine Valves. Throttle Valves. Blow-off Valves. Pop-Safety Valves.

Chapter XI. Cams and Eccentrics 172-178

Simple Cams. Wiper Wheels. Cylindrical Cam Motion. Eccentrics. Triangularly-formed Eccentrics.

Chapter XII. Gears and Gearing 179-190

Racks and Pinions. Mangle Rack. Controlling the Pinion. Dead Center. Crank Motion Substitute. Mangle Wheels. Quick Return Motion. Accelerated Motion. Quick-return Gearing. Scroll Gearing.

Chapter XIII. Special Types of Engines 191-201

Temperatures. Artificial Heat. Zero. Liquids and Gases. Refrigeration. Rotary Engines. Caloric Engines. Adhesion Engines.

Chapter XIV. Enginery in the Development of the Human Race 202-207

Power in Transportation. Power vs. Education and the Arts. Lack of Power in the Ancient World. The Early Days of the Republic. Lack of Cohesiveness in Countries Without Power. The Railroad as a Factor in Civilization. The Wonderful Effects of Power. England as a User of Power. The Automobile. High Character of Motor Study. The Unlimited Field of Power.

Chapter XV. The Energy of the Sun, and How Heat is Measured 208-216

Fuel Economy. Direct Conversion. The Measurement of Heat. Caloric. Material Theory. Heat Transmitted in Three Ways. Conduction. Convection. Radiation.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Undershot Wheel 13 2. Overshot Wheel 14 3. Primitive Boiler 24 4. Return Tubular Boiler 25 5. Cornish, or Scotch Boiler 25 6. Water Tube Boiler. End view 27 7. Water Tube Boiler. Side view 29 8. The Original Engine 33 9. Horizontal Section of Tube 33 10. Steam-Atmospheric Engine 35 11. Simple Valve Motion. First position 38 12. Simple Valve Motion. Second position 38 13. Effective pressure in a Cylinder 42 14. Indicating pressure line 44 15. Indicating the Engine 45 16. Compound Engine 53 16a. Relative Piston Pressures 54 17. Changing Pressure into Velocity 55 18. Reaction against Air 56 19. Reaction against Surface 56 20. Turbine. Straight Blades 57 21. Curved Blades 58 22. Compound Turbine 58 23. Two-Cycle Engine. First position 71 24. Two-Cycle Engine. Second position 73 25. Two-Cycle Engine. Third position 73 26. Four-Cycle Engine. First position 75 27. Four-Cycle Engine. Second position 75 28. Four-Cycle Engine. Third position 76 29. Four-Cycle Engine. Fourth position 76 30. Valve Grinding 81 31. Carbureter 87 32. Carbureter 95 33. Surface Carbureter 98 34. Dry Cell 108 35. Series Connection 109 36. Multiple, or Parallel Connection 110 37. Series-Multiple Connection 111 38. Circuit Testing 113 39. Make and Break, with Battery 114 40. Make and Break, with Magneto 117 41. Magneto Spark Plug 119 42. Illustrating Alternating Current 122 43. Alternating Current. Second position 122 44. Alternating Current. Third position 123 45. Alternating Current. Fourth position 124 46. Making the Circuit 125 47. The Dynamo 126 48. The Magneto 126 49. Current by Induction 128 50. Induction Coil 129 51. Typical Induction Coil 130 52. Contact Maker 131 53. Typical Circuiting, Jump spark Ignition 132 54. Metallic Core, Induction Coil 133 55. Condenser 134 56. Vibrator Coil and Connections 135 57. The Distributer 137 58. Circuiting with Distributer 138 59. Illustrating the Unit of Time 142 60. The Proney Brake 143 61. Double Eccentric Reversing Gear 146 62. Reversing Gear, Neutral 146 63. Reversing Gear, Reversed 147 64. Single Eccentric Reversing Gear 147 65. Balanced Slide Valve 148 66. Valve Chest. Double Port Exhaust 149 67. Balanced Throttle-Valve 150 68. Watt's Governor 151 69. The Original Injector 152 70. Injector with movable Combining Tube 154 71. Feed Water Heater 156 72. Check Valve 158 73. Gate Valve 159 74. Globe Valve 160 75. Corliss Valve 162 76. Corliss Valve-operating Mechanism 163 77. Angle Valve 164 78. Rotary-Valve 165 79. Two-way Rotary 165 80. Rotary Type 166 81. Two-Way Rotary Type 166 82. Butterfly Throttle 167 83. Angle Throttle 167 84. Slide Throttle 168 85. Two-slide Throttle 168 86. Blow-off Valve 169 87. Safety Pop Valve 170 88. Heart Shaped 173 89. Elliptic 173 90. Double Elliptic 173 91. Single Wiper 174 92. Double Wiper 174 93. Tilting Cam 174 94. Cam Sector 175 95. Grooved Cam 175 96. Reciprocating Motion 175 97. Pivoted Follower for Cam 176 98. Eccentric 177 99. Eccentric Cam 177 100. Triangularly-formed Eccentric 178 101. Rack and Pinion 180 102. Rack Motion 180 103. Plain Mangle Rack 181 104. Mangle Rack Motion 181 105. Alternate Circular Motion 181 106. Controlling Pinion for Mangle Rack 182 107. Illustrating Crank-pin Movement 183 108. The Dead Center 184 109. Crank Motion Substitute 184 110. Mangle Wheel 185 111. Quick Return Motion 186 112. Accelerated Circular Motion 187 113. Quick Return Gearing 188 114. Scroll Gearing 189 115. Simple Rotary Engine 196 116. Double-feed Rotary Engine 198 117. Adhesion Motor 200

The motor is the great dominating factor in the world of industry. Every wheel and spindle; every shaft and loom, and every piece of mechanism which has motion, derives it from some sort of motor.

The term _motor_ has a wider significance than any other word. A steam engine is a motor, and so, also, is a dynamo, a water wheel or a wind mill.

It would be just as descriptive to call a wind mill a wind _motor_, or a steam engine a steam _motor_, as to adhere to the old terms; and, on the other hand, since it would be out of place to call a dynamo or a wind mill an engine, the word _motor_ seems best adapted to express the meaning of every type of mechanism which transforms energy into motion.

In considering the subject I shall proceed on the theory that the boy knows nothing whatsoever of the subject, nor the terms used to designate the various phases, subjects and elements. It must be elementary in its character, and wholly devoid of technical terms or sentences.

While it is necessary to give information in a book of this character, on the methods for figuring out power, it must be done without resorting to the formulas usually employed in engineering works, as they are of such a nature that the boy must have some knowledge of the higher mathematics to follow out the calculations employed.

Indeed, every phase should be brought within the mental view of the boy, and to do this may occasionally necessitate what might appear to be long drawn out explanations, all of which, it is hoped, will be the means of more clearly presenting the subject.

The opening chapters, which treat of the fundamentals, will be as nearly complete as possible, and thus lay a foundation for the work we shall be called upon to perform, when we treat of the structures of the different parts and devices in the various types of motors.

The object is to explain power in its various phases, how derived, and the manner in which advantage is taken of the elements, and substances with which we are brought into contact. The reasons for each step are plainly set forth with the view of teaching the boy what power means, rather than to instruct him how to make some particular part of the machinery.

_The Inquisitive Trait._--My experience has impressed me with the universality of one trait in boys, namely, that of inquisitiveness. Put a machine before a boy and allow him to dissect it, and his curiosity will prompt him to question the motive for the particular construction of each part of its make-up.

_The Reasons for Doing Things._--He is interested in knowing the reason why. Every boy has the spirit of the true investigator,--that quality which seeks to go behind or delve down deeply. This is a natural instinct.

_The Mystery of Mechanism._--If this taste is gratified, and he thereby learns the mystery of the machine, what a wonderful world is opened to him! The value of the lesson will depend, in a large measure, on the things which he has found out for himself. It is that which counts, because he never forgets that which he has dug out and discovered.

_Curiosity Which Prompts Investigation._--I recall a farmer's boy whose curiosity led him to investigate the binding mechanism of a reaper. It was a marvel to him, as it has been to many others. He studied it day after day, and finally, unaided mastered the art. That was something which could not be taken away from him.

It was a pleasure to hear him explain its operation to a group of boys, and men, too, in which he used the knot itself to explain how the various fingers and levers coöperated to perform their functions. It was an open book to him, but there was not one in the group of listeners who could repeat the explanation.

_The Sum of Knowledge._--It is the self-taught boy who becomes the expert. The great inventors did not depend on explanations. A book of this character has a field of usefulness if it merely sets forth, as far as possible, the sum of useful knowledge which has been gained by others, so as to enable the boy to go forward from that point, and thus gain immensely in time.

There is so much that has been developed in the past, with reference to the properties of matter, or concerning the utility of movements, and facts in the realm of weights, measures, and values of elements which he must deal with, that, as he studies the mechanical problems, the book becomes a sort of cyclopedia, more than a work designed to guide him in the building of special engines or motors.

MOTORS AND MOTIVE POWER

What makes the wheels turn round? This simple question is asked over and over again. To reply means pages of answers and volumes of explanations.

The Water Fall.--Go with me to the little stream I have in mind, and stand on the crest of the hill where we can see the water pouring down over the falls, and watch it whirling away over the rocks below.

The world was very, very old, before man thought of using the water of the falls, or the rushing stream below, to grind his corn or to render him other service.

Water Moves in One Direction Only.--What the original man saw was a body of water moving in one direction only. When he wanted to grind corn he put it in the hollow of a rock, and then beat it with a stone, which he raised by hand at each stroke. In doing so two motions were required in opposite directions, and it took thousands of years for him to learn that the water rushing along in one direction, could be made to move the stone, or the pestle of his primitive grinding mill, in two directions.

It took him thousands of years more to learn another thing, namely, that the water could be made to turn the stone round, or rotate it, and thus cause one stone, when turning on another, to crush and grind the grain between them.

Now, as we go along with the unfolding of the great question of _motors_, we must learn something of the terms which are employed, to designate the different things we shall deal with, and we ought to have some understanding of the sources of power.

What Is Energy?--The running, as well as the falling water represent energy. This is something which is in the thing, the element, or the substance itself. It does not come from without. It is not imparted to it by anything.

Stored or Potential Energy.--At the top of the falls, look at that immense rock. It has been there for centuries. It, also, has energy. There is stored within it a tremendous power. You smile! Yes, the power has been there for ages, and now by a slight push it is sent crashing down the precipice. The power developed by that fall was thousands of times greater than the push which dislodged it.

But, you say, the push against the stone represented an external force, and such being the case, why do you say that power is within the thing itself? The answer is, that not one iota of the power required to push the stone off its seat was added to the power of the stone when it fell. Furthermore, the power required to dislodge the stone came from within me, and not from any outside source.

Here we have two different forms of energy, but both represent a moving force. The power derived from them is the same.

Kinetic Energy.--The energy of the falling water or stone is called _Kinetic_ energy. In both cases the power developed came from within themselves and not from any exterior source.

The difference between Potential and Kinetic Energy is therefore that Potential Energy represents the capacity to do work, while Kinetic Energy is the actual performance of work.

Friction.--In every form of energy there is always something to detract from it or take away a portion of its full force, called _friction_. When a shaft turns, it rubs against the bearings, and more or less power is absorbed.

When a wheel travels over the ground friction is ever present. The dislodging of the stone required ten pounds of energy, but a thousand pounds was developed by the fall. The water rushing along its rocky bed has friction all along its path.

Resistance.--This friction is a resistance to the movement of a body, and is ever present. It is necessary to go back and examine the reason for this. As long as the stone was poised at the top of the precipice it had latent or potential energy, which might be termed _power at rest_. When it fell it had power in motion. In both cases gravity acted upon the stone, and in like manner on the water pouring over the falls.

Inertia.--Inertia or momentum is inherent in all things and represents the resistance of any body or matter, to change its condition of rest or standing still into motion, and is then called _Inertia of Rest_, or the resistance it offers to increase or decrease its speed when moving, and is then called _Inertia of Motion_.

Inertia or momentum is composed by the weight of the body and its speed and is measured by multiplying its weight by its speed.

The law is, that when a body is at rest it will remain at rest eternally, and when in motion it will continue in motion forever, unless acted on by some external force or resistance. An object lying on the ground has the frictional resistance of the earth to prevent its moving. When the object is flying through space it meets the air and has also the downward pull of gravity, which seek to bring it to rest.

These resisting forces are less in water, and still less in gases, and there is, therefore, a state of mobility in them which is not found in solids.

Internal and External Resistance.--All bodies are subject to internal, as well as external resistance. The stone on the cliff resisted the movement to push it over. Weight was the resisting internal force, but when the stone was moving through the air, the friction with the air created external resistance.

Energy Indestructible.--There is another thing which should be understood, and that is the absolute indestructibility of energy. Matter may be changed in form, or in the direction of its motion, by the change of kinetic into potential energy, or vice versa, but the sum total of the energy in the world is unalterable or constant.

The tremendous power developed by the stone when it plunged through space and struck the rocks below, developed a heat at its impact. Thus the moving force which was a motion in one direction was converted into another form of energy, heat. The expansion of the material exposed to the heat also represented energy.

When powder explodes and absolutely changes the form of the substance, its volume of expansion, if it should be retained within a vessel, would perform a certain amount of work, and the energy is thus transferred from one form to another without ceasing.

Wind Power.--Primitive man also saw and felt the winds. He noted its tremendous power, but he could not see how a force moving in one direction only could be utilized by him.

Rectilinear Motion.--This movement of the wind in one direction, like the water flowing along the bed of the river, is called _rectilinear_ motion. It required invention to convert rectilinear into circular motion.

Oscillating Motion.--When he threshed his grain and winnowed it by shaking it to and fro, to rid it of the chaff, the idea of using the wind to produce an oscillating motion did not occur to him. After circular motion was produced, the crank was formed and thus the oscillating movement was brought about.

Movements in Nature.--All movements in nature are simple ones, of which the following are illustrations:

1. _Rectilinear_, which, as stated, means in a straight line.

2. _Circular_, like the motion of the earth on its axis, once every twenty-four hours.

3. _Oscillatory_, like a to and fro movement, the swaying branches of trees, or the swinging of a pendulum.

How Man Utilizes the Various Movements.--What man has done is to utilize the great natural forces in nature in such a way as to produce these movements at will, in either direction, with greater or less speed, at regular or irregular intervals, and at such amplitudes as are required to perform the necessary work.

Kinds of Potential Energy.--Now, materials have within themselves _potential_ energy of various kinds. Thus, powder, if ignited, will burn, and in burning will expand, or explode, as we term it. This is true also of oils and gases. The expansion pressure produced from such substances depends on the speed at which they will burn, and in so confining the burning substances that a great pressure is produced.

The Power in Heat.--The pressure of all such substances against the confining medium depends on heat. Any gas which has 523 degrees of heat imparted to it will expand double its volume. If one cubic inch of water is converted into steam the latter will occupy one cubic foot of space under atmospheric pressure,--that is, it will expand over 1700 times.

Energy in Steam.--If the steam thus generated is now subjected to 523 degrees of heat additional, it will occupy over 3400 cubic inches of space. It will thus be seen why steam, gas, and gasoline engines are called _heat engines_, or heat _motors_.

Energy From the Sun.--Many attempts have been made to utilize the heat of the sun, to turn machinery, but the difficulty has been to secure sufficient heat, on the one hand, and on the other to properly cool down the heated gases, so that the various liquid and solid fuels are required to make the heat transformations.