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François Isaac de Rivaz

François Isaac de Rivaz

François Isaac de Rivaz (Paris, December 19, 1752 – Sion, July 30, 1828) was an inventor and a politician. He invented a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine with electric ignition and described it in a French patent published in 1807. In 1808 he fitted it into a primitive working vehicle – "the world's first internal combustion powered automobile".[1]

Isaac de Rivaz
Born(1752-12-19)December 19, 1752
Paris, Kingdom of France
DiedJuly 30, 1828(1828-07-30)(aged 75)
Sion, Switzerland
NationalityFrench and Swiss
OccupationSwiss politician, MP, Inventor
Known forThe world's first automobile powered by an 'internal combustion engine'

Biography

Isaac was born in Paris to a family from Valais. In 1763 the family settled in Moûtiers in Savoy (Kingdom of Sardinia). The last two boys, Anne Joseph and Isaac, came to settle in St. Gingolph in Valais. It is not known at which schools he studied, but he became fluent in Latin plus mastering mathematics and geometry, whilst continuing his study of mechanics throughout his life. He qualified as both a surveyor and notary and worked for the state of Valais.[2]

Isaac had many interests plus an intuitive and extremely curious mind which was driven by the demon of discovery. His experimental work was overflowing. He experimented with steam-powered vehicles in the late 18th century.[2] He also studied the ignition of combustible gases.[2]

Internal combustion engine

After retirement from the Army, living in Switzerland, he invented a primitive internal combustion engine which he constructed in 1807.[1] It was powered by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen manually ignited by electric spark, but the engine neither involved the in-cylinder compression, the crank, nor the connecting rod.[1] A year later, Isaac built an early automobile for his new engine to power.[1][3][4] His engine was never commercially successful.

Alternative claims for internal combustion engines

Coincidentally, in 1807 Nicéphore Niépce installed his 'moss, coal-dust and resin'-fueled Pyréolophore internal combustion engine in a boat and powered up the river Saone in France to be granted a patent by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The discrete, virtually simultaneous, implementations of these two designs of internal combustion in different modes of transport means that the de Rivaz engine can be correctly described as "the worlds first use of an internal combustion engine in an auto-mobile (in 1808)", whilst the "Pyréolophore (in 1807) was the world's first use of an internal combustion engine in a ship".

Although de Rivaz's early work is credited as the first use of the internal combustion engine in an automobile, the further development and mass production of the invention never truly began until the late nineteenth century.

In 1824, the French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot scientifically established the thermodynamic theory of idealized heat engines. This highlighted the shortcoming of these pioneering designs, whereby they needed a compression mechanism to increase the difference between the upper and lower working temperatures and potentially unlock sufficient power and efficiency. Gasoline was not used for internal combustion engines until 1870 when carburetors were invented to convert non-combustible liquid fuels into a combustible gaseous mixture form.

See also

  • De Rivaz engine

  • Timeline of transportation technology

  • Timeline of hydrogen technologies

  • History of the internal combustion engine

  • Pyréolophore

  • Nicéphore Niépce

References

[1]
Citation Linkbooks.google.comEckermann, Erik (2001). World History of the Automobile. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers. ISBN 0-7680-0800-X.
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[2]
Citation Linkbooks.google.comMichelet, Henri (1965). L'inventeur Isaac de Rivaz: 1752 - 1828. Editions Saint-Augustin. Retrieved 2011-05-28. In French
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[3]
Citation Linkinventors.about.comAbout.com: Inventors: The History of the Automobile - The Internal Combustion Engine and Early Gas-Powered Cars
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[4]
Citation Linkworldwide.espacenet.comUS 7137366  Page 10: : In the early nineteenth century, Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine.
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[5]
Citation Linkh2mobility.org1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz - internal combustion engine
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[6]
Citation Linkbooks.google.comWorld History of the Automobile
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[7]
Citation Linkbooks.google.comL'inventeur Isaac de Rivaz: 1752 - 1828
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[8]
Citation Linkinventors.about.comThe History of the Automobile - The Internal Combustion Engine and Early Gas-Powered Cars
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[9]
Citation Linkworldwide.espacenet.comUS 7137366
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[10]
Citation Linkh2mobility.org1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz - internal combustion engine
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM
[11]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 24, 2019, 5:25 PM