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Timeline A timeline is a list of events displayed in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representing t ...
of motor and
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
* (c. 30–70 AD) –
Hero of Alexandria Hero of Alexandria (; , , also known as Heron of Alexandria ; probably 1st or 2nd century AD) was a Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in Alexandria in Egypt during the Roman era. He has been described as the greatest experimental ...
describes the first documented steam-powered device, the '' aeolipile''. * 13th century – Chinese
chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
s wrote about a solid-rocket motor used in warfare. * 1698 – Thomas Savery builds a steam-powered water
pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...
for pumping water out of mines. * 1712 –
Thomas Newcomen Thomas Newcomen (; February 1664 – 5 August 1729) was an English inventor, creator of the Newcomen atmospheric engine, atmospheric engine in 1712, Baptist lay preacher, preacher by calling and ironmonger by trade. He was born in Dart ...
builds a piston-and-cylinder steam-powered water pump for pumping water out of mines. * 1769 –
James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...
patents his first improved
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
.


19th Century

* 1806 –
François Isaac de Rivaz François Isaac de Rivaz (December 19, 1752, in Paris – July 30, 1828, in Sion) was a French-born Swiss inventor and a politician. He invented a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine with electric ignition and described it in a French pa ...
invented a hydrogen powered engine, the first successful
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
. * 1807 –
Nicéphore Niépce Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (; 7 March 1765 – 5 July 1833) was a French inventor and one of the earliest History of photography, pioneers of photography. Niépce developed heliography, a technique he used to create the world's oldest surviving ...
and his brother Claude build a fluid piston internal combustion engine, the Pyréolophore and use it to power a boat up the river
Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...
. * 1816 – Robert Stirling invented his hot air
Stirling engine A Stirling engine is a heat engine that is operated by the cyclic expansion and contraction of air or other gas (the ''working fluid'') by exposing it to different temperatures, resulting in a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical Work (ph ...
, and what we now call a " regenerator". * 1821 –
Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
builds an electricity-powered motor. * 1824 –
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (; 1 June 1796 – 24 August 1832) was a French people, French military engineering, military engineer and physicist. A graduate of the École polytechnique, Carnot served as an officer in the Engineering Arm (''le ...
first publishes that the efficiency of a
heat engine A heat engine is a system that transfers thermal energy to do mechanical or electrical work. While originally conceived in the context of mechanical energy, the concept of the heat engine has been applied to various other kinds of energy, pa ...
depends on the temperature difference between an engine and its environment. * 1837 – First American patent for an electric motor (). * 1850 – The first explicit statement of the first and
second law of thermodynamics The second law of thermodynamics is a physical law based on Universal (metaphysics), universal empirical observation concerning heat and Energy transformation, energy interconversions. A simple statement of the law is that heat always flows spont ...
, given by
Rudolf Clausius Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius (; 2 January 1822 – 24 August 1888) was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founding fathers of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle ...
. * 1860 – Lenoir 2 cycle engine * 1872 – Brayton Engine * 1877 –
Nicolaus Otto Nicolaus August Otto (10 June 1832 – 26 January 1891) was a German engineer who successfully developed the compressed charge internal combustion engine which ran on petroleum gas and led to the modern internal combustion engine. The Associa ...
patents a four-stroke
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
(). * 1882 – James Atkinson invents the
Atkinson cycle The Atkinson-cycle engine is a type of internal combustion engine invented by James Atkinson (inventor), James Atkinson in 1882. The Atkinson cycle is designed to provide Energy conversion efficiency, efficiency at the expense of power density. ...
engine, now common in some hybrid vehicles. * 1885 –
Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (; 17 March 1834 – 6 March 1900) was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He invented the high-speed liquid petroleum-fue ...
patents the first
supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement (engine), displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically ...
. * 1886 – Hot-bulb engine was established by Herbert Akroyd Stuart,
Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (; 17 March 1834 – 6 March 1900) was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He invented the high-speed liquid petroleum-fue ...
invents the
Petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends ...
. * 1888 – An AC induction motor is featured in a paper published by
Galileo Ferraris Galileo Ferraris (31 October 1847 – 7 February 1897) was an Italian university professor, physicist and electrical engineer, one of the pioneers of AC power system and inventor of the induction motor although he never patented his work. Many ne ...
and is patented in the U.S. by
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
. * 1892 –
Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (, ; 18 March 1858 – 29 September 1913) was a German inventor and mechanical engineer who invented the Diesel engine, which burns Diesel fuel; both are named after him. Early life and education Diesel was born on 1 ...
patents the
Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
(). * 1899 – Ferdinand Porsche creates the Lohner–Porsche, the first
hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. Hybrid powertrai ...
.


20th Century

* 1903 �
The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices
was published by
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (; rus, Константин Эдуардович Циолковский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj, a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) was a Russi ...
* 1905 – Alfred Büchi patents the
turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into th ...
. * 1913 – René Lorin invents the
ramjet A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to . Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...
. * 1915 – Leonard Dyer invents a
six-stroke engine A six-stroke engine is one of several alternative internal combustion engine designs that attempt to improve on traditional two-stroke and four-stroke engines. Claimed advantages may include increased fuel efficiency, reduced mechanical complexit ...
, now known as the Crower six-stroke engine named after his reinventor Bruce Crower. * 1926 – Robert H. Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. * 1929 – Felix Wankel patents the Wankel rotary engine (). * Late 1930s – Hans von Ohain and
Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with co-creating the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...
separately build pioneering
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
engines intended for aircraft propulsion, leading to the pioneering
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
powered flights in 1939 Germany and 1941 England. * 1939 – The BMW company's
BMW 801 The BMW 801 was a powerful Nazi Germany, German Air-cooled engine, air-cooled 14-cylinder-radial engine, radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. Production versions of the Radial e ...
aviation
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...
pioneers the use of an early form of an
engine control unit An engine control unit (ECU), also called an engine control module (ECM), is a device that controls various subsystems of an internal combustion engine. Systems commonly controlled by an ECU include the fuel injection and ignition systems. The ...
, the ''Kommandogerät''. * 1940s – Ralph Miller patents his Miller cycle engine. * 1954 – Felix Wankel creates the first working
Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric (mechanism), eccentric Pistonless rotary engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, f ...
. * 1957 – Rambler Rebel announce
Electrojector
electronic fuel injection option, however no production models were offered with the option. * 1964 – Ion engine invented. * 1966 –
RD-0410 RD-0410 (РД-0410, GRAU index: 11B91) was a Soviet nuclear thermal rocket engine developed by the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau in Voronezh from 1965 through the 1980s using liquid hydrogen propellant. The engine was ground-tested at the Semip ...
nuclear thermal rocket A nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) is a type of thermal rocket where the heat from a nuclear reaction replaces the chemical energy of the rocket propellant, propellants in a chemical rocket. In an NTR, a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is ...
engine was ground-tested. * 1960s –
alternator An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
s replace generators on automobile engines. * 1970s – electronically controlled ignition appears in automobile engines. * 1975 –
Catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...
s are first widely introduced on production automobiles in the US to comply with tightening EPA regulations on auto exhaust. * 1980s – electronically controlled ignition improved to reduce pollution. * 1980s – electronic
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All c ...
appears on gasoline automobile engines. * 1989 – The Bajulaz Six-Stroke Engine was invented by the Bajulaz S A company, based in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland; it has and . * 1990s –
Hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. Hybrid powertrai ...
s that run on an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor charged by regenerative braking.


See also

* Timeline of heat engine technology for a view of the human understanding of the interchangeability of work and heat.


References

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