Chemical and Physical Papers. 49 



drove the loom. Watt's steam engine, working at an efficiency 

 of probably less than a tenth of one per cent, made the steam 

 plant possible and made the industrial community independent 

 of the water-power site. Stephenson's link motion put the 

 railroad, such as it was, on the map; Fulton built a marine 

 engine that propelled a boat, in spite of the predictions of his 

 friends, and the clumsy and noisy old free-piston engine of 

 Otto and Langen demonstrated the possibility of the modern 

 internal-combustion motor. 



Ten years ago the situation in the power world was about as 

 follows : 



The perfecting of electrical apparatus had made possible the 

 construction of water-power plants at some distance from the 

 site of the industry to be served. The original American plant 

 of the Niagara Falls Power Company, with its .5000 kw. gen- 

 erating units and 22,000-volt transmission line, was in opera- 

 tion, and represented advanced practice, although more recent 

 designs were in process of construction. 



In steam-engineering practice the compound engine had been 

 carried to its logical limit in the huge triple- and quadruple- 

 expansion engines of such ships as the Kaiser Wilhelm. These 

 engines were built in units as great as 15,000 horsepower, and 

 would develop a horsepower-hour on a pound and a half of 

 coal or a little less. 



The steam turbine, which began to assume commercial im- 

 portance about 1900, had reached an efficiency about equal to 

 the best steam engine when built in large sizes. There were 

 two distinct types, called the impulse and the reaction, and one 

 or the other of these types was rigidly adhered to in the con- 

 struction of a single machine. They were not regarded with 

 great favor for marine propulsion, because they are not re- 

 versible. The largest units for land service were 5000 horse- 

 power, and these were looked upon as wonders. 



The internal-combustion motor, which began its commercial 

 career about 1890, had reached its greatest perfection in the 

 automobile motor of the period and in the small marine motor. 

 Gas engines for power purposes were built in sizes as large 

 as 50 horsepower, but this was regarded as about the limit. 

 The gas producer was just coming into existence, and gas- 

 engine designers were beginning to think about the problem of 

 larger and more efficient units. 

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