On this day in 1894 Rudolf Diesel’s first working diesel engine ran under its own power for the first time for one minute.
On this day in 1894 Rudolf Diesel’s first working diesel engine ran under its own power for the first time for one minute.
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The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-called compression-ignition engine (CI engine).
This contrasts with engines using spark plug-ignition of the air-fuel mixture, such as a petrol engine (gasoline engine) or a gas engine (using a gaseous fuel like natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas).
The diesel engine has the highest thermal efficiency (engine efficiency) of any practical internal or external combustion engine due to its very high expansion ratio and inherent lean burn which enables heat dissipation by the excess air.
Rudolf Diesel’s disappearance and death in 1913 remain unsolved. Diesel disappeared from the deck of the mail steamer Dresden en route to London and was assumed to have drowned.