The economist Brian Arthur isn't so sure. He describes the rise of the internal combustion engine over the past century as "path dependence": a self-reinforcing cycle in which existing investments and infrastructure mean we keep doing things in a certain way, even if we'd do them differently if only we could start from scratch.
As late as , Arthur argues, steam was at least as viable as crude oil for powering cars - but the growing influence of the oil industry ensured that much more money went into improving the internal combustion engine than the steam engine.
With equal investment in research and development, perhaps today we'd be driving next-generation steam-powered cars. Alternatively, if Rudolf had had his way, perhaps the global economy would run on peanuts. Diesel's name has become synonymous with a crude oil derivative, but he designed his engine to use a variety of fuels, from coal dust to vegetable oils.
In , at the Paris World Fair, he demonstrated a model based on peanut oil. He became something of an evangelist and in - a year before his death - Diesel predicted that vegetable oils would become as important a source of fuel as petroleum products. A more appealing vision for owners of peanut farms than for owners of oil fields, the impetus to make it happen largely dissipated with Diesel's death.
Hence the second conspiracy theory to inspire a speculatively sensationalist headline in a contemporary newspaper: "Murdered by agents from big oil trusts. There's recently been a resurgence of interest in biodiesel. It's less polluting than oil fuel, but it's controversial - it competes for land with agriculture, pushing up food prices. In Rudolf's era, this was less of a concern: the population was much smaller, and the climate was more predictable.
Diesel was excited by the idea that his engine could help to develop poor, agricultural economies. How different might the world look today, if the most valuable land during the past hundred years wasn't where you could drill for oil, but where you could cultivate peanuts? We can only guess - just as we'll never know for sure what happened to Rudolf Diesel. By the time his body reappeared 10 days later, it was too decomposed for an autopsy, or even for the crew to be willing to take it on board at all.
Diesel's wallet, pocket knife and spectacles case were retrieved and later identified by his son. His body was taken by the waves. African nations ban Europe 'dirty fuel'. Major cities move to ban diesel vehicles.
London's 'dirty' diesel buses dumped. Renault considers killing off diesels. How much diesel pollution am I breathing in? Image source, Shutterstock. Find out more. Image source, Alamy. A plan drawing of the internal combustion engine invented by Rudolf Diesel in Image source, Getty Images. The first Sulzer-built diesel engine was started in June [] []. Many engineers and developers joined in the work to improve the market viability of the idea created by Rudolf Diesel.
He, on the other hand, became somewhat threatened by this process and was not always able to find common language with other engine designers developing his invention. In , deeply troubled by criticisms of his role in developing the engine, he mysteriously vanished from a ship on a voyage to England, presumably committing suicide [].
Abstract : In the s, Rudolf Diesel invented an efficient, compression ignition, internal combustion engine that bears his name. Early diesel engines were large and operated at low speeds due to the limitations of their compressed air-assisted fuel injection systems. In other words, diesel engines aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
But how long have they been around? Who invented the diesel engine? If you've ever wondered about the history of the diesel engine, we're about to tell you. The diesel engine was invented during the industrial revolution by a German engineer. After the war, he returned to Germany to study engine design. In the s, the most significant inventions were all centered around steam.
Steam engines used a lot of coal, were very expensive, and extremely inefficient. Big companies could afford them while little businesses were struggling to keep up. By studying thermodynamics, Diesel found he could make a smaller, internal combustion engine that would convert all heat into work. This engine proved to be revolutionary among the steam-powered engines and horse-drawn carriages of the 19th century.
Rudolf Diesels spent the next several years working on his designs. The problem with the first diesel engines is they proved to be unreliable. While a lot of people bought his engines, many ended up bringing them back and asking for a refund. This led Diesel into a financial hole that he could never escape. One place where Diesel found success was with the military because diesel fuel was heavier and was less likely to explode.
In , the French army started using diesel engines in their submarines. In , Rudolf Diesel was on his way to meet with the British navy to broker a deal about installing his engines on their submarines.
Somewhere over the English Channel, Diesel went overboard.
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