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{{Short description|English coal viewer, engineer and inventor}} |
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{{Infobox engineer |
{{Infobox engineer |
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|birth_date = 1734 |
|birth_date = 1734 |
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|birth_place = [[Nottinghamshire]] |
|birth_place = [[Nottinghamshire]] |
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|death_date = 1793 |
|death_date = 1793 (aged 58–59) |
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'''John Barber''' (1734–1793) was an English [[coal viewer]] and inventor. He was born in [[Nottinghamshire]], but moved to [[Warwickshire]] in the 1760s to manage collieries in the [[Nuneaton]] area. For a time he lived in Camp Hill House, between [[Hartshill]] and Nuneaton, and later lived in [[Attleborough, Warwickshire|Attleborough]]. |
'''John Barber''' (1734–1793) was an English [[coal viewer]] and inventor. He was born in [[Nottinghamshire]], but moved to [[Warwickshire]] in the 1760s to manage collieries in the [[Nuneaton]] area. For a time he lived in [[Camp Hill, Nuneaton|Camp Hill House]], between [[Hartshill]] and Nuneaton, and later lived in [[Attleborough, Warwickshire|Attleborough]]. The same John Barber is thought to be the inventor named in several [[Patent|patents]] granted between 1766 and 1792. The most remarkable of these patents was for a [[gas turbine]]. Although nothing practical came out of this patent, Barber is recognised as the first person to describe the working principle of a [[Brayton cycle|constant pressure gas turbine]]. |
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==Barber's gas turbine== |
==Barber's gas turbine== |
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[[File:John Barber's gas turbine.jpg|thumb|left|Sketch from Barber's patent]] |
[[File:John Barber's gas turbine.jpg|thumb|left|Sketch from Barber's patent]] |
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In 1791 Barber took out a patent (UK patent no. 1833 – ''Obtaining and Applying Motive Power, & c. A Method of Rising Inflammable Air for the Purposes of Procuring Motion, and Facilitating Metallurgical Operations'') which |
In 1791 Barber took out a patent (UK patent no. 1833 – ''Obtaining and Applying Motive Power, & c. A Method of Rising Inflammable Air for the Purposes of Procuring Motion, and Facilitating Metallurgical Operations'') which is recognised as containing the key features of a gas turbine. Barber's design included a chain-driven, reciprocating [[gas compressor]], a [[combustion chamber]], and a turbine.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Davey |first=Norman |title=The Gas Turbine |date=1914 |publisher=D. Van Nostrand Co |location=New York, United States |pages=206-210}}</ref> |
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Barber's turbine was to burn gas obtained from wood, coal, oil, or other substances, heated in a retort or producer, from where the gases were conveyed into a receiver and cooled. Air and gas were then to be compressed in different cylinders and |
Barber's turbine was designed to burn [[producer gas]] obtained from wood, coal, oil, or other substances, heated in a retort or producer, from where the gases were conveyed into a receiver and cooled. Air and gas were then to be compressed in different cylinders and discharged into an "exploder" (combustion chamber) where they were ignited, the mixture of hot gas then being played against the vanes of a paddle wheel. Water was to be injected into the explosive mixture to cool the mouth of the chamber and, by producing steam, to increase the volume of the charge.<ref name=":0" /> |
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The patent proposed various uses for the gas turbine including propulsion of ships, barges and boats by [[Reaction propulsion|reaction]], mechanical operations (grinding, [[Rolling (metalworking)|rolling]], [[forging]] etc.) and injection of the exhaust stream into furnaces for [[smelting]] [[Ore|ores]].<ref name=":0" /> |
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Barber’s concept was sound, but given the technology of that day, it was not possible for the device to create sufficient power to both compress the air and the gas and produce useful work. Nevertheless, the credit for the idea that leads to the modern gas turbine can clearly be given to John Barber. In 1972 the [[Bonn]] firm [[Kraftwerk-Union|Kraftwerk-Union AG]] showed a working model of Barber's turbine at the [[Hannover Fair]]. |
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== Legacy == |
== Legacy == |
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Given the technologies available to Barber, it is unlikely that a gas turbine could have been built that would have been able to create sufficient power to both compress the air and the gas and produce useful work. It wasn't until 1939, some 148 years after Barber's initial patent, that the first constant pressure gas turbine entered service in [[Neuchâtel gas turbine|Neuchâtel, Switzerland]].<ref name=":Dietrich">{{Cite book |last=Eckardt |first=Dietrich |title=Gas Turbine Powerhouse |date=2014 |publisher=Oldenbourg Verlag Munchen |isbn=9783486735710 |pages=66-67 |language=en |chapter=3.2 - Early Attempts with the Gas Turbine Principle}}</ref><ref name=":BBC2">{{cite journal |last=Meyer |first=Adolf |date=1939 |title=The Combustion Gas Turbine, Its History, Development and Prospects |url=https://search.abb.com/library/Download.aspx?DocumentID=9AKK107045A2980&LanguageCode=en&DocumentPartId=&Action=Launch |journal=The Brown Boveri Review |language=EN |location=Baden, Switzerland |publisher=Brown Boveri and Company |volume=26 |pages=130-131}}</ref> |
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Sir [[Frank Whittle]] in England patented 1930<ref>http://www.frankwhittle.co.uk/content.php?act=viewDoc&docId=4&docFatherId=1&level=sub</ref> a design for a gas turbine for [[Jet engine|jet propulsion]]. The first successful use of this engine was in April, 1937. His early work on the theory of gas propulsion was based on the contributions of most of the earlier pioneers of this field including John Barber. |
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In the same year that [[Brown, Boveri & Cie]] commissioned the Neuchâtel gas turbine the company published an article on the history of gas turbines which acknowledged John Barber's patent.<ref name=":BBC2"/> John Barber is widely accepted as being the first person to patent a gas turbine.<ref name=":JetWeb">{{Cite book |last=Eckardt |first=Dietrich |title=Jet Web |date=2022 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-658-38530-9 |location=Munich, Germany |page=100}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=Meherwan P |title=Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook |date=2011 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0123838421 |pages=6}}</ref><ref name=":Rainer">{{Cite book| title=Introduction to Gas Turbine Theory|last1=Brun|first1=Klaus|last2=Kurz|first2= Rainer|date=2019|publisher=Solar Turbines Incorporated|pages=15|edition= 4|language=en|isbn=978-0-578-48386-3}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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== Further reading == |
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| ⚫ | * {{cite journal | last = Cook | first = Alan F. | title = JOHN BARBER – The Inventor |
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* {{cite book | last = Davey | first = Norman | title = The Gas Turbine – Development and Engineering | publisher=Watchmaker Publishing | year = 2003 | pages = 206 | url = | id = | isbn = 1-929148-20-8}} |
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| ⚫ | * {{cite journal | last = Cook | first = Alan F. | title = JOHN BARBER – The Inventor of the Gas Turbine: A Potted History | journal = Nuneaton & North Warwickshire Family History Society – Journal | pages = 10 | date = July 2003 | url = http://nnwfhs.org.uk/files/Journals_pdf_files/2003_07_jul.pdf | access-date = 2008-03-09 | archive-date = 20 December 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141220210638/http://nnwfhs.org.uk/files/Journals_pdf_files/2003_07_jul.pdf | url-status = dead }} |
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{{authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, John (Engineer)}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, John (Engineer)}} |
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[[Category:English engineers]] |
[[Category:English engineers]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:British coal miners]] |
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[[Category:People from Nuneaton]] |
[[Category:People from Nuneaton]] |
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[[Category:1734 births]] |
[[Category:1734 births]] |
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[[Category:1801 deaths]] |
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Latest revision as of 10:36, 10 October 2024
John Barber | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1734 |
| Died | 1793 (aged 58–59) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Spouse | Ann Williams |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Engineering |
| Projects | First gas turbine patent |
John Barber (1734–1793) was an English coal viewer and inventor. He was born in Nottinghamshire, but moved to Warwickshire in the 1760s to manage collieries in the Nuneaton area. For a time he lived in Camp Hill House, between Hartshill and Nuneaton, and later lived in Attleborough. The same John Barber is thought to be the inventor named in several patents granted between 1766 and 1792. The most remarkable of these patents was for a gas turbine. Although nothing practical came out of this patent, Barber is recognised as the first person to describe the working principle of a constant pressure gas turbine.
Barber's gas turbine
[edit]
In 1791 Barber took out a patent (UK patent no. 1833 – Obtaining and Applying Motive Power, & c. A Method of Rising Inflammable Air for the Purposes of Procuring Motion, and Facilitating Metallurgical Operations) which is recognised as containing the key features of a gas turbine. Barber's design included a chain-driven, reciprocating gas compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine.[1]
Barber's turbine was designed to burn producer gas obtained from wood, coal, oil, or other substances, heated in a retort or producer, from where the gases were conveyed into a receiver and cooled. Air and gas were then to be compressed in different cylinders and discharged into an "exploder" (combustion chamber) where they were ignited, the mixture of hot gas then being played against the vanes of a paddle wheel. Water was to be injected into the explosive mixture to cool the mouth of the chamber and, by producing steam, to increase the volume of the charge.[1]
The patent proposed various uses for the gas turbine including propulsion of ships, barges and boats by reaction, mechanical operations (grinding, rolling, forging etc.) and injection of the exhaust stream into furnaces for smelting ores.[1]
Legacy
[edit]Given the technologies available to Barber, it is unlikely that a gas turbine could have been built that would have been able to create sufficient power to both compress the air and the gas and produce useful work. It wasn't until 1939, some 148 years after Barber's initial patent, that the first constant pressure gas turbine entered service in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.[2][3]
In the same year that Brown, Boveri & Cie commissioned the Neuchâtel gas turbine the company published an article on the history of gas turbines which acknowledged John Barber's patent.[3] John Barber is widely accepted as being the first person to patent a gas turbine.[4][5][6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Davey, Norman (1914). The Gas Turbine. New York, United States: D. Van Nostrand Co. pp. 206–210.
- ^ Eckardt, Dietrich (2014). "3.2 - Early Attempts with the Gas Turbine Principle". Gas Turbine Powerhouse. Oldenbourg Verlag Munchen. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9783486735710.
- ^ a b Meyer, Adolf (1939). "The Combustion Gas Turbine, Its History, Development and Prospects". The Brown Boveri Review. 26. Baden, Switzerland: Brown Boveri and Company: 130–131.
- ^ Eckardt, Dietrich (2022). Jet Web. Munich, Germany: Springer. p. 100. ISBN 978-3-658-38530-9.
- ^ Boyce, Meherwan P (2011). Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook. Elsevier. p. 6. ISBN 978-0123838421.
- ^ Brun, Klaus; Kurz, Rainer (2019). Introduction to Gas Turbine Theory (4 ed.). Solar Turbines Incorporated. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-578-48386-3.
Further reading
[edit]- H. S. Torrens, 'Barber, John (1734–1793)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 29 July 2016
- Cook, Alan F. (July 2003). "JOHN BARBER – The Inventor of the Gas Turbine: A Potted History" (PDF). Nuneaton & North Warwickshire Family History Society – Journal: 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2008.