Robert Stirling
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Robert Stirling
(1790–1878), Scottish engineer and Presbyterian minister. In 1816 he invented (with the help of his brother James) a type of external-combustion engine using heated air.
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Robert Stirling
| Robert Stirling | |
|---|---|
 Reverend Dr Robert Stirling |
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| Born | 25 October 1790 Methven, Perthshire |
| Died | 6 June 1876 (aged 85) Galston, East Ayrshire |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Children | Patrick Stirling James Stirling |
| Work | |
| Significant projects | Stirling engine |
The Reverend Dr Robert Stirling (25 October 1790 – 6 June 1878) was a Scottish clergyman, and inventor of the stirling engine.
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Biography
Stirling was born at Cloag Farm near Methven, Perthshire, the third of eight children. He inherited his father's interest in engineering[citation needed], but studied divinity at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow becoming a minister of the Church of Scotland as second charge of the Laigh Kirk of Kilmarnock in 1816.
In 1819 Stirling married Jean Rankin. They had seven children, including the locomotive engineers Patrick Stirling and James Stirling.
Stirling died in Galston, East Ayrshire in 1878.
Engineering and science
Hot air engine
He invented what he called the Heat Economiser (now generally known as the regenerator), a device for improving the thermal/fuel efficiency of a variety of industrial processes, obtaining a patent for the economiser and an engine incorporating it in 1816. In 1818 he built the first practical version of his engine, used to pump water from a quarry.
The theoretical basis of Stirling's engine, the Stirling cycle, would not be fully understood until the work of Sadi Carnot (1796–1832).
Optical instruments
While in Kilmarnock, he collaborated with another inventor, Thomas Morton, who provided workshop facilities for Stirling's research. Both men were interested in astronomy, and having learnt from Morton how to grind lenses, Stirling invented several optical instruments.
Patents
Robert, together with his brother James an engineer, took out several further patents for improvements to the air engine and in the 1840s James built a large air engine driving all the machinery at his Dundee Foundry Company.
Bessemer process
In a letter of 1876, Robert Stirling acknowledged the importance of Henry Bessemer's new invention – the Bessemer process for the manufacture of steel – expressing a hope that the new steel would improve the performance of air engines.[1]
References
- ^ Robert Sier 1995. Rev Robert Stirling D.D.. L A Mair. ISBN 0-9526417-0-4.
External links
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Oxford Dictionary of English
The Oxford Dictionary of English(revised edition). © 2005
Oxford University Press.
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Stirling engine
(mechanical device)
Year 1817
(in Science & Technology)
Stirling
(town, Scotland)
James Stirling
(engineer)
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