Huygens and Papin gunpowder engine
Motor de pólvora de Huygens y Papin
- Date
- 1673-1680 · confidence medium
- Place
- Paris, Île-de-France, France
- Credited to
- Christiaan Huygens and Denis Papin
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
Huygens devised a cylinder and piston in which gunpowder was exploded to expel the air so that atmospheric pressure drove the piston down. It was the first attempt at a piston internal combustion engine.
Huygens built a model with Papin around 1673-1680, but it did not work usefully because residual air remained in the cylinder.
What it led to
- opened the path to replacing gunpowder with condensed steam (Papin)
- a theoretical precedent for internal combustion engines