Scottish pioneers of tools for low temperature geothermal applications: William Cullen, the Stirling brothers and William Rankine

Banks, D. (2016) Scottish pioneers of tools for low temperature geothermal applications: William Cullen, the Stirling brothers and William Rankine. International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology, 86(2), pp. 147-160. (doi: 10.1080/17581206.2016.1223936)

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Abstract

The heat pump is a tool for extracting low temperature heat from the environment (e.g., from the shallow geosphere) and supplying it for space heating at a higher temperature. It is noteworthy that so much of the pioneering work that allowed the development of this tool was associated with Scottish scientists and engineers. William Cullen’s experimentation led to an understanding of the transfer of latent heat (which takes place at the evaporator of the heat pump). William Rankine and the Stirling brothers worked on the thermodynamic cycles that lie at the heart of many heat pumps and low temperature heat engines. William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) first proposed the use of the heat pump for space heating and, with James David Forbes, worked on an understanding of the behaviour of heat in the ground.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Banks, Mr David
Authors: Banks, D.
Subjects:C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CT Biography
T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
Journal Name:International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:1758-1206
ISSN (Online):1758-1214
Published Online:08 November 2016
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 Taylor and Francis
First Published:First published in International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology 86(2): 147-160
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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