Beauchamp Tower
Beauchamp Tower (13 January 1845 – 31 December 1904) was an English inventor and railway engineer who is chiefly known for his discovery of full-film or hydrodynamic lubrication.[1]
Beauchamp Tower | |
---|---|
Born | 13 January 1845 |
Died | 31 December 1904 |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Engineer |
Engineering career | |
Significant advance | Hydrodynamic lubrication |
Early life
Beauchamp Tower was born the son of Robert Beauchamp Tower, rector of Moreton, Essex and educated at Uppingham School, Rutland. He decided at the age of 16 that he wanted to become an engineer and received early training at the Armstrong Works at Elswick, where he stayed for a few months as a draughtsman after completing his four-year apprenticeship.
Inventions
Beauchamp Tower held several patents regarding an apparatus for maintaining a constant plane in a floating vessel.[2][3] The apparatus is based on the gyroscopic principle. One of the possible applications of this patent was steadying guns on shipboard.[4] In 1977, he was named by Duncan Dowson as one of the 23 "Men of Tribology".[5][6]
References
- "Illustrations and description of Tower's spherical steam engine". Tower. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- https://www.google.co.in/patents/US366438
- https://www.google.co.in/patents/US464806
- https://www.google.co.in/patents/US640051
- Dowson, Duncan (1 October 1977). "Men of Tribology: Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)". Journal of Lubrication Technology. 99 (4): 382–386. doi:10.1115/1.3453230. ISSN 0022-2305.
- Dowson, Duncan (1 January 1979). "Men of Tribology: John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1842–1919) and Beauchamp Tower (1845–1904)". Journal of Lubrication Technology. 101 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1115/1.3453272. ISSN 0022-2305.