Otto Engine, circa 1883
Add to SetSummary
Nikolaus Otto's engines -- originally using coal gas, not gasoline -- were the first internal combustion engines to challenge the supremacy of the steam engine. They were hugely successful, needing neither boiler (cheaper initial investment and greater safety) nor licensed operators (lower operating expenses); plus they offered greater readiness -- they could simply be started, there was no waiting period to raise steam.
Nikolaus Otto's engines -- originally using coal gas, not gasoline -- were the first internal combustion engines to challenge the supremacy of the steam engine. They were hugely successful, needing neither boiler (cheaper initial investment and greater safety) nor licensed operators (lower operating expenses); plus they offered greater readiness -- they could simply be started, there was no waiting period to raise steam.
Artifact
Internal combustion engine
Date Made
circa 1883
Creators
Place of Creation
United States, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Creator Notes
Manufactured by Schleicher, Schumm & Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based on designs by Nikolaus Otto.
On Exhibit
at Henry Ford Museum in Made in America
Object ID
00.4.502
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Iron (Metal)
Steel (Alloy)
Brass (Alloy)
Dimensions
Horsepower: 1 hp (0.75 kW)
Diameter: 4.875 in (Bore)
Length: 9 in (Stroke)
Length: 39 in
Height: 57 in
Width: 84.996 in
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