Frank Shuman

Frank Shuman
Shuman in 1907
Born(1862-01-23)January 23, 1862
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 28, 1918(1918-04-28) (aged 56)
Tacony, Philadelphia
EducationSelf-educated
Occupations
  • Inventor
  • engineer
Known for
Shuman sunengine on the March 1916 cover of Hugo Gernsback's The Electrical Experimenter
Shuman sunengine 1907 Photo: Technical World magazine, September 1907

Frank Shuman (/ˈʃuːmən/; January 23, 1862 – April 28, 1918) was an American inventor, engineer and solar energy pioneer known for his work on solar engines, especially those that used solar energy to heat water that would produce steam.

Early life

Shuman was born in 1862 in Brooklyn, New York. At 18 he skipped college and took up work as a chemist at an aniline dye company in West Virginia. In 1891 he moved to Philadelphia to work with his uncle Frank Schumann, who had kept the original German spelling of the family name.[1] Schumann was president of Tacony Iron & Metal Works, the company contracted to cast the statue of William Penn for the Philadelphia City Hall, and Shuman was assigned with devising a method of electroplating the statue with layers of protective aluminium.[2]

Career

In 1891[3] Frank Shuman invented wired safety glass, for which he was granted a patent in 1892.[4] Additional patents were issued relating to the process of making wire glass and machines for making wire glass. In 1914 Shuman invented a process for making laminated safety glass, called safety glass,[5] and manufactured by the Safety Glass Company. In 1916 he patented a "Danger Signal" for railroad crossings,[6] as well as the use of liquid oxygen or liquid air to propel a submarine.[7]

On August 20, 1897, Shuman invented a solar engine that worked by reflecting solar energy onto one-foot square boxes filled with ether, which has a lower boiling point than water, and containing black pipes on the inside, which in turn powered a toy steam engine. The tiny steam engine operated continuously for over two years on sunny days next to a pond at the Shuman house.

In 1908 Shuman formed the Sun Shine Power Company with the intent to build larger power plants. He, along with his technical advisor A.S.E. Ackermann and British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys,[citation needed] developed an improved system using mirrors to reflect solar energy upon collector boxes, increasing heating capacity so much that water could now be used instead of ether. He also developed a low-pressure steam turbine, since most 1910 vintage steam engines were built for steam and not sun-heated water. Shuman's turbine processed energy four times faster than any engine of his day. Shuman then constructed a full-scale steam engine that was powered by low-pressure steam, enabling him to patent the entire solar engine system by 1912. Scientific American again featured Shuman in its issues of February 4, 1911, and September 30, 1911.

Shuman built the world’s first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt (1912-1913). Shuman’s plant used semi circle shaped troughs to power a 60-70 horsepower engine that pumped 6,000 gallons of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields. His system included a number of technological improvements, including absorption plates with dual panes separated by a one-inch air space. Although the outbreak of World War I and the discovery of cheap oil in the 1930s discouraged the advancement of solar energy, Shuman’s vision and basic design were resurrected in the 1970s with a new wave of interest in solar thermal energy.[8]

We have proved the commercial profit of sun power in the tropics and have more particularly proved that after our stores of oil and coal are exhausted the human race can receive unlimited power from the rays of the sun.

— Frank Shuman, New York Times, July 2, 1916[9]

Shuman died in his home on Disston Street in Tacony in 1918.[10] His large home and laboratories still stand in the Tacony section of Philadelphia, as an apartment house and garages. They were added to the historic register in October 2019, meaning they cannot be demolished or significantly altered without the Historical Commission's permission.[11]

Patents

Shuman's US Patent 1240890 for a sun boiler
Number Date filed Issue date Description
D37803 December 18, 1905 January 30, 1906 Design for Sheet-Glass
D43349 August 19, 1910 December 17, 1912 Design for Sheet-Glass
483020 July 6, 1892 September 20, 1892 Process of Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass
483021 July 6, 1892 September 20, 1892 Machine for Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass
510716 September 22, 1893 December 12, 1893 Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
510822 December 29, 1892 December 12, 1893 Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
510823 December 29, 1892 December 12, 1893 Machine for Manufacturing Wire-Glass
531874 July 5, 1894 January 1, 1895 Process of Cutting Wire-Embedded Glass
542539 November 14, 1894 July 9, 1895 Apparatus for Removing Obstructions from Car-Tracks
545826 May 3, 1894 September 3, 1895 Ladle for Dipping Glass
546196 May 28, 1894 September 10, 1895 Apparatus for Embedding Wire in Glass
561920 November 14, 1892 June 9, 1896 Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
574458 November 23, 1893 January 5, 1897 Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
593440 September 17, 1896 November 9, 1897 Process of Treating Metal Structures
605754 January 20, 1896 June 14, 1898 Process of and Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
647334 July 21, 1897 April 10, 1900 Process of Making Rolls
661649b July 21, 1900 November 13, 1900 Mercerizing-Machine
670438a September 20, 1900 March 26, 1901 Machine for Molding Glass
671240 October 13, 1900 April 2, 1901 Process of Extinguishing Fires
673067 September 20, 1900 April 30, 1901 Mercerizing-Machine
727004a June 14, 1902 May 5, 1903 Meshed Wire for Wire-Glass Manufacture
727005a June 14, 1902 May 5, 1903 Manufacture of Wire-Glass
727006a June 14, 1902 May 5, 1903 Method of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
727007a June 14, 1902 May 5, 1903 Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
733286 January 13, 1903 July 7, 1903 Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piles
733287 April 23, 1903 July 7, 1903 Process of Making Concrete Piles
733288 January 13, 1903 July 7, 1903 Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling
733335 June 4, 1903 July 7, 1903 Process of Forming Openings in the Ground
733336 April 23, 1903 July 7, 1903 Process of Forming Concrete Piles
733337 April 23, 1903 July 7, 1903 Process of Forming Concrete Piles
735680 April 23, 1903 August 4, 1903 Process of Making Concrete Piles
739268 June 8, 1903 September 15, 1903 Process of Making Concrete Piles
752003 April 23, 1903 February 9, 1904 Process of Forming Concrete Piles
756805 January 13, 1903 April 5, 1904 Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling
763212 February 5, 1904 June 21, 1904 Preparatory Pile for Use in Forming Concrete Piles
763213 February 25, 1904 June 21, 1904 Method of Forming Concrete Piles
786058 April 7, 1904 March 28, 1905 Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
792172a March 20, 1905 June 13, 1905 Process of Making Wire-Glass
805936 January 9, 1905 November 28, 1905 Concrete Piling and Method for Making the Same
806755 April 21, 1904 December 5, 1905 Pile for Piers or Pier Casings
806587 April 21, 1904 December 5, 1905 Pier and Pier Casing
817595 April 21, 1904 September 18, 1906 Setting Concrete Piles
831481 July 26, 1905 April 10, 1906 Constructing Piles
875857 June 14, 1902 January 7, 1908 Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass
876307 June 14, 1902 January 7, 1908 Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass
889341 July 20, 1897 June 2, 1908 Roll and Process for Making Same
898517 May 31, 1906 September 15, 1908 Concrete Pile and the Process of Constructing the Same
899339b December 22, 1905 September 22, 1908 Extracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool
899440b December 29, 1905 September 22, 1908 Apparatus for Extracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool
905469a March 20, 1905 December 1, 1908 Wire-Glass Structure
957477 March 20, 1905 May 10, 1910 Method of and Means of Annealing Glass
979579 March 18, 1907 December 27, 1910 Utilizing Waste Heat of Compressors
992814 May 1, 1907 May 23, 1911 Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation
1002768 July 20, 1907 September 5, 1911 Utilizing Heat for the Development of Power
1014418 December 13, 1907 January 9, 1912 Process for Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation
1156186 March 7, 1906 October 12, 1915 Method of Making Composite Piles
1167944 July 20, 1909 January 11, 1916 Method of and Means for Melting Metals
1200893 January 9, 1914 October 10, 1916 Steam-Engine
1218219 March 9, 1910 March 6, 1917 Steam-Engine
1240890c September 30, 1912 September 25, 1917 Sun-Boiler
1258482 October 2, 1915 March 5, 1918 Pile Form and Method of Driving the Same
1281860 October 2, 1915 October 15, 1918 Apparatus for Forming Piles
1310253 February 25, 1916 July 15, 1919 Submarine and Method of Operating the Same
1420345 March 23, 1916 June 20, 1922 Danger Signal
a with Arno Shuman
b with Constantine Shuman
c with Charles Vernon Boys

Source:[12]

Shuman Rediscovered: Hemauer and Keller

At the 11th International Cairo Biennial of Contemporary Art in 2008-09, the Swiss artists couple Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller drew attention to Shuman's Sun Project. Their contribution entitled "No1 Sun Engine" consisted of two parts: apart from a reconstruction of two segments of the solar engines, they built a stand providing information on Shuman's project and on solar energy in general. On the wall behind the information stand, there was a quote (in both English and Arabic) by Shuman: “One thing I feel sure of, and that is that the human race must finally utilize direct sun power or revert to barbarism.” Frank Shuman, 1914

References

  1. ^ Dougherty, Christopher R. (May 30, 2014). "Frank Shuman: Finding The Future In Tacony, A Century Ago". hiddencityphila.org. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "TODAY'S #TECHTUESDAY INVENTION IS A SOLAR ENGINE FROM THE 1907..." hagley.org. December 8, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "Historical Society of Tacony Frank Shuman collection". findingaids.library.upenn.edu. Philadelphia Area Archives. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  4. ^ Patent number: 483021
  5. ^ "From troughs to triumph: SEGS and gas". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
  6. ^ Patent number: 1420345
  7. ^ Patent number: 1310253
  8. ^ Smith, Zachary Alden; Taylor, Katrina D. (2008). Renewable and alternative energy resources: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-59884-089-6.
  9. ^ American Inventor Uses Egypt's Sun for Power; Appliance Concentrates the Heat Rays and Produces Steam, Which Can Be Used to Drive Irrigation Pumps in Hot Climates
  10. ^ Ragheb, M. (September 10, 2014). "Solar thermal power and energy storage historical perspective" (PDF). solarthermalworld.org.
  11. ^ Tomczuk, Jack (2019-10-30). "Tacony pioneer's house, lab gets historic protection". Northeast Times. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  12. ^ "USPTO". Archived from the original on 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2012-07-14.

Further reading

  • Kryza, Frank T. (2003). The Power of Light. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-140021-4. This book describes Shuman's solar project in Egypt.
  • Butti, Ken (1980). Golden Thread Twenty Five Hundred Years of Solar Architecture and Technology. Cheshire Books. ISBN 0917352076. This book describes Shuman's work in solar power in both the US and Egypt. Includes photos.