Keep on Compressing

摘要

Rudolf Diesel wanted to make his own name. In 1875, at the age of 17, against the advice of his parents, the poor tradesman's son had enrolled in Munich's Royal Bavarian Polytechnic, an engineering school. There he became the star pupil of Carl von Linde, one of the inventors of refrigeration. When Linde designed and constructed a modern refrigeration plant, Diesel, now 23 years old, served as director. So employed, however, Diesel knew the fame and financial benefits from his ideas accrued to his mentor. Determined to move out of refrigeration, Diesel turned to the machine that gave his profession its name: the engine.