Frank Shuman in 1907
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.

Career

In 1892 Frank Shuman invented wire glass safety glass.[1] 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,[2] and manufactured by the Safety Glass Company. In 1916 he patented a "Danger Signal" for railroad crossings,[3] as well as the use of liquid oxygen or liquid air to propel a submarine.[4]

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, 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.[5]

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[6]

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.[7]

Patents

Shuman's US Patent 1240890 for a sun boiler
NumberDate filedIssue dateDescription
D37803December 18, 1905January 30, 1906Design for Sheet-Glass
D43349August 19, 1910December 17, 1912Design for Sheet-Glass
483020July 6, 1892September 20, 1892Process of Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass
483021July 6, 1892September 20, 1892Machine for Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass
510716September 22, 1893December 12, 1893Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
510822December 29, 1892December 12, 1893Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
510823December 29, 1892December 12, 1893Machine for Manufacturing Wire-Glass
531874July 5, 1894January 1, 1895Process of Cutting Wire-Embedded Glass
542539November 14, 1894July 9, 1895Apparatus for Removing Obstructions from Car-Tracks
545826May 3, 1894September 3, 1895Ladle for Dipping Glass
546196May 28, 1894September 10, 1895Apparatus for Embedding Wire in Glass
561920November 14, 1892June 9, 1896Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
574458November 23, 1893January 5, 1897Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
593440September 17, 1896November 9, 1897Process of Treating Metal Structures
605754January 20, 1896June 14, 1898Process of and Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
647334July 21, 1897April 10, 1900Process of Making Rolls
661649bJuly 21, 1900November 13, 1900Mercerizing-Machine
670438aSeptember 20, 1900March 26, 1901Machine for Molding Glass
671240October 13, 1900April 2, 1901Process of Extinguishing Fires
673067September 20, 1900April 30, 1901Mercerizing-Machine
727004aJune 14, 1902May 5, 1903Meshed Wire for Wire-Glass Manufacture
727005aJune 14, 1902May 5, 1903Manufacture of Wire-Glass
727006aJune 14, 1902May 5, 1903Method of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
727007aJune 14, 1902May 5, 1903Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
733286January 13, 1903July 7, 1903Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piles
733287April 23, 1903July 7, 1903Process of Making Concrete Piles
733288January 13, 1903July 7, 1903Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling
733335June 4, 1903July 7, 1903Process of Forming Openings in the Ground
733336April 23, 1903July 7, 1903Process of Forming Concrete Piles
733337April 23, 1903July 7, 1903Process of Forming Concrete Piles
735680April 23, 1903August 4, 1903Process of Making Concrete Piles
739268June 8, 1903September 15, 1903Process of Making Concrete Piles
752003April 23, 1903February 9, 1904Process of Forming Concrete Piles
756805January 13, 1903April 5, 1904Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling
763212February 5, 1904June 21, 1904Preparatory Pile for Use in Forming Concrete Piles
763213February 25, 1904June 21, 1904Method of Forming Concrete Piles
786058April 7, 1904March 28, 1905Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
792172aMarch 20, 1905June 13, 1905Process of Making Wire-Glass
805936January 9, 1905November 28, 1905Concrete Piling and Method for Making the Same
806755April 21, 1904December 5, 1905Pile for Piers or Pier Casings
806587April 21, 1904December 5, 1905Pier and Pier Casing
817595April 21, 1904September 18, 1906Setting Concrete Piles
831481July 26, 1905April 10, 1906Constructing Piles
875857June 14, 1902January 7, 1908Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass
876307June 14, 1902January 7, 1908Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass
889341July 20, 1897June 2, 1908Roll and Process for Making Same
898517May 31, 1906September 15, 1908Concrete Pile and the Process of Constructing the Same
899339bDecember 22, 1905September 22, 1908Extracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool
899440bDecember 29, 1905September 22, 1908Apparatus for Extracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool
905469aMarch 20, 1905December 1, 1908Wire-Glass Structure
957477March 20, 1905May 10, 1910Method of and Means of Annealing Glass
979579March 18, 1907December 27, 1910Utilizing Waste Heat of Compressors
992814May 1, 1907May 23, 1911Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation
1002768July 20, 1907September 5, 1911Utilizing Heat for the Development of Power
1014418December 13, 1907January 9, 1912Process for Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation
1156186March 7, 1906October 12, 1915Method of Making Composite Piles
1167944July 20, 1909January 11, 1916Method of and Means for Melting Metals
1200893January 9, 1914October 10, 1916Steam-Engine
1218219March 9, 1910March 6, 1917Steam-Engine
1240890cSeptember 30, 1912September 25, 1917Sun-Boiler
1258482October 2, 1915March 5, 1918Pile Form and Method of Driving the Same
1281860October 2, 1915October 15, 1918Apparatus for Forming Piles
1310253February 25, 1916July 15, 1919Submarine and Method of Operating the Same
1420345March 23, 1916June 20, 1922Danger Signal
a with Arno Shuman
b with Constantine Shuman
c with Charles Vernon Boys

Source:[8]

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. ↑ Patent number: 483021
  2. ↑ "From troughs to triumph: SEGS and gas". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
  3. ↑ Patent number: 1420345
  4. ↑ Patent number: 1310253
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ 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
  7. ↑ Tomczuk, Jack (2019-10-30). "Tacony pioneer's house, lab gets historic protection". Northeast Times. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  8. ↑ "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.
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