A picture a day... Porsche
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I was minding my own business looking at some old church in San Gimignano, Tuscany, when suddenly a convoy of half a dozen classic cars rolled onto the piazza, among them this one (unknown tourist included for scale purposes):
The plaque on the hood said something something Toscane, presumably a club or a rally of some kind.
This Maserati 3500 GT was part of the posse, and I will say it stole the show. The engine resounded across the square like a 21st-century Ferrari, and the red leather cabin was spectacular.
The plaque on the hood said something something Toscane, presumably a club or a rally of some kind.
This Maserati 3500 GT was part of the posse, and I will say it stole the show. The engine resounded across the square like a 21st-century Ferrari, and the red leather cabin was spectacular.
A few Porsches I have shot over the past few years (one or two of these may be pea-roasts, if so then apologies)...
DSC_0396-Pano by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DSC_6018 by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DSC_5804 by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DSC_2531 by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DSC_7879-Edit by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DJI_0058 by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DSC_0759-HDR-Edit-2 by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
DSC_0396-Pano by Niall Porter Photography, on FlickrDSC_6018 by Niall Porter Photography, on FlickrDSC_5804 by Niall Porter Photography, on FlickrDSC_2531 by Niall Porter Photography, on FlickrDSC_7879-Edit by Niall Porter Photography, on FlickrDJI_0058 by Niall Porter Photography, on FlickrDSC_0759-HDR-Edit-2 by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr
julian987R said:
I am curious to know the answer.
The contraption is a primitive version of a Volta Gun aka Volta Pistol, named after its inventor Alessandro Volta (as in Volt, as in batteries). It was made by Eugenio Barsanti, a young priest who was a maths and physics teacher, who took the idea and ran with it in quite a different direction.Italian Website said:
It was the spring of 1843 when the “little schoolmaster”(as his pupils called him due to his young age and thin stature) entered the classroom holding a container with a long neck, an instrument he had built himself for the experiment he was about to do.
That instrument reproduced Volta’s pistol. The teacher explained to the students what he intended to do, filled the container with hydrogen and air, hermetically sealed the neck with a cork, then, at the ends of the insulated brass bar ending in two small balls, he set off an electric spark: immediately one thunderous explosion threw the cork against the ceiling and thundered the classroom. To the frightened pupils he explained what had happened: the electric spark had ignited the gas mixture, which, increasing in volume, had produced the explosion by throwing the cap into the air. The instrument made by Barsanti is still preserved in Volterra.
This experiment gave Barsanti an idea: to use the explosion of a gaseous mixture to generate a force that could be used in a continuos motion engine that would be more efficient than a steam engine.
In a document kept at the Ximenian archive one can find the following script:
“Father Eugengio Barsanti had repeatedly noticed that the instrument would heat up at the moment of the explosion and this heat was directly proportional to how much the cork was pressed down and that the heat would reach its maximum when the cork was pressed down so much that the explosion of the mixture could not expel it. From this observation he deduced that the explosive force of the mixture of hydrogen and air was not as violent as the noise it produced would make it seem, and that the dynamic effects could be regulated compelling them to be transformed, partially or totally into heat.”
The concept of equivalence between thermal and mechanic energy is evident, as it was in Barsanti’s clear and working mind. It is said that his experiments at the College in Volterra continued while he remained, and that the explosions were so frequent, especially at night, that it was believed that secret arms were being created at the college. In September 1845,
Long story short, the Volta Gun gave Barsanti ideas that would lead him and the engineer Matteucci to invent one of many early versions of the ICE (see photo for image of reconstruction model on the wall panel).That instrument reproduced Volta’s pistol. The teacher explained to the students what he intended to do, filled the container with hydrogen and air, hermetically sealed the neck with a cork, then, at the ends of the insulated brass bar ending in two small balls, he set off an electric spark: immediately one thunderous explosion threw the cork against the ceiling and thundered the classroom. To the frightened pupils he explained what had happened: the electric spark had ignited the gas mixture, which, increasing in volume, had produced the explosion by throwing the cap into the air. The instrument made by Barsanti is still preserved in Volterra.
This experiment gave Barsanti an idea: to use the explosion of a gaseous mixture to generate a force that could be used in a continuos motion engine that would be more efficient than a steam engine.
In a document kept at the Ximenian archive one can find the following script:
“Father Eugengio Barsanti had repeatedly noticed that the instrument would heat up at the moment of the explosion and this heat was directly proportional to how much the cork was pressed down and that the heat would reach its maximum when the cork was pressed down so much that the explosion of the mixture could not expel it. From this observation he deduced that the explosive force of the mixture of hydrogen and air was not as violent as the noise it produced would make it seem, and that the dynamic effects could be regulated compelling them to be transformed, partially or totally into heat.”
The concept of equivalence between thermal and mechanic energy is evident, as it was in Barsanti’s clear and working mind. It is said that his experiments at the College in Volterra continued while he remained, and that the explosions were so frequent, especially at night, that it was believed that secret arms were being created at the college. In September 1845,
https://www.barsantiematteucci.it/en/biographies/
https://www.barsantiematteucci.it/en/history-of-th...
Fink-Nottle said:
Long story short, the Volta Gun gave Barsanti ideas that would lead him and the engineer Matteucci to invent one of many early versions of the ICE (see photo for image of reconstruction model on the wall panel).
https://www.barsantiematteucci.it/en/biographies/
https://www.barsantiematteucci.it/en/history-of-th...
thank you for that. That is fascinating and a great read, very much appreciated. https://www.barsantiematteucci.it/en/biographies/
https://www.barsantiematteucci.it/en/history-of-th...
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