Internal Combustion EngineIn 1860, the Società Anonima del nuova motore Barsante e Matteucci (Anonymous Society of the New Barsanti and Matteucci Engine) was formed in Florence, Italy, to manufacture internal combustion engines. On 5 Jun 1853, Father Eugenio Barsante and engineer Felice Matteucci were the first to record having designed a three-stroke gas engine that was to be commercially developed. They deposited a sealed envelope at the secretariat of the Georgofili Academy of Florence outlining their work to that date. They also held British patents. The first engine in actual operation was installed in 1856 at the Maria Antonia Railway Station in Florence. A piston was moved by atmospheric pressure after a vacuum was produced by the explosion of flammable gas inside it using an electric spark from a Rumkoff coil.« |
