Hungarian Heritage Review, 1988 (17. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1988-05-01 / 5. szám

..............................-.................Jjfogctal ffieature-CSf-ffilie-jMmttti = HUNGARIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO WORLD CIVILIZATION — by — DR. FRANCIS S. WAGNER TECHNICAL SCIENCES Up to the second half of the nineteenth century there were only sporadic gains in the history of technical sciences in Hungary. Evidently, the first specialist of great conse­quence was Faustus Verancsics (1551-1617), bishop of Csanad, whose uncle was Antal Verancsics, archbishop of Esztergom. He completed his studies through the aid of his uncle. In 1609 Faustus Verancsics resigned his bishopric to devote his full time to scientific studies. He concentrated primarily on architecture and technology. His famous book entitled Machine Novae Fausti Verantii (Venice, 1616) described contemporary machines including his own il­lustrated invention of the water turbine, parachute and some other technical innovations. Samuel Mikoviny (1700-1750) as the head of the min­ing officer training school at Selmecbánya (now Banska Stiavnica, Czechoslovakia) educated several famous specialists for mining engineering. Mikoviny is considered an early pioneer of mining mechanization for his water management inventions (including his first invention, the changeover paddle wheel). In 1794 during the French Revolution, when the Paris Ecole Polytechnique was established, Fourcroy, in his address to the Convention, was of the opinion that Mikoviny’s methods and the Selmecbánya type of school should be held as a pattern for the newly founded French school. József Karoly Hell (1713-1789) studied under Samuel Mikoviny and invented many useful devices in mining engineering. Hell was the first to construct a compressed air-operated mining machine (machina hydraulica pneumatica, 1753). In 1749 he invented a water column pum­ping machine and in 1756 put into operation a ventilator he designed. All these were of a revolutionary nature at that time in mining machinery. The Hell-invented “water col­umn” machine installed in 1749 was a predecessor of our modern mining machines. Hell’s main work appeared in Vienna in 1711, Berechnung der Luftmaschine. Farkas (Wolfgang) Kempelen (1734, Pozsony — 1804, Vienna) pursued studies mainly in philosophy and jurisprudence in Gyor (Hungary) and Vienna. Under his guidance was constructed the Royal Castle of Buda. From 1786 to 1798 Kempelen worked as a councillor at the Royal Hungarian Chancery. He was multi-faceted genius: he im­proved the steam engine, designed a prototype of the steam turbine, and as early as 1778 invented a talking machine as well as a typewriter for the blind. Kempelen’s most famous invention was the so-called automaton chess player which was described in detail in Leipziger Magazin fur Naturkunde, Mathematik und Oekonomie (1784). Its structure is not com­pletely known because it was rumored that the machine was destroyed in 1854 by a fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Edgar Allan Poe based one of his novels on Kempelen’s in­vention of a chess playing machine. Kempelen also invented the world’s first talking machine which uttered a few sentences in 1790. He is the founder of experimental phonetics and physiological acoustics. In 1791 he publish­ed his main work in Vienna which was recently reprinted under the same title: Mechanismus der menschlichen Sprache nebst Beschreibung einer sprechenden Maschine (Stuttgart- Bad Cannstatt: F. Frommann, 1970. XIV, 456 p., illus.) Antal Pech (1822-1895) was Hungary’s most gifted min­ing engineer in the past century. Pech’s research into crustal movements proved to be of epochal significance. His valuable papers appeared primarily in Bányászati es Kohászati Lapok (Journal of Mining and Metallurgy) which he founded. One of his major publications describes the prin­ciples and practical rules of ore dressing (Az ercek elokeszitesenek elvi es gyakorlati szabályai. Pest, 1869). Metallurgist Antal Kerpely (1837-1907), for many years a professor at Selmecbánya, attained world fame through several patented inventions. As an engineer at the Ruszkabanya Metallurgical Works Kerpely obtained a pa­tent for his novel process to free iron from (sulphur, phosphor and copper) contaminations. In 1884 he obtained a patent for his regenerative puddling furnace. His books and articles were avidly pored over by professionals around the world for its new inventions like the air heater and for designs of his like iron smelting plants. His periodical Berichte über die Fortschritte der Eisenhuttentechnik (Leip­zig, 1866-1896) was unique and well-known by iron metallurgists everywhere as was his handbook on iron metallurgy (A vaskohászat gyakorlati es elmeleti kézikönyvé. 2 vols., Selmecbánya, 1873-1874); Die Anlage und Einrichtung der Eisenhütten (Leipzig, 1873-1884). Janos Zambo (b. 1916) and his study group obtained excellent results in the analytical examination of mining plants, while Gusztáv Tarjan (b. 1907) and his associates made outstanding contributions to the solution of ore dress­ing and enrichment. Sándor Geleji (1898-1967) significantly improved the treatment of malleable metals. László Gillemot (b. 1912) and his co-workers deserve credit for several in­novations and they resolved several problems of welding and reaction kinetics in connection with titanium produc­tion. Much research has been done on the structure and col­loid chemical properties of bentonites. Aladar Buzagh’s research above others raised the value of Hungary’s ben­tonites in the world market which is reflected in the upward spiraling export statistics in the past decades. A systematic study of Hungary’s mining technology is provided by Gusztáv Tarjan’s article on mining, ore and coal prepara­—continued next page MAY 1988 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 19

Next

/
  • Elrendezés
  • Igazítás
  • Forgatás
Oldalképek
Tartalom