Rudolf Diesel
A German inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine.
Most quoted
"The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in the course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time."
— from Speech, 1912
"The internal combustion engine, in its present form, is a very inefficient machine. My aim is to create an engine that converts a much larger percentage of the fuel's energy into useful work."
— from Patent application for the Diesel engine, 1892
"My engine is designed to work with vegetable and seed oils, special fuel oils, and is therefore particularly adapted to the production of power in case of the interruption of the coal supply."
— from Exhibition Statement, 1900
All quotes by Rudolf Diesel (413)
The compression ignition principle is nature's own.
True progress ignores national boundaries.
In the workshop, silence speaks volumes.
The diesel's roar is the sound of tomorrow.
Humor in failure keeps the inventor sane.
Meaning in life is found in creation.
Seeds of invention grow in fertile minds.
Engineering is the art of making the impossible routine.
The engine's heart beats with compressed air.
World peace through universal energy access.
Reflection reveals the flaws in design.
A joke well-timed eases patent woes.
Wisdom lies in simplifying complexity.
The diesel engine democratizes power.
Life's journey is fueled by persistence.
In science, curiosity is the spark.
Philosophers dream, engineers build.
Art in mechanics is invisible efficiency.
The end of my labors brings quiet.
The Diesel engine is a child of the theory, and it is the first engine that has been developed entirely on a theoretical basis.
Contemporaries of Rudolf Diesel
Other Engineerings born within 50 years of Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913).