Frank Shuman
Frank Shuman ( born January 23, 1862 in Brooklyn, New York, † April 28, 1918 in Tacony in Philadelphia ) was an American inventor.
Life and work
His grandparents were German immigrants from Thuringia or Saxony. His father was a brother of Francis Schumann (1844-1911), President of the Tacony Iron & Metal Company.
In 1891 he came to Tacony to support his uncle Francis at the iron statue of William Penn on the tower of the Philadelphia City Hall.
In 1892 he developed a viable method for the production of wire glass and founded the American Wire Glass Manufacturing Company in Tacony.
On August 20, 1897 or 1907, he demonstrated his first practical solar engine, one powered with solar heated ether toy steam engine. In 1908 he founded the Sun Power Company to build larger facilities. He developed a low-pressure steam turbine. 1912 to July 1913 he built in Maadi in Egypt, about 25 km south of Cairo, the first parabolic trough power plant. Charles Boys, who had criticized his design, he engaged as a consultant. The machine had a power of about 60 hp and pumped water from the Nile in the cotton fields.
Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War put Shuman his project the German Reichstag before. Subsequently, 200,000 marks were put to him in view to build a solar plant in German East Africa. However, the outbreak of war thwarted the plan.
He died of a heart attack at home.
Appreciation
This 11th International Cairo Biennale 2008 /09 of Contemporary Art Shuman's solar project by the Swiss artist Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller was rediscovered. Your Swiss contribution to the Biennale was entitled No1 Sun Engine. It consisted of two parts: Firstly, for the issue of two segments of the solar power plant have been reconstructed. On the other was located at the former location in Maadi, an information kiosk. On the wall behind the village following quote was painted in Arabic and English:
" [ ... ] One thing I feel sure of, and did the human race did is must finally utilize direct sun power or revert to barbarism. "