Brief history of thermal system design

Early developments

Thermal processes have been in existence since the earliest phases of the formation of the earth. However, as humans gained more insights into the elusive concept of heat, and its connection to the ability to do work, the idea of making use of a thermal system was born. No precise definition of this term exists, but it generally is taken to be the linking of heat and work processes to produce desired results.

Although some thermal system concepts have been in use since the earliest of recorded history – Hero's engine is one such example – little orderly development was evident in these early days. Knowledge of the applications of gunpowder in China was brought to the western world in the 1300s and enabled development of a number of thermal systems.

Among people who wished to exploit the technology, work was a better understood concept. By about the 1400s, several water-driven machines were in use for applications such as ventilating mines and irrigation. Pumps were a fairly well-developed technology by the 1600s. Vacuum pumps were also being developed in this period.

Some of the first formal studies of heat involved attempts to measure temperature. Galilei's work in the late 1500s is attributed to be among the earliest, leading to the development of the mercury-in-glass thermometer by Fahrenheit in the early 1700s. This development then led to calorimetry efforts, which became well understood in the 1800s.