Name: Prime movers of globalization
ISBN: 9780262014434

Prime movers of globalization

""In Prime Movers, Smil's passion for the Cinderellas of civilization focuses on the diesel engines and gas turbines that power ocean vessels and wide-body jets. These engines have made ocean shipping and intercontinental air travel so cheap that they have changed the face of our planet. Marshall McLuhan's dreams of a Global Village have become true in unimagined ways. Being an engineer myself, I admire the way Smil portrays the human Cinderellas of the industrial world: the unsung engineers who made momentous advances in the reliability and efficiency of their machines. Smil's book makes me proud of my profession."---Henk Tennekes, author of The Simple Science of Flight" ""A stimulating book that connects the past with the future, from an outstanding writer who knows all about sustainability and the issues that make it such a challenge for us."---John B. Heywood, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Sun Jae Professor, Emeritus, MIT" ""Smil masterfully traces the technological evolution and impact of diesel engines and gas turbines, and makes a convincing case for their role as prime movers of globalization---even though these technologies escape public notice, buried in the bowels of ships, trucks, and power plants, and humming reliably under the wings of planes."---Rajan Gupta, Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory".

What Hacker News says

lancewiggsFeb 2014

One of Bill Gates' recommended books (1) was a great read:

"Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines" (2)

The very large and very slow rotating diesel engines used to power ships are incredibly efficient. Oil tankers run very slowly, gas a little faster, then bulk carriers, container ships (time value of those containers is higher than commodity oil and bulk, so they move) and fastest and least efficient of all are cruise ships. The size of some of those engines is fantastic.

It's really nerdy and awesome.

(1) http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Books/Personal/Prime-Movers-of-... (2) http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Movers-Globalization-History-Tur...

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hgaSep 2011

Here's two good relevant books:

The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691136408/

A general history, and you'll find the section on coupling standardization all too familiar. Although the text leaves out one critical detail:

Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262014432/

(There's but one picture of one of the huge diesel engines that power pretty much all large cargo ships.)

These "prime movers", along with the steam turbine, which produces most of the world's electricity, are all examples of rational or scientific design (compare to the cut and try history of the steam engine). The impulse to develop his engine came to Mr. Diesel during a thermodynamics lecture.

ADDED: And even more relevant to HN, the diesel engine did a pivot when it's intended (by Diesel, at least) primary use was supplanted by the AC electric motor.

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