User:Njg9r6/sandbox

Background and Christian ministry (Original Section From Article)
Stirling was born at Cloag Farm near Methven, Perthshire, the third of eight children of Patrick and Agnes Stirling and a grandson of Michael Stirling, inventor of a threshing machine. He inherited his father's interest in engineering, but studied divinity at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. and was licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland in 1816 by the Presbytery of Dumbarton. Later that year he became a minister on appointment as second charge of the Laigh Kirk of Kilmarnock. On 12 February 1824 Stirling was appointed as the minister of nearby Galston Parish Church from 1824, where he continued his ministry until 1878. In 1840 he was awarded an honorary of Divinity by University of St Andrews.

Background and Christian ministry(Edited Section from Article)
Robert Stirling was born at Cloag Farm, a location in Scotland near the village of Methven, Perthshire.[12] A member of the Dublane side of the Stirling family, Robert was born to Patrick and Agnes Stirling.[Rev Robert pg.2] He was one of eight children that Patrick and Agnes shared.[Rev Robert pg.2] His grandfather was Michael Stirling, most famously known for his invention of the threshing machine.[12] Robert's father Patrick also spent time experimenting and innovating with industrial agricultural equipment.[12]

Though Robert, like his father and grandfather, had a natural inclination for engineering, he began attending Edinburgh University in 1805 at the age of fifteen to study divinity in hopes of becoming a minister.[12][Rev Robert pg.8] His brother James, who would play a major role in Stirling's future engineering endeavours, also attended Edinburgh at the age of 14.[Rev Robert pg.8] Robert concluded his studies at Edinburgh and continued to study at Glasgow University in November of 1809.[12][Rev Robert pg.8] In 1814, he returned to Edinburgh University studying divinity for a final time.[Rev Robert pg.8]

Robert was licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland in 1816 by the Presbytery of Dumbarton. In September of 1816, the commissioner of the Duke of Portland granted Stirling the title of Minister as the second charge for the Laigh Kirk parish in Kilmarnock.[12][Rev Robert pg.10]. Finally, in February of 1824, Stirling was appointed as the minister of nearby Galston Parish Church where he continued his ministry until 1878.[Rev Robert pg.20]

In July of 1819, Robert Stirling married Jane Rankine.[Rev Robert pg.2] Together, they had seven children, five sons and two daughters.[12]

Honours (Original Section From Article)
On 3 October 2014 Stirling was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

Honours(Edited Section from Article)
On 3 October 2014 Stirling was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

On 11 January 1840, Stirling was awarded the title Doctor of Divinity by the University of St. Andrews for his excellence in ministry.[Rev Robert pg.24][2][3]

Hot air engine (Original Section from Article)
He invented what he called the Heat Economiser (now generally known as the regenerator), a device for improving the thermal/fuel efficiency of a variety of industrial processes, obtaining a patent for the economiser and an engine incorporating it in 1816. In 1818 he built the first practical version of his engine, used to pump water from a quarry.

The theoretical basis of Stirling's engine, the Stirling cycle, would not be fully understood until the work of Sadi Carnot (1796–1832).

Robert Stirling's development of the hot air engine was in part motivated by safety. His engine was designed to fail far less catastrophically than the steam engines of the time while obtaining greater efficiency. Though the Stirling engine is rarely used today, it's seemingly perpetual motion capability continues to draw the interest of research institutions like Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA.

Hot air engine (Edited Section from Article)
Robert Stirling’s best known invention is the heat engine now referred to as the Stirling Engine. In 1816 Robert Stirling and his younger brother, James Stirling, applied for a patent in both Scotland and England for a device they invented, a Heat Economiser. The function of this invention was to store and release heat as air circulated through its mechanisms. This differed from most heat engines which used steam as their method of storing and releasing energy (p. 58).

While in Kilmarnock, he collaborated with another inventor, Thomas Morton, who provided workshop facilities for Stirling’s research (p. 16). By 1818 Stirling had incorporated this Heat Economiser into a piston engine that created a closed cycle heat engine, which was powered by air, a contrast to the steam engines that were predominant at the time. This updated version of the heat engine was used to pump water from a quarry (p. 73). Stirling’s heat engine was able to run well but was limited by the weaker metals available at the time. Due to the flimsiness of the materials used, the air vessels were eventually crushed by the high pressure of the heated air (2).

In 1824 Stirling sought to improve the efficiency of the heat engine by attempting to separate the air present in the economizer. This was done by making the plungers in the air engine from thin plates of metal. This was to improve airflow and offer better heating and cooling of the engine (p. 79). Although this idea received a patent, it was ultimately unsuccessful in improving the heat engine’s overall efficiency (3).

In 1840 Stirling received another patent for the heat engine after altering the design in a new attempt to increase durability. The improvements added by Stirling included the addition of rods or plates in the passage through which hot air travelled to the cold section of the engine. By having these surfaces, the air was able to be cooled to a lower temperature when travelling from the hot section of the engine to the cold section of the engine. Additionally, Stirling added cupped leather collars around the piston rods to seal gaps and minimize the leakage of air from the engine (p. 83). After developing these improvements, Stirling built two of these heat engines to use at an iron foundry he managed in Dundee (3). One of these air engines was started in March of 1843 where it ran until December of 1845 when an air vessel failed. The air vessel failure could be attributed to the metals being unable to withstand the high temperatures at which the engine was running. After replacing the air vessel a couple times, the air engine was dismantled in 1847 after Stirling left the Dundee iron foundry (p. 93).

In 1876 Robert Stirling wrote a letter acknowledging the importance of Henry Bessemer’s new invention, the Bessemer process for the manufacture of steel. Sterling was optimistic that the new steel would improve the performance of the air engines (7).

Robert Stirling's development of the hot air engine was in part motivated by safety. His engine was designed to fail far less catastrophically than the steam engines of the time while obtaining greater efficiency.[6] Though the Stirling engine is rarely used today, its seemingly perpetual motion capability continues to draw the interest of research institutions like Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA.[6]

Added all the new additions. Still to do:

Add info on personal life

Clarify citation number (7)

Sources for Use:
(1) Great lives from History Inventors and Inventions ISBN 1-58765-522-5

(2) Encyclopedia of Energy ISBN 1-58765-854-2

(3) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography https://doi-org.libproxy.mst.edu/10.1093/ref:odnb/26534

(4) Rev Robert Stirling D.D. : A biography of the inventor of the heat economiser & Stirling Cycle Engine. ISBN 9780952641704

(5) http://www.engineeringhalloffame.org/profile-stirling.html

(6) Rev Robert Stirling D.D. : A biography of the inventor of the heat economiser & Stirling Cycle Engine. Chapter 5 ISBN 9780952641704

(7) Rev Robert Stirling D.D. : A biography of the inventor of the heat economiser & Stirling Cycle Engine. Chapter 7 ISBN 9780952641704

(8) Rev Robert Stirling D.D. : A biography of the inventor of the heat economiser & Stirling Cycle Engine. Chapter 8 ISBN 9780952641704

(9) Rev Robert Stirling D.D. : A biography of the inventor of the heat economiser & Stirling Cycle Engine. Chapter 9 ISBN 9780952641704

Notes and Group Info
Special:PrefixIndex/User:Mwa459

Project: Robert Stirling

Great Lives from History: Inventors and Inventions, 2010

Encyclopedia of Energy, 2013

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Definitely want to add content about the Stirling engine and in depth info on his studies in thermodynamics.

Peer Review by Brodyriemann
Brodyriemann (talk) 18:00, 18 March 2018 (UTC)
 * The proposed edits in the Hot Air Engine section do a great job of expanding on the history behind the Stirling Engine, which is undoubtedly Stirling's most widely known achievement, and should be one of the longer sections in the Wikipedia article.
 * The new content on the Hot Air Engine seems to be all from one source, I would suggest looking for more sources on this topic to build the depth of the contribution here since this invention is so important for this article.
 * If there isn't any more information you can find relating to the Bessemer Process, maybe remove this section and add that content to the Hot Air Engine section. For example, you mention how the reliability of the Stirling Engine was limited by the strength of the metal used for its construction. You could follow that by saying that Stirling was optimistic about the Bessemer Process leading to stronger steels, instead of talking about the Bessemer Process in its own unique section.
 * Honestly, I would suggest deleting the Optical Instruments section. You mentioned that you were having trouble finding sources on this topic. The article only includes two sentences in this section, and the information is not cited. Stirling is a big name in thermodynamics, but if the information is not available for his work in optics, then maybe there shouldn't be an Optical Instruments section.
 * May want to briefly mention advantages and disadvantages of the Stirling Engine compared to engines based on other cycles (otto, diesel, etc.)
 * For example, Stirling Engine is able to take some of the rejected heat and use it for the heat addition step, which increases the thermal efficiency. In contrast, the Stirling Engine cannot deliver as much power as other types of engines.

Response to Peer Review

 * Thank you for the support
 * We agree. This section of edits was obtained basically from one source which we know Wikipedia frowns upon. We just received a physical text source (Rev Robert Stirling D.D) that we plan on using to supplement the source currently being used.
 * We agree that it is odd that the Bessemer Process receives its own section since Robert Stirling was not directly involved in the development of this process, and from a timeline perspective seems out of place. We plan to get rid of this specific section and perhaps add a brief sentence or two acknowledging the Bessemer Process in the section we have edited as you suggest.
 * We agree with this as well. Even in the newest biographical source we have received, there is no notable mention of Robert Stirling's study in optical instruments. For this reason we also feel this section can be removed.
 * This is a good thought, but since our article really focuses on Robert Stirling himself, we feel that our focus should remain on his development of the engine rather than extensive detail on the engine itself. Additionally, there is a separate article that touches on the Stirling Engine itself.