REICHENBACH

GERMANY (see also List of Individuals)

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24.8.1771 Durlach/D - 21.5.1826 Augsburg/D

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Georg Friedrich von Reichenbach had the chance to visit England at age 20. When returning to Germany he had seen the steam machines of Watt and precise instrumentation for optical purposes. In 1800, von Reichenbach founded a workshop for precision instruments becaming famous within a short time. In 1807, he was asked by the Bavarian king to develop a pump for lifting saline waters close to Berchtesgaden. Instead of developing a standard water wheel, von Reichenbach invented the Wasser-Säulenmaschine, a pump driven by steam. The most difficult detail was the machine steering involving various cylinders. von Reichenbach pumped water between Reichenhall and Rosenheim with a hydraulic head of 1,000 m. Instead of subdividing an elevation difference of 350 m, he used a single pump, and succeeded.

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von Reichenbach's design may be considered a predecessor of turbines, as developed in 1827 by Benoît Fourneyron (1802-1867). The design previously mentioned worked continuously from 1817 to 1927 with the pump actually exhibited in the saline museum of the city of Berchtesgaden. It was determined that their hydraulic efficiency was almost 70%. As a side product, von Reichenbach also improved methods for the production of suitable cast-iron pipe that resisted the immense pressures applied in his schemes of almost 30 km length. He was presented a large amount of money for his design by the king, who profited largely from the salt. From 1819, von Reichenbach was involved in the water supply project of Augsburg, with a total discharge of nearly 5 m3 per minute. Finally, he was interested in the execution of the Rhein-Main-Donau-Kanal, a canal connecting the Rhine and Danube Rivers that was originally planned by Charlemagne. This was not further considered, however. With numerous honors, von Reichenbach died from a stroke of apoplexy during a visit of the Augsburg water works. The inscription on his tomb is: "Enough is his name, his works are the memorial".

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_{Dyck, W. (1912). Georg von Reichenbach. Deutsches Museum: München. P}

_{Gockel, B. (1967). Georg F. von Reichenbach. gwf/Gasund Wasserfach 108(8): 157-185. P}

_{Karmarsch, K. (1872). Geschichte der Technologie. Oldenbourg: München.}

_{Kleinschroth, A. (1983). Entwicklung der Solehebung und Solefernleitung in Bayern. Geschichtliche Entwicklung der Wasserwirtschaft und des Wasserbaus in Bayern 1: 81-116. P}

_{Ruckdeschel, W. (1980). Das Untere Brunnenwerk zu Augsburg durch die vier Jahrhunderte: Von der Archimedischen Schraube zur Jonval-Turbine. Technikgeschichte 47: 345-364. http://www.musoptin.com/fraunhofercv.html P}