Frank Shuman (; January 23, 1862 – April 28, 1918) was an American inventor, engineer and solar energy pioneer known for his work on solar engines, especially those that used solar energy to heat water that would produce steam.
Early life Shuman was born in 1862 in Brooklyn, New York. At 18, he forwent college to work as a chemist at an aniline dye company in West Virginia. In 1891 he moved to Philadelphia to work with his uncle, Frank Schumann, who had kept the original German spelling of the family name. Schumann was president of Tacony Iron & Metal Works, the company contracted to cast the statue of William Penn for the Philadelphia City Hall, and Shuman was assigned with devising a method of electroplating the statue with layers of protective aluminium.
Career In 1892, Frank Shuman was granted a patent for his invention of wired safety glass.Patent number: 483021 Additional patents were issued relating to the process of making wire glass and machines for making wire glass. In 1914 Shuman invented a process for making laminated safety glass, called safety glass, and manufactured by the Safety Glass Company. In 1916 he patented a "Danger Signal" for railroad crossings,Patent number: 1420345 as well as the use of liquid oxygen or liquid air to propel a submarine.Patent number: 1310253
On August 20, 1897, Shuman invented a solar engine that worked by reflecting solar energy onto one-foot square boxes filled with ether, which has a lower boiling point than water, and containing black pipes on the inside, which in turn powered a toy steam engine. The tiny steam engine operated continuously for over two years on sunny days next to a pond at the Shuman house.
In 1908 Shuman formed the Sun Shine Power Company with the intent to build larger power plants. He, along with his technical advisor A.S.E. Ackermann and British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys, developed an improved system using mirrors to reflect solar energy upon collector boxes, increasing heating capacity so much that water could now be used instead of ether. He also developed a low-pressure steam turbine, since most 1910 vintage steam engines were built for steam and not sun-heated water. Shuman's turbine processed energy four times faster than any engine of his day. Shuman then constructed a full-scale steam engine that was powered by low-pressure steam, enabling him to patent the entire solar engine system by 1912. Scientific American again featured Shuman in its issues of February 4, 1911, and September 30, 1911.
Shuman built the world’s first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt (1912-1913). Shuman’s plant used semi circle shaped troughs to power a 60-70 horsepower engine that pumped 6,000 gallons of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields. His system included a number of technological improvements, including absorption plates with dual panes separated by a one-inch air space. Although the outbreak of World War I and the discovery of cheap oil in the 1930s discouraged the advancement of solar energy, Shuman’s vision and basic design were resurrected in the 1970s with a new wave of interest in solar thermal energy.
Shuman died in his home on Disston Street in Tacony in 1918. His large home and laboratories still stand in the Tacony section of Philadelphia, as an apartment house and garages. They were added to the historic register in October 2019, meaning they cannot be demolished or significantly altered without the Historical Commission's permission.
Patents
NumberDate filedIssue dateDescriptionD37803Design for Sheet-GlassD43349Design for Sheet-Glass483020Process of Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass 483021Machine for Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass510716Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass510822Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass510823Machine for Manufacturing Wire-Glass531874Process of Cutting Wire-Embedded Glass542539Apparatus for Removing Obstructions from Car-Tracks545826Ladle for Dipping Glass546196Apparatus for Embedding Wire in Glass561920Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass574458Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass593440Process of Treating Metal Structures605754Process of and Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass647334Process of Making Rolls661649bMercerizing-Machine670438aMachine for Molding Glass671240Process of Extinguishing Fires673067Mercerizing-Machine727004aMeshed Wire for Wire-Glass Manufacture727005aManufacture of Wire-Glass727006aMethod of Manufacturing Wire-Glass727007aProcess of Manufacturing Wire-Glass733286Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piles733287Process of Making Concrete Piles733288Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling733335Process of Forming Openings in the Ground733336Process of Forming Concrete Piles733337Process of Forming Concrete Piles735680Process of Making Concrete Piles739268Process of Making Concrete Piles752003Process of Forming Concrete Piles756805Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling763212Preparatory Pile for Use in Forming Concrete Piles763213Method of Forming Concrete Piles786058Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass792172aProcess of Making Wire-Glass805936Concrete Piling and Method for Making the Same806755Pile for Piers or Pier Casings806587Pier and Pier Casing817595Setting Concrete Piles831481Constructing Piles875857Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass876307Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass889341Roll and Process for Making Same898517Concrete Pile and the Process of Constructing the Same899339bExtracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool899440bApparatus for Extracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool905469aWire-Glass Structure957477Method of and Means of Annealing Glass979579Utilizing Waste Heat of Compressors992814Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation1002768Utilizing Heat for the Development of Power1014418Process for Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation1156186Method of Making Composite Piles1167944Method of and Means for Melting Metals1200893Steam-Engine1218219Steam-Engine1240890cSun-Boiler1258482Pile Form and Method of Driving the Same1281860Apparatus for Forming Piles1310253Submarine and Method of Operating the Same1420345Danger Signal a with Arno Shuman b with Constantine Shuman c with Charles Vernon Boys Source:
Shuman Rediscovered: Hemauer and Keller At the 11th International Cairo Biennial of Contemporary Art in 2008-09, the Swiss artists couple Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller drew attention to Shuman's Sun Project. Their contribution entitled "No1 Sun Engine" consisted of two parts: apart from a reconstruction of two segments of the solar engines, they built a stand providing information on Shuman's project and on solar energy in general. On the wall behind the information stand, there was a quote (in both English and Arabic) by Shuman: “One thing I feel sure of, and that is that the human race must finally utilize direct sun power or revert to barbarism.” Frank Shuman, 1914
References
Further reading This book describes Shuman's solar project in Egypt. This book describes Shuman's work in solar power in both the US and Egypt. Includes photos.