Wittgenstein's combustion chamber

Abstract

Ludwig Wittgenstein, destined to be one of the most influential philosophers of the western world, entered Manchester University in 1908 as an aeronautical engineering research student. At Manchester he devised and patented a novel aero-engine that employed propeller-blade tip-jets. As a first practical step to the realization of this device, Wittgenstein constructed a variable-volume combustion chamber, but on departing for Cambridge he abandoned all further work on the project. The plans of this chamber survived and are presented in this paper. This article includes a detailed description of the drawings and an analysis of the probable function of the system.