Abstract:
Ludwig Wittgenstein, destined to be one of the western world,s most influential philosophers, 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 realisation of this device Wittgenstein constructed a variable volume combustion chamber, but departing for Cambridge 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.