InventorsProny
Brake
The
Prony brake (dynamometer)
is named after the inventor Gaspard de Prony. Prony invented ithe Pony
brake in Paris in 1821to measure the power of engines.
According to the 1911 version of
Encyclopedia Britannica:
PRONY, GASPARD CLAIR FRANCOIS
MARIE RICHE DE (1755—1839), French engineer, was born at Chamelet, in the
department of the Rhone, on the 22nd of July 1755, and was educated at
the École des Ponts et Chaussées. His Mémoire sur
la poussée des vofites published in 1783, in defence of the principles
of bridge construction introduced by his master J. R. Perronnet, attracted
special attention. The laborious enterprise of drawing up the famous Tables
du Cadastre was entrusted to his direction in 1792, and in 1794 he was
appointed professor of the mathematical sciences at the École Polytechnique,
becoming director at the École des Ponts et Chaussées four
years later. He was employed by Napoleon to superintend the engineering
operations for protecting the province of Ferrara against the inundations
of the P0 and for draining and improving the Pontine Marshes. After the
Restoration he was likewise engaged in regulating the course of the Rhone,
and in several other important works. He was made a baron in 1828, and
a peer in 1835. He died at Asnières (Seine) on the 29th of July
1839.
Gaspard
Clair François Marie Riche de Prony One of de Prony's most important
scientific inventions was the 'de Prony brake' which he invented in 1821
to measure the performance of machines and engines.
Prony
Brake The Prony Brake is designed to measure
the brake horsepower of a motor.
