Welcome back, automotive enthusiasts and curious minds!

On the second article of our new series, we bring you Chistiaan Huygens, who is considered by many the grandfather of the automotive engine(above is his actual diagram of the Pneumatic Engine in 1663, ink on paper).

But before we jump in, I just wanted to reiterate to you, why this series :)

I am a big fan of technology and how we as human beings, have always harnessed it to our benefit.

Now, technological advancements usually take years to materialise, often decades and centuries actually.

Yet when we enjoy today's technologies, we rarely think about what they did eons back as they were trying to figure out how to make us the technologies we rely on today.

This series aims to connect us to that past, so we can better understand the present, and prepare for the future (and be part of it!)

So even if you are not an engineer, you stand to benefit from the problem-solving skills you shall learn about in this series, stay close!

Also I am likely to bring these to you more frequently than just weekly, because there's just a lot to share! But if you feel like it's becoming a lot, reply to one of the mails and I shall make a way for you to reduce the cadence(or stop it completely:)).

Now back to gunpowder engines :)

In 1673, a Dutch scientist named Christiaan Huygens had an idea that would change the course of history. He wondered: could the power of gunpowder be harnessed not for destruction, but for useful work?

Huygens' invention - a cylinder and piston powered by small gunpowder explosions - was far from practical. It was dangerous, inefficient, and couldn't power a vehicle. But it proved something revolutionary: controlled explosions could be used to produce mechanical motion.

This simple idea laid the foundation for all internal combustion engines to come. From this explosive beginning, we embarked on a 350-year journey of innovation that led to the efficient, powerful engines in our cars today.

In our latest article, we dive deep into Huygens' groundbreaking work:

 • How did Huygens come up with this explosive idea?

 • How did his engine actually work?

 • What challenges did he face?

 • How did this impractical invention shape the future of transportation?