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Aurel Boleslav Stodola (11 May 1859 – 25 December 1942) was a Slovaks engineer, physicist, and inventor. He was a pioneer in the area of technical thermodynamics and its applications and published his book Die Dampfturbine (the steam turbine) in 1903. In addition to the thermodynamic issues involved in turbine design the book discussed aspects of fluid flow, vibration, stress analysis of plates, shells and rotating discs and stress concentrations at holes and fillets. Stodola was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Swiss Polytechnical Institute (now ETH) in Zurich. He maintained friendly contact with Albert Einstein. In 1892, Stodola founded the Laboratory for Energy Conversion.
In 1876, he moved to Budapest, where he studied two semesters at the Royal Jeseph University in Budapest. He was acknowledged as gifted student and he received a grant. In 1876, he transferred to the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (Federal Polytechnic School), known today as the ETH Zurich. In 1881, he completed his degree in mechanical engineering. After graduation, he went to work in a factory in Budapest for seven months. In 1882/1883, he attended the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin).
After this, he volunteered in a technical studio in Paris. He wanted to improve his skills and French, as well. It was important for his future career in Switzerland. After this trip, he began to work in Prague as engineer. He improved his practical engineering and soon became a main engineer.
He was awarded Swiss citizenship in 1905.
In 1924 he endowed a foundation with the stated aim "to promote the development of mechanical and electro-technical science in the ETH". This foundation still exists today.
He maintained friendly contact with academics in Switzerland and abroad, including Albert Einstein. Einstein wrote him an impressive letter for his anniversary. Einstein was not his student, as some sources say, because he studied physics and mathematics. Another prominent friend was theologian, organist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician Albert Schweizer. Stodola encouraged Swiss businessmen to support Schweitzer's hospital in Africa.
Stodola retired at the age of 70. Then, he did not teach, but he carried on as expert and advisor. He was also interested in theoretical physics and philosophy. In 1931, he published his book on the philosophy of technology Gedanken zu einer Weltanschauung vom Standpunkte des Ingenieurs (Thoughts of a worldview from the standpoint of the engineer). The title of the fourth and fifth edition was Die geheimnisvolle Naturweltanschauliche Betrachtung. It was his contribution to social, political and technological issues of his time. This book was reprinted several times and made a significant contribution to the technical philosophy in Europe.
Stodola's farewell lecture is also included in this publication. In 1939, he led a team at Brown Boveri in the first test worldwide using a gas turbine to generate electricity. This machine is still exhibited today at the Alstom works in Birr and due to its importance is considered to be an ‘historical milestone in mechanical engineering’.
He died on 25 December 1942 in Zurich. His remains were moved to his birthplace in 1989 because the ETH declined to pay upkeep for the grave.
The Law of the Ellipse, or Stodola's cone law, provides a method for calculating the highly nonlinear dependence of extraction with a flow for multistage turbine with high backpressure, when the turbine are not choked flow. It is important in turbine off-design calculations.
Stodola's book Steam and Gas Turbines)
was cited by Soviet rocket scientist Fridrikh Tsander in the 1920s. Published in English in 1927 and reprinted many times up to 1945, it was a basic reference for engineers working on the first generation of Jet engine in the United States.Virginia Parker Dawson (1991). 9780160307423, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. . ISBN 9780160307423 Stodola worked closely with industries on the development of the first practical , in particular Brown, Boveri & Cie, who built the first gas turbine-powered electric generator in 1939. Early Gas Turbine History at web.mit.edu
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