Venturi
Full Name: Giovanni Battista Venturi
Achievements: The “Venturi effect” in fluid mechanics.
Born: 1746; Reggio, Italy
Died: 1822; Reggio, Italy (Aged 76)
Field & Discipline: Science; Physics
Language: Italian
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: None
Children: None
Education: Local schools and Reggio seminary
Major Work:
“Experimental Researches on the Principle of the Lateral
Communication of Movement in Fluids Applied to the Explanation of Different
Hydraulic Phenomena” (1797)
Life & Times:
During the 1770s,Venturi became known as a brilliant lecturer and began corresponding with the Swiss mathematicians [corresponded with] Daniel Bernoulli* and [corresponded with] Euler*.
His great success as a teacher and fame as a scholar brought him, the posts of ducal mathematician, state engineer, and state auditor. As state engineer, Venturi designed and oversaw many projects, which included the building of bridges, the rectification of water courses, the draining of marsh land, and the establishment of state regulations for the construction of river dams. These projects proved so successful, that Venturi became an authority on questions of hydraulics and the flow of fluids.
In 1786 he was appointed professor of experimental physics at the University of Modena, a position that gave him his first opportunity to establish an experimental laboratory, which he filled with the most modern apparatus. He also continued what was a lifelong interest in literature and poetry.
Over time he became acquainted with the most famous scientists of the day, including the zoologist [knew] Cuvier*, the mineralogist [knew] RJ Hauy*, the physicist [knew] Biot*, the mathematician [knew] Monge*, and the great mathematician and physicist [knew] Laplace*.
He also published a series of his own scientific papers: on the researches of [wrote on] da Vinci* and [wrote on] Galileo*, on the movement of camphor on water, and his most notable paper: “Experimental Researches on the Principle of the Lateral Communication of Movement in Fluids Applied to the Explanation of Different Hydraulic Phenomena” (1797).
In it Venturi described a series of experiments to prove several propositions and theories concerning hydraulics and the flow of water, the results of which produced the proof of the natural principle known as the “Venturi effect.”
Broadly stated, this law, formulated by Venturi in 1797, states that the pressure of a fluid decreases in a pipe where the diameter has been reduced by a gradual taper. To test this
principle, having observed the effects of constricted channels on fluid flow, he designed and constructed an instrument which became known as the Venturi tube: a short pipe with a narrow throat, in the middle. Fluid passing through the tube speeds up as it enters
the throat, and the pressure drops - a principle which he realized in theory could be used (via the pressure differential) to measure fluid flow, and as a pump.
Through a meeting with [met] Napoleon*, Venturi was soon made a member of the Corps Legislatif, was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, and was made a professor at the Military School of Modena.
With the conquest of Italy by the French, Venturi was given a professorship at the University of Pavia, and entrusted with several diplomatic missions. In 1801 he was made Diplomatic Agent of the Helvetic Confederation, when he moved to Switzerland, where he remained for the next 12 years.
A century after Venturi, his law was used to great effect by the German engineer [idea used by] Maybach* in his spray-nozzle or float-feed carburetor (1893). In Maybach's carburetor, air flows through a venturi channel at whose throat gasoline vapour enters through an opening, drawn in by the low pressure, allowing fuel and air to mix. This method produced the first truly effective combustible mixture for the internal-combustion engine of the automobile.
Assessment: Giovanni Batista Venturi is remembered for his discovery of the “Venturi effect”
Oneliner: GB Venturi, discoverer of the “Venturi effect.”
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
- Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Kent, Walter G., An Appreciation of Two Great Workers in Hydraulics, London: Blades East & Blades, 1912.