For over a century, automobiles powered by internal combustion engines have been the standard mode of transportation for those who can afford them. For many decades, internal combustion engines have been used to power various types of machinery for both industrial and personal use. While alternatives to internal combustion are constantly being discussed, they are at least decades away from being realized. Thus, while there have been many attempts to declare this French technology obsolete, rumors of its demise are premature.

The first internal combustion engine was invented by Frenchmen Nicephore and Claude Niepce and was patented in 1807. The Pyreolophore, as it was called, originally ran on moss. To save costs, this was later changed to coal dust. In 1817, the Niepce brothers were the first to use fuel injection.

Since the invention of the Pyreolophore, many Frenchmen have contributed to improving the internal combustion engine. In 1908, a century after the Niepce brothers drove their motorboat up the Saone river, Rene Lorin invented the ramjet.

Just as the first internal combustion engine was ahead of its time, the first ramjet had to wait decades before it could be used in an airplane. Once again, French technology was first.Related Article : Laser sparks revolution in internal combustion engines