In it he contended
that a perfect engine would be one in which all the heat applied to the
steam was used up in its expansion behind a working piston, leaving none
to be sent into a condenser or the atmosphere, and that the best results
in any actual engine would be attained by carrying expansion to the
furthest possible limit, or, in practice, by the application of a
regenerator. Anxious to realise his theories further, he constructed a
twenty horse-power engine on the regenerative plan, and exhibited it at
the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855; but, not realising his
expectations, he substituted for it another of seven-horse power, made
by M. Farcot, of Paris, which was found to work with considerable
economy. The use of superheated steam, however, still proved a
drawback, and the Siemens engine has not been extensively used.
On the other hand, the Siemens water-meter, which he introduced in
1851, has been very widely used, not only in this country, but abroad.
It acts equally well under all variations of pressure, and with a
constant or an intermittent supply.
Meanwhile his brother Werner had been turning his attention to
telegraphy, and the correspondence which never ceased between the
brothers kept William acquainted with his doings.
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