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The indicator was an important factor in the early development of the internal-combustion engine when engine speeds were low, but on high-speed engines such indicators were unable to reliably reproduce records because of the inertia effects of the moving part of the pressure element. The first need is for a purely qualitative indicator of the so-called optical type, to secure a complete and instantaneous mental picture of the pressure events of the cycle; the second need is for a purely quantitative instrument for obtaining an exact record of pressures. The common requirements for both are that the indicator timing shall correctly follow the positions of the crank and that the pressure recorded shall agree with the pressures developed within the combustion space. Following a discussion of these requirements, the author then describes the demonstration made of two high-speed indicators, inclusive of various illustrations that show the apparatus, and comments upon its performance.

The authors present in this paper an explanation of gaseous detonation based upon what are considered incontrovertible laws, and show by the functioning of these well understood natural laws that gaseous detonation is a phenomenon that does not require any hypothetical assumptions to account for its existence. The physical conditions that must exist within an enclosed container when it is filled with an explosive mixture of gases and these gases are ignited are stated and analyzed mathematically, and an application of this analysis is made to the internal-combustion engine. The apparatus and the procedure are described inclusive of photographs and charts, and it is shown how the formulas can be applied (a) for constant throttle, by varying the temperature of the entering charge and (b) for constant temperature, by varying the throttle opening and the compression-ratio. The results are illustrated and discussed in some detail.