William Rankine (1820–1872) was a Scottish engineer, physicist, and inventor who made significant contributions to the fields of thermodynamics and civil engineering. He is best known for developing the Rankine cycle, a thermodynamic cycle that describes the operation of steam engines and power plants, providing a theoretical framework for understanding their efficiency. Rankine also worked on the concepts of energy and heat transfer, and his research laid foundational principles for modern engineering practices.
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