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A modern replica of Hero's aeolipile. It is not known whether the aeolipile was put to any practical use in ancient times, and if it was seen as a pragmatic device, a whimsical novelty, an object of reverence, or some other thing. A source described it as a mere curiosity for the ancient Greeks, or a "party trick". [7]
The 1698 Savery Steam Pump - the first commercially successful steam powered device, built by Thomas Savery [1] The first recorded rudimentary steam engine was the aeolipile mentioned by Vitruvius between 30 and 15 BC and, described by Heron of Alexandria in 1st-century Roman Egypt. [2]
Hero's aeolipile. A number of devices and inventions have been ascribed to Hero, including the following: The aeolipile (a version of which is known as "Hero's engine"), which was a rocket-like reaction engine and the first-recorded steam engine (although Vitruvius mentioned the aeolipile in De Architectura, presumably earlier than Hero). [13]
1790 (): Nathan Read invented the tubular boiler and improved cylinder, devising the high-pressure steam engine. 1791 (): Edward Bull makes a seemingly obvious design change by inverting the steam engine directly above the mine pumps, eliminating the large beam used since Newcomen's designs. About 10 of his engines are built in Cornwall.
Jet engines can be dated back to the invention of the aeolipile around 150 BC. This device used steam power directed through two nozzles so as to cause a sphere to spin rapidly on its axis. [ 1 ] So far as is known, it was not used for supplying mechanical power, and the potential practical applications of this invention were not recognized.
The modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by Charles Parsons, whose first model was connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kilowatts (10.1 hp) of electricity. [12] The invention of Parsons' steam turbine made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionized marine transport and naval warfare. [13] Parsons' design was a reaction ...
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A method to lessen the magnitude of energy loss to a very long cylinder was invented in 1804 by British engineer Arthur Woolf, who patented his Woolf high-pressure compound engine in 1805. In the compound engine, high-pressure steam from the boiler expands in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder and then enters one or more subsequent lower-pressure ...