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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]
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.
Heron also devised a machine that used air heated in an altar fire to displace a quantity of water from a closed vessel. The weight of the water was made to pull a hidden rope to operate temple doors. [9] [10] Some historians have conflated the two inventions to assert, incorrectly, that the aeolipile was capable of useful work. [citation needed]
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.
1900: Reflector sight invented by Howard Grubb. [46] 1905: Underground conveyor belt invented by Richard Sutcliffe. [47] 1909: Irish logarithm invented by Percy Ludgate. [48] 1914: 'Dublin method' in radiation therapy discovered by John Joly. [49] 1926: Three-point linkage invented by Harry Ferguson. [50]
Paleontology: The ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes concluded from fossil sea shells that some areas of land were once under water. Pap smear: he test was invented by and named after the Greek doctor Georgios Papanikolaou, who started his research in 1923.
The Hierapolis sawmill was a water-powered stone sawmill in the Ancient Greek city of Hierapolis in Roman Asia (modern-day Turkey). Dating to the second half of the 3rd century AD, [ 2 ] the sawmill is considered the earliest known machine to combine a crank with a connecting rod to form a crank-slider mechanism .