Hero of Alexandria's 1,800-Year-Old Steam Engine and Other Pneumatic Marvels
The Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria
This 1851 translation of Hero of Alexandria's "Pneumatics" reveals the ancient Greek engineer's ingenious devices, including the first known steam engine (aeolipile), a fire engine, and various automata. The text showcases Hero's mastery of pneumatics and hydraulics, with detailed descriptions of over 70 inventions, many of which were centuries ahead of their time.
The Steam-Engine
- AspisAiantos
I absolutely love stuff like this. It is truly incredible what people were able to build so long ago. I always enjoy hearing their thought process and some of the strange stuff they came up with. "A bird made to whistle by flowing water" for instance, is something that I don't think would ever have popped into my mind.
- CarVac
Today I learned that diabetes is the greek word for siphon.
- markovs_gun
This is an awesome resource. I have always wanted to try building every one of Hero's known inventions because with modern technology most are quite simply constructed (compared to extremely precise machines brass contraptions such as the Antikythera Mechanism) but incredibly elegant in their operation. I think it would be a very fun project