Gravesande's Steam Powered Vehicle, 1720

Steam powered vehicle designed by Gravesande, 1720. Willem Jacobs Gravesande (September 26, 1688 - February 28, 1742) was a Dutch lawyer and natural philosopher, remembered for developing experimental demonstrations of the laws of classical mechanics. His main scientific work is Physices elementa mathematica, experimentis confirmata, sive introductio ad philosophiam Newtonianam (Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy, Confirmed by Experiments; or, an Introduction to Newtonian Philosophy, published in Leiden in 1720. In that book, he laid the foundations for the teaching of Newtonian mechanics through experimental demonstrations. The above steam powered vehicle consisted of a water-filled vessel heated by a furnace beneath it that produced steam, which was allowed to escape through a narrow nozzle, and propelled the vehicle forward

Picture No

12698026

Media ID

47677309

Size

4800px x 2276px (1.4MB)

Credit

Science Source/Mary Evans