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 : Hero's Engine, First Recorded Steam Engine


Hero's Engine, First Recorded Steam Engine

In the first century AD a Greek inventor known as Hero of Alexandria came up with a new invention that depended more on the mechanical interaction of heat and water. He invented a rocket-like device called an aeolipile, also known as Hero's engine. It used steam for propulsion. Hero mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. A fire below the kettle turned the water into steam, and the gas traveled through the pipes to the sphere. Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere allowed the gas to escape, and in doing so gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to rotate

Picture No
13346096
Media ID
47784051
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2754px x 4290px (4.2MB)
Credit
© Science Source / Mary Evans Picture Library
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Aeolipile Alexandria Fluid Hellenistic Heron Herons Hydraulics Mechanics Steam-powered Turbine


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