Porta's Apparatus, 1609

In 1609, the Italian Giambattista della Porta succeeded in showing that water can be raised with fire. He filled a retort (a vessel that has a wide bottom that leads into a thin pipe) with water and put it over a fire. He then put the pipe into a air-tight vessel filled with water. When the water in the retort began to vaporize an excess pressure took place in the vessel above it. Porta put another pipe into it, so that the water could be pressed out of the vessel. Giambattista della Porta (1535 - February 4, 1615) was an Italian scholar, polymath and playwright. His interest in a variety of disciplines resulted in the technological advances of agriculture, hydraulics, military engineering, instruments, and pharmacology

Picture No

13346920

Media ID

47791231

Size

3300px x 4657px (1.9MB)

Credit

Usage Restrictions

Commercial sales may require 3rd party clearance

Source

Science Source