"Hero engine" redirects here. For the game engine and server technology platform, see HeroEngine.
An illustration of Hero's aeolipile
An aeolipile, aeolipyle, or eolipile, from the Greek "Αἰόλου πύλη", also known as a Hero's (or Heron's) engine, is a simple, bladeless radial steam turbine which spins when the central water container is heated. Torque is produced by steam jets exiting the turbine. The Greek-Egyptian mathematician and engineer Hero of Alexandria described the device in the 1st century AD, and many sources give him the credit for its invention.[1][2] However, Vitruvius was the first to describe this appliance in his De architectura (ca. 30–20 BC).[3]
The aeolipile is considered to be the first recorded steam engine or reaction steam turbine, but it is neither a practical source of power nor a direct predecessor of the type of steam engine invented during the Industrial Revolution.[4]
The name – derived from the Greek word Αἴολος and Latin word pila – translates to "the ball of Aeolus", Aeolus being the Greek god of the air and wind.
Due to its use of steam as the medium for performing work, the Aeolipile (in profile view) was adopted as the symbol for the U.S. Navy's Boiler Technician Rate - which had formed out of the Watertender, Boilermaker, and Boilerman ratings (that used the same symbol).
^Cite error: The named reference HeroSteamEngine was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Hero (1899). "Pneumatika, Book II, Chapter XI". Herons von Alexandria Druckwerke und Automatentheater (in Greek and German). Wilhelm Schmidt (translator). Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 228–232.
^Kirk, William. "The geographical significance of Vitruvius’ de architectura." Scottish Geographical Magazine 69.1 (1953): 1-10.
^"This toy [Aeolipile] was not the forerunner of any real steam engine, then or later. Such devices represent technical ingenuity but not technological progress." See A.G. Drachmann, The Classical Civilization, pp. 55–56.
An aeolipile, aeolipyle, or eolipile, from the Greek "Αἰόλου πύλη", also known as a Hero's (or Heron's) engine, is a simple, bladeless radial steam turbine...
published a well-recognized description of a steam-powered device called an aeolipile (sometimes called a "Hero engine"). Among his most famous inventions was...
authorities have also referred to the steam turbine and devices such as Hero's aeolipile as "steam engines". The essential feature of steam engines is that they...
wind and steam powered machines in the 1st century AD, including the Aeolipile and the vending machine, often these machines were associated with worship...
The first recorded rudimentary steam engine was the aeolipile mentioned by Vitruvius between 30 and 15 BC and, described by Heron of Alexandria in 1st-century...
Heron of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD) created the first steam-powered device (Aeolipile). In China, Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) improved a water clock and invented...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
periphery. Hero of Alexandria demonstrated the turbine principle in an aeolipile in the first century AD and Vitruvius mentioned them around 70 BC. The...
in rocket-powered cars and motorcycles, and they are the type used in aeolipile. Water, while under pressure, is heated up to a high temperature (approx...
resulting jets cause the wheel to rotate; both a Catherine wheel and the aeolipile ("Hero's engine") work on the same principle. A "reverse" or "inverse"...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
much later steam engine: the crank and connecting rod system, Hero's aeolipile (generating steam power), the cylinder and piston (in metal force pumps)...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
pumps, gas compressors, and tanks. 50: Earliest records of Hero's engine (aeolipile). It most likely served no practical purpose, and was rather more of a...
steam drives a piston or a turbine. This principle can be seen in the aeolipile of Hero of Alexandria. This is called an external combustion engine. An...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
of Alexandria describes the first documented steam-powered device, the aeolipile. 13th century – Chinese chronicles wrote about a solid-rocket motor used...
Retrieved 31 May 2018. Nugent, Addison (29 November 2020). "Why Heron's Aeolipile Is One of History's Greatest Forgotten Machines". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved...
20th century. A rudimentary demonstration of jet power dates back to the aeolipile, a device described by Hero of Alexandria in 1st-century Egypt. This device...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
describes the construction of sundials and water clocks, and the use of an aeolipile (the first steam engine) as an experiment to demonstrate the nature of...
the Huns. King Pasa becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. The aeolipile, the first steam engine, is described by Hero of Alexandria. The Gospel...
pneumatics, and mechanics described siphons, a fire engine, a water organ, the aeolipile, and a programmable cart. Philo of Byzantium was famous for his inventions...
steam-powered device however, Hero of Alexandria designed the Aeolipile. The aeolipile is a simple bladeless radial steam turbine which spins when the...
However, it was not powerful enough to take off under its own thrust. The aeolipile described in the first century BC, often known as Hero's engine, consisted...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
(Rotary) Rijke tube Rocket Split-single Steam (reciprocating) Steam turbine Aeolipile Stirling Thermoacoustic Manson engine Beale number West number Timeline...
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