When was water wheel invented

Search: People Departments Penn State. Historians of technology have distinguished five eras in the history of technology: an era dominated by human muscle power, an era when human power was supplemented by animal power, an era of water power, an era of steam power, and an era of nuclear power.

In each of these eras the major source of power, or energy, determined the types of products that emerged and the size of the machinery and tools developed to make these products.

The vertical waterwheel was one of the most important sources of energy to be developed. Invented a century or two before the time of Christ, it was a major turning point in the history of technology. For centuries, man had relied on human and animal muscle power for all kinds of work. The waterwheel enabled man for the first time to use an inanimate power source for industrial production and it had this major impact on technological and industrial development: It made possible considerable labor savings in certain industries It permitted massive increases in production in other industries It made certain industries possible that would not have been possible without the more concentrated energy which the vertical waterwheel provided.

The labor-saving potential of the waterwheel was considerable. While the power generated by a donkey, for example, was equal to that of 15 men, even a small two- to three- horsepower vertical waterwheel could free as many as men or women from the task of grinding grain, for example.

In other areas, however, the vertical wheel more significantly increased productive capabilities. In its vertical form the horizontal form was not as powerful and while it saved labor it generally did not increase overall production the waterwheel was a much more concentrated source of power than any energy source used previously.

This intensive mechanical power was recognized and developed and by applied to a wide variety of tasks such as fulling cloth, sawing wood, shaping iron, boring pipes, crushing sugar, and pressing linseed oil. With the vertical wheel much more cloth was fulled, wood sawed, iron shaped, pipes bored, sugar crushed and linseed oil pressed than if manpower or animal power had been used alone. In some cases the vertical waterwheel not only increased production and reduced labor but also allowed things to be done that would not have been done otherwise such as deep-level mining.

Because of its ability to reduce dependence on human labor, to increase productivity, and to carry out tasks nearly impossible with other power sources, the vertical waterwheel became the power source of first choice in European heavy industry by the end of the medieval period. Biringuccio, a mining and metallurgical engineer, wrote in , for example, that "of all the inconveniences, shortage of water is the most to be avoided For centuries the vertical waterwheel was of critical importance not only to Western technology and to the level of Western industrial output but also to the way Western society evolved.

Because water power was not uniformly distributed, it had a major influence on the location of industrial and population centers in Europe. The amount of water power available at any particular site was limited; industrial expansion dependent on it could proceed only so far. There were other ways in which the vertical waterwheel influenced Western social and economic development.

Because the vertical wheel was relatively expensive, especially if extensive auxiliary works such as dams, canals, and raceways, were required, its use was restricted primarily to industries that had become dependent on water power. And because the vertical waterwheel was a concentrated power source, it contributed to the concentration of workers at specific sites and to the development of the factory system of production. Accessed 13 Dec. We hope this Wonder was very helpful!

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Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm, Wonder Friend! So glad you enjoyed it! You had quite the elegant guess Thanks for making us smile! Augustine is one of the oldest cities in the United States, thanks to Ponce de Leon! Your trip to St. Augustine sounds like a FUN-filled time. Thanks for sharing with us, Caelah! How exciting to have a waterwheel so close to your hometown!!

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Are waterwheels still used today? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Isn't it amazing how a waterwheel can turn the power of flowing water into electricity? Learn more about the science involved in this process when you explore one or more of the following activities with a friend or family member: Curious about what old waterwheels look like? Do you think it would've been difficult to build these waterwheels so long ago? Modern tools might make things much easier today, but what about back then?

How do you think you would've gone about making a waterwheel without the modern conveniences of power tools? Have fun discussing this idea with your friends or family members.

When you're ready to learn more about waterwheels and how they are used to power mills, jump online and visit the website of the Hanford Mills Museum to take an online tour of the mill site.

If you had lived back then, do you think you would've thought to channel the power of flowing water to create energy to run a mill? Do you think it would be practical to rely upon waterwheels in today's world? Why or why not? Write a short paragraph that explains your reasons. Do you want to see more waterwheels in action?

There are plenty of cool videos online. Would you like to see a waterwheel in person one day? Would you like to try building your own? Discuss with a friend or family member.

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Join the Discussion. Eli Jan 8, Jan 9, Dec 10, Mar 7, Information gathered from the works of various medieval geographers and historians indicates that by the 11th or 12th century A. The noria, in particular, was widespread in Syria and Spain. Because the only evidence of their existence is ambiguous and scarce, sadly, it is not easy to explain the evolution of these important early machines. The truth is that history supplies no concrete sequence of events that brought about these water machines.

Unlike Darwin, who gave the term "evolution" a whole new meaning by applying it to animals, there are no remains to examine or live animals to observe. Most of these machines were used for a time and then destroyed to build newer and more advanced ones, leaving little evidence of their ancient history. Relevance to Modern Lubrication and Reliability It is easy to speculate that perhaps the noria marked the beginning of the modern-day machine for which lubricants were first applied to control friction and wear.

While the noria is probably the first machine not powered by man or animal, the wheel was invented much earlier than the noria. Examples of early chariots were found in the tombs of Yuaa and Thuiu in Egypt dating to B.

From this, one could conclude that lubricants were applied at the inception of the noria. Much has changed since the early days of the noria, but the need for machinery reliability remains steadfast as an engineering imperative. In fact, we could say that the noria not only chronicles the evolution of the machine but it also stands as an icon for machine reliability. Consider the report that in Syria a noria has been in continuous operation for more than 1, years!

About the Company Noria Corporation is named after the historic and essential water wheel machine, the noria. Noria also presents conferences and exhibitions to keep professionals up-to-date in their quest for lean manufacturing, improved reliability and lubrication excellence.

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Noria Corporation is named after this early and most-essential water wheel machine. Figure 1. Parts of the Noria The word "noria" comes from the Arabic term, Na-urah, meaning "the first water machine. Possible Evolution of the Noria Operation in Antiquity The noria, used for raising water, was a type of undershot water wheel that activated no machinery beyond itself.

Example of the Chinese Noria First Hydraulic Machine A machine is any device capable of making mechanical work easier, typically by overcoming a force of resistance the load at one point by applying a more convenient force the effort at another point.

References Aubrey Burstall. A History of Mechanical Engineering. William Doolittle. Thomas Ewbanks. New York: H. Nina Nelson. Your Guide to Syria. Alvin Redman, London. Terry Reynolds. Sprague De Camp.