The Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria

by Hero of Alexandria, Bennet Woodcroft (Editor)

2nd EDITION Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria (c. 10-70 AD) was an ancient Greek mathematician and engineer who lived in the Roman province of Egypt; He is considered the greatest experimenter of antiquity and his work is representative of the Greek scientific tradition. Hero published a famous description of a simple steam engine called an aeolipile. Among his most famous inventions were a windwheel, a cuckoo clock and a vending machine. Much of Hero's original writings and designs have been lost, having been burned by anti-pagan Christians sometime in the late 4th to 5th century but what remains of his work gives a fascinating insight into how advanced ancient Greco-Roman civilization was technically.

78 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria (c. AD 10–70) was an ancient Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egypt. He is considered the greatest experimenter of antiquity and his work is representative of the Hellenistic scientific tradition.

Hero published a well recognized description of a steam-powered device called an aeolipile (sometimes called a "Hero engine"). Among his most famous inventions was a windwheel, constituting the earliest instance of wind harnessing on land. He is said to have been a follower of the Atomists. Some of his ideas were derived from the works of Ctesibius.

Much of Hero's original writings and designs have been lost, but some of his works were preserved in Arab manuscripts.

Reviews

[Pascale]

Ordered!! Can't wait to read it!!!!!

Fascinating, this man was a real genious!

[Valerie]

This was neat. It's about siphoning tricks.