The Amazing Steam Engines Of The First Century
Ask a person in the street who invented the steam engine and you’re more than likely to hear the names of various Renaissance inventors such as Denis Papin or James Watt.

Less well known is the fact that steam engines were in use at least 2000 years ago. Our knowledge of these devices is largely the result of a text called Pneumatica written in the first century by the Greek mathematician, engineer and inventor Hero of Alexandria.
Today, Amelia Carolina Sparavigna, at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy, talks us through some of these devices as they are described in an online translation of Hero’s work.
Hero was clearly aware of some remarkable machines. Sparavigna describes, in particular, a steam-powered device for levitating a ball, a steam-powered rotating ball and an engine for opening and closing temple doors (see above). These are just a small fraction of the machines that Hero describes in this and other work.
It’s probable that Hero wasn’t the inventor of all of them–he’s almost certainly describing the work of others as well as himself.
But it is clear that Hero is one of the great engineers in history. And somebody who will now get greater, well-deserved exposure thanks to the online availability of his writing.
Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1101.3470: Water, Air And Fire At Work In Hero’s Machines
Keep Reading
Most Popular
DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.
“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.
What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines
New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.
Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats
With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure
Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation
From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.