Hero's engine rotor
Date1870-1920
Inventory Number1998-1-0073
ClassificationHero's Engine
Subject
Maker
American
?
Cultural Region
Dimensions11.4 × 15 × 15.3 cm (4 1/2 × 5 7/8 × 6 in.)
DescriptionThis is the rotor of a Hero's engine. It consists of a tube on top of which a sphere has been fixed and connected to four hollowed pipes, bent in an L-shape.
Signedunsigned
FunctionThis instrument, invented by Hero of Alexandria, is commonly described as the predecessor of the steam engine. Water would be poured inside a metallic container (missing here) and then it would be heated. The steam produced by the heating of the water, having no where else to go, would come out of the hollowed pipes, which form a rotor. The pipes are bent in such a way that the vapor pressure coming out of the pipes would put the rotor in rotation.
For more information, go to the following website.
For more information, go to the following website.
Davies Charlton Ltd.
Date: circa 1960
Accessories: original cardboard box
Object number: DW0337
P. Grandee
Date: 1720-1750
Object number: 1998-1-1441