Heron of Alexandria is an unrecognized genius of his time. Inventions of Heron of Alexandria

The age of steam engines was short-lived. But it turns out that even the ancient Greeks knew how to “tame” steam and even use it in warfare. Our close ancestors spent a lot of time and effort on mastering “steam,” and recently this topic has even received a second wind.

People were able to put steam to the service of humanity only at the very end of the 17th century. But even at the beginning of our era, the ancient Greek mathematician and mechanic Heron of Alexandria clearly showed that one can and should be friends with steam. A clear confirmation of this was the Geronovsky aeolipile, in fact, the first steam turbine - a ball that rotated with the power of jets of water vapor.

Unfortunately, many amazing inventions of the ancient Greeks were firmly forgotten for many centuries. Only in the 17th century is there a description of something similar to a steam engine.

For reference:

HERO OF ALEXANDRIAN (Heronus Alexandrinus)

Dates of birth and death are unknown, probably 1st - 2nd centuries.

Heron of Alexandria was a Greek scientist who worked in Alexandria.

The author of works that have survived to this day, in which he systematically outlined the main achievements of the ancient world in the field of applied mechanics. In his famous two-volume work “Pneumatics,” he described various mechanisms driven by heated or compressed air or steam: aeolipile, i.e., a ball rotating under the influence of steam, an automatic door opener, a fire pump, various siphons, a water organ, a mechanical puppet theater, etc. In "Mechanics" I examined in detail the simplest mechanisms: lever, gate, wedge, screw and block. Using a gear drive, he built a device for measuring the length of roads, based on the same principle as modern taximeters. He created a vending machine for selling “sacred” water, which was the prototype of our vending machines for dispensing liquids. Heron's mechanisms and automata did not find any widespread practical application and were used mainly in the construction of mechanical toys. The only exceptions are Heron's hydraulic machines, with the help of which ancient water drawers were improved.

In his essay “On the Diopter” he outlined the rules for land surveying, which were actually based on the use of rectangular coordinates. Here he also gave a description of the diopter - a device for measuring angles - the prototype of a modern theodolite. In the essay "Catoptrics" he substantiated the straightness of light rays with an infinitely high speed of propagation. He gave a proof of the law of reflection, based on the assumption that the path traversed by light should be the smallest of all possible (a special case of Fermat's principle). Based on this principle, I considered various types of mirrors. In his treatise “On the Making of Throwing Machines” he outlined the basics of ancient artillery. Heron's mathematical works are an encyclopedia of ancient applied mathematics. The Metrics provides rules and formulas for the exact and approximate calculation of various geometric figures, for example Heron's formula to determine the area of a triangle based on three sides, rules for numerically solving quadratic equations, and approximate extraction of square and cube roots.

Some modern technologies, objects and knowledge were discovered and invented in ancient times. Science fiction writers in their works even use a special term to describe such phenomena: “chronoclasms” - mysterious penetrations of modern knowledge into the past. However, in reality everything is simpler: most of this knowledge was actually discovered by ancient scientists, but then for some reason they were forgotten about and rediscovered centuries later.

In this article you will get to know one of the amazing scientists of antiquity. He made a huge contribution to the development of science in his time, but most of his works and inventions sank into oblivion and were undeservedly forgotten. His name is Heron of Alexandria.

Heron lived in Egypt in the city of Alexandria and therefore became known as Heron of Alexandria. Modern historians suggest that he lived in the 1st century AD. somewhere between 10-75 years. It has been established that Heron taught at the Alexandria Museum, a scientific center of ancient Egypt, which included the famous Library of Alexandria. Most of Heron's works are presented in the form of comments and notes to training courses in various academic disciplines. Unfortunately, the originals of these works have not survived; they may have perished in the fire that engulfed the Library of Alexandria in 273 AD, and they may have been destroyed in 391 AD. Christians, in a fit of religious fanaticism, destroyed everything that reminded of pagan culture. Only rewritten copies of Heron's works made by his students and followers have survived to our times. Some of them are in Greek, and some are in Arabic. There are also translations into Latin made in the 16th century.

The most famous is Heron's "Metrics" - a scientific work that gives the definition of a spherical segment, a torus, rules and formulas for accurate and approximate calculation of the areas of regular polygons, the volumes of truncated cones and pyramids. The Metrics provides Heron's famous formula for determining the area of a triangle on three sides, and gives rules for the numerical solution of quadratic equations and the approximate extraction of square and cube roots. Metrics examines the simplest lifting devices - lever, block, wedge, inclined plane and screw, as well as some combinations of them. In this work, Heron introduces the term “simple machines” and uses the concept of moment of force to describe their work.
Many mathematicians accuse Heron of the fact that the Metrics does not contain mathematical proofs of the conclusions he made. This is true. Heron was not a theorist; he preferred to explain all the formulas and rules he derived with clear practical examples. It is in the area of practice that Heron surpasses many of his predecessors. The best illustration of this is his work "On the Diopter", found only in 1814. This work outlines methods for carrying out various geodetic works, and surveying is carried out using a device invented by Heron - a diopter.

1) Diopter

The diopter was the prototype of the modern theodolite. Its main part was a ruler with sights attached to its ends. This ruler rotated in a circle, which could occupy both horizontal and vertical positions, which made it possible to mark directions in both the horizontal and vertical planes. To ensure correct installation of the device, a plumb line and level were attached to it. Using this device and introducing rectangular coordinates, Heron could solve various problems on the ground: measure the distance between two points when one or both of them are inaccessible to the observer, draw a straight line perpendicular to an inaccessible straight line, find the level difference between two points, measure the area of a simple figure without even stepping onto the area being measured.
Even in the time of Heron, the water supply system on the island of Samos, created according to the design of Eupalinus and passing through a tunnel, was considered one of the masterpieces of ancient engineering. Water through this tunnel was supplied to the city from a source located on the other side of Mount Castro. It was known that in order to speed up the work, the tunnel was dug simultaneously on both sides of the mountain, which required high qualifications from the engineer in charge of the construction. The water pipeline operated for many centuries and surprised Heron’s contemporaries; Herodotus also mentioned it in his writings. It was from Herodotus that the modern world learned about the existence of the Eupalina tunnel. I found out, but didn’t believe it, because it was believed that the ancient Greeks did not have the necessary technology to build such a complex object. Having studied Heron’s work “On the Diopter”, found in 1814, scientists received the second documentary evidence of the existence of the tunnel. It was only at the end of the 19th century that a German archaeological expedition actually discovered the legendary Eupalina Tunnel.
Here is how in his work Heron gives an example of using the diopter he invented to build the Eupalina tunnel:

Points B and D are the entrances to the tunnel. Near point B, point E is selected, and from it a segment EF is constructed along the mountain, perpendicular to the segment BE. Next, a system of mutually perpendicular segments is built around the mountain until a line KL is obtained, on which point M is selected and a perpendicular MD is built from it to the entrance to the tunnel D. Using lines DN and NB, a triangle BND is obtained and angle α is measured.

2) Odometer

The odometer was a small cart mounted on two wheels of specially selected diameter. The wheels turned exactly 400 times per millimeter (an ancient measure of length equal to 1598 m). Numerous wheels and axles were driven by gears, and the distance traveled was indicated by pebbles falling into a special tray. In order to find out how much distance was covered, all that was needed was to count the number of pebbles in the tray.

Internal structure of the odometer.

3) Aeolipile

Aeolipile (translated from Greek as “ball of the wind god Aeolus”) was a tightly sealed cauldron with two tubes on the lid. A rotating hollow ball was installed on the tubes, on the surface of which two L-shaped nozzles were installed. Water was poured into the boiler through the hole, the hole was closed with a stopper, and the boiler was placed over the fire. The water boiled, steam was formed, which flowed through the tubes into the ball and into the L-shaped pipes. With sufficient pressure, jets of steam escaping from the nozzles quickly rotated the ball. Built by modern scientists according to Heron's drawings, the aeolipile developed up to 3500 revolutions per minute!

When assembling the aeolipile, scientists encountered the problem of sealing in the hinge joints of the ball and steam supply tubes. With a large gap, the ball received a greater degree of freedom of rotation, but steam easily escaped through the gaps, and its pressure quickly dropped. If the gap was reduced, the loss of steam disappeared, but the ball also became more difficult to rotate due to increased friction. We do not know how Heron solved this problem. Perhaps his aeolipile did not rotate at such a high speed as the modern model.
Unfortunately, the aeolipile did not receive due recognition and was not in demand either in the era of antiquity or later, although it made a huge impression on everyone who saw it. This invention was treated only as a fun toy. In fact, Heron's aeolipile is the prototype of steam turbines, which appeared only two millennia later! Moreover, aeolipile can be considered one of the first jet engines. There was one step left before the discovery of the principle of jet propulsion: having an experimental setup in front of us, it was necessary to formulate the principle itself. Humanity spent almost 2000 years on this step. It is difficult to imagine what human history would have looked like if the principle of jet propulsion had become widespread 2000 years ago. Perhaps humanity would have long ago explored the entire solar system and reached the stars.

Interestingly, the reinvention of Heron's aeolipile took place in 1750. Hungarian scientist J.A. Segner built a prototype of a hydraulic turbine. The difference between the so-called Segner wheel and the aeolipile is that the reactive force rotating the device is created not by steam, but by a jet of liquid. Currently, the invention of the Hungarian scientist serves as a classic demonstration of jet propulsion in physics courses, and in fields and parks it is used to water plants.

4) Steam boiler

The design was a large bronze container with a coaxially installed cylinder, a brazier and pipes for supplying cold and removing hot water. The boiler was very economical and provided rapid heating of water.

5) "Magic" door opening

As you know, in the era of antiquity, religion had a huge influence on people. There were many religions and temples, and everyone went to communicate with the gods where he liked best. Since the well-being of the priests of a particular temple directly depended on the number of parishioners, the priests tried to lure them with anything. It was then that they discovered a law that is still in force today: nothing can attract people to the temple better than a miracle. However, Zeus descended from Olympus no more often than manna from heaven fell from the sky. And parishioners had to be lured to the temple every day. To create divine miracles, the priests had to use the mind and scientific knowledge of Heron. One of the most impressive miracles was the mechanism he developed that opened the doors to the temple when a fire was lit on the altar.

Air heated from the fire entered a vessel with water and squeezed out a certain amount of water into a barrel suspended on a rope. The barrel, filling with water, fell down and, with the help of a rope, rotated the cylinders, which set the swing doors in motion. The doors opened. When the fire went out, the water from the barrel poured back into the vessel, and a counterweight suspended on a rope, rotating the cylinders, closed the doors.
Quite a simple mechanism, but what a psychological effect on parishioners!

6) Holy water vending machine

Another invention that significantly increased the profitability of ancient temples was the holy water vending machine invented by Heron.

The internal mechanism of the device was quite simple, and consisted of a precisely balanced lever operating a valve that opened under the influence of the weight of a coin. The coin fell through a slot onto a small tray and activated a lever and valve. The valve opened and some water flowed out. The coin would then slide off the tray and the lever would return to its original position, closing the valve. According to some sources, a portion of “sacred” water in the time of Heron cost 5 drachmas.
This invention of Heron became the world's first vending machine and, despite the fact that it brought good profits, it was forgotten for centuries. It was only at the end of the 19th century that vending machines were reinvented.

7) Vessels for "transforming" water into wine

Perhaps Heron's next invention was also actively used in temples.

The invention consists of two vessels connected by a tube. One of the vessels was filled with water, and the second with wine. The parishioner added a small amount of water to a vessel with water, the water entered another vessel and displaced an equal amount of wine from it. A man brought water, and “by the will of the gods” it turned into wine! Isn't this a miracle?
And here is another vessel design invented by Heron for converting water into wine and back.

Half of the amphora is filled with wine, and the other half with water. Then the neck of the amphora is closed with a stopper. The liquid is extracted using a tap located at the bottom of the amphora. In the upper part of the vessel, under the protruding handles, two holes are drilled: one in the “wine” part, and the second in the “water” part. The cup was brought to the tap, the priest opened it and poured either wine or water into the cup, quietly plugging one of the holes with his finger.

8) Heron pump

The pump consisted of two communicating piston cylinders equipped with valves from which water was alternately displaced. The pump was driven by the muscular power of two people, who took turns pressing the arms of the lever. It is known that pumps of this type were subsequently used by the Romans to extinguish fires and were distinguished by high quality workmanship and amazingly precise fitting of all parts. Until the discovery of electricity, pumps similar to them were often used both for extinguishing fires and in the navy for pumping water from holds in the event of an accident.
As we can see, Heron developed three very interesting inventions: the aeolipile, the piston pump and the boiler. By combining them it was possible to get a steam engine. Such a task was probably within the power, if not of Heron himself, then of his followers. People already knew how to create sealed containers, and, as can be seen from the example with the piston pump, they achieved significant success in the manufacture of mechanisms that required high precision manufacturing. A steam engine, of course, is not a jet engine, for the creation of which the knowledge of ancient scientists was clearly lacking, but it would also significantly accelerate the development of mankind.

9) Heron's oil lamp

The most common method of lighting in ancient times was using oil lamps, in which a wick soaked in oil burned. The wick was a piece of rag and burned out quite quickly, and so did the oil. One of the main disadvantages of such lamps was the need to ensure that there was always enough wick above the surface of the oil, the level of which was constantly decreasing. If with one lamp it was easy to keep track of it, then with several lamps there was already a need for a servant who would regularly walk around the room and adjust the wicks in the lamps. Heron invented an automatic oil lamp.

The lamp consists of a bowl into which oil was poured and a device for feeding the wick. This device contained a float and a gear connected to it. When the oil level dropped, the float dropped, rotated the gear, and it, in turn, fed a thin rail wrapped with a wick into the combustion zone. This invention was one of the first uses of a rack and pinion gear.

10) wind organ

The organ created by Heron was not original, but was only an improved design of the hydraulos, a musical instrument invented by Ctesibius. Hydraulos was a set of pipes with valves that created sound. Air was supplied to the pipes using a water tank and a pump, which created the necessary pressure in this tank. The valves of the pipes, as in a modern organ, were controlled using a keyboard. Heron proposed to automate the hydraulic system using a wind wheel, which served as a drive for a pump that forced air into the reservoir.

11) Fountain of Heron

Heron's Fountain consists of three vessels, placed one above the other and communicating with each other. The two lower vessels are closed, and the upper one has the shape of an open bowl into which water is poured. Water is also poured into the middle vessel, which is later closed. Through a tube running from the bottom of the bowl almost to the bottom of the lower vessel, water flows down from the bowl and, compressing the air there, increases its elasticity. The lower vessel is connected to the middle one through a tube through which air pressure is transmitted to the middle vessel. By exerting pressure on the water, the air forces it to rise from the middle vessel through the tube into the upper bowl, where a fountain emerges from the end of this tube, rising above the surface of the water. The fountain water falling into the bowl flows from it through a tube into the lower vessel, where the water level gradually rises, and the water level in the middle vessel decreases. Soon the fountain stops working. To start it again, you just need to swap the lower and middle vessels.

12) Self-propelled cabinet

For the first time in history, Heron developed a self-propelled mechanism.

The mechanism was a wooden cabinet mounted on four wheels. The interior of the cabinet was hidden behind the doors. The secret of movement was simple: a suspended plate was slowly lowered inside the cabinet, setting the entire structure in motion with the help of ropes and shafts. A supply of sand was used as a speed regulator, which was gradually poured from the top of the cabinet to the bottom. The speed of lowering the slab was regulated by the speed of sand pouring, which depended on how wide the doors were opened, separating the upper part of the cabinet from the lower.

13) Barulk

A unique scientific work for its time is Heron's Mechanics. This book has come to us in the translation of an Arab scholar of the 9th century AD. Costa al-Balbaki. Until the 19th century, this book was not published anywhere and was apparently unknown to science either during the Middle Ages or during the Renaissance. This is confirmed by the absence of lists of its text in the original Greek and in the Latin translation, and the lack of mention of it among scholastic authors. In Mechanics, in addition to describing the simplest mechanisms: wedge, lever, gate, block, screw, we find a mechanism created by Heron for lifting loads.

In the book this mechanism appears under the name baroulkos. From the figure it can be seen that this device is nothing more than a gearbox, which is used as a winch. Heron's barulcus consists of several gear wheels driven by hand, and Heron takes the ratio of the diameter of the wheel to the diameter of the axle to be 5: 1, having previously assumed that the load to be lifted weighs 1000 talents (25 tons), and the driving force is equal to 5 talents ( 125 kg).

14) Automatic theater

Heron's work "On Automata" was popular during the Renaissance and was translated into Latin, and was also cited by many scientists of that time. In particular, in 1501 Giorgio Valla translated some fragments of this work. Later translations followed by other authors.
There is a known image of one of Heron’s automata, which was given in his book in 1589 by Giovanni Battista Aleoti.

Most of the drawings of Heron's mechanical dolls have not survived, but various sources contain descriptions of them. It is known that Heron created a kind of puppet theater, which moved on wheels hidden from the audience and was a small architectural structure - four columns with a common base and architrave. The puppets on his stage, driven by a complex system of cords and gears, also hidden from public view, reenacted the ceremony of the festival in honor of Dionysus. As soon as such a theater entered the city square, a fire flared up on its stage above the figure of Dionysus, wine poured from a bowl onto the panther lying at the feet of the deity, and the retinue began to dance to the music. Then the music and dancing stopped, Dionysus turned in the other direction, a flame flared up in the second altar - and the whole action was repeated from the beginning. After such a performance, the dolls stopped and the performance ended. This action invariably aroused interest among all residents, regardless of age. But the street performances of another puppet theater, Heron, were no less successful. This theater (pinaka) was very small in size, it was easily moved from place to place. It was a small column, at the top of which there was a model of a theater stage hidden behind the doors. They opened and closed five times, dividing into acts the drama of the sad return of the victors of Troy. On a tiny stage, with exceptional skill, it was shown how warriors built and launched sailing ships, sailed on them on a stormy sea and died in the abyss under the flash of lightning and thunder. To simulate thunder, Heron created a special device in which balls spilled out of a box and hit a board.

In his automatic theaters, Heron, in fact, used elements of programming: the actions of the machines were performed in strict sequence, the scenery replaced each other at the right moments. It is noteworthy that the main driving force that set the theater's mechanisms in motion was gravity (the energy of falling bodies was used); elements of pneumatics and hydraulics were also used. Springs, which became so widely used in Renaissance machines, were not used. The reason for this is simple: the production of springs requires high-quality steel alloys with elasticity, which were not known to the metallurgists of antiquity.

Throughout his life, Heron created many different inventions that were interesting not only to his contemporaries, but also to us, living two millennia later.

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Heron of Alexandria (10 - 75 AD) - ancient Greek mathematician and mechanic. He studied geometry, mechanics, hydrostatics, and optics. The author of works in which he systematically outlined the main achievements of the ancient world in the field of applied mechanics. In Mechanics, Heron described 5 simple machines: lever, gate, wedge, screw and block. Heron was also known for the parallelogram of forces. Using a gear train, Heron built a device for measuring the length of roads, based on the same principle as modern taximeters. Heron's vending machine for selling “sacred” water was the prototype of our vending machines for dispensing liquids. Heron's mechanisms and automata did not find any widespread practical application. They were used mainly in the construction of mechanical toys. The only exceptions are Heron's hydraulic machines, with the help of which ancient water drawers were improved. Heron gave an account of the fundamentals of ancient artillery in his treatise “On the Making of Throwing Machines.” Heron’s mathematical works are an encyclopedia of ancient applied mathematics. The Metrics provides rules and formulas for the exact and approximate calculation of various geometric figures, for example Heron's formula for determining the area of a triangle on three sides, rules for the numerical solution of quadratic equations and the approximate extraction of square and cube roots. Basically, the presentation in Heron's mathematical works is dogmatic - the rules are often not derived, but only clarified through examples.

In 1814, Heron’s essay “On the Diopter” was found, which sets out the rules for land surveying, which are actually based on the use of rectangular coordinates. Here is a description of the diopter - a device for measuring angles - the prototype of a modern theodolite.

Heron pump

Rice. 1. Heron pump

Heron's steam ball - aeolipile

Also, in his treatise “Pneumatics,” Heron described various siphons, cleverly designed vessels, and machines driven by compressed air or steam. Aeolipile (translated from Greek as “ball of the wind god Aeolus”) was a tightly sealed cauldron with two tubes on the lid. A rotating hollow ball was installed on the tubes, on the surface of which two L-shaped nozzles were installed. Water was poured into the boiler through the hole, the hole was closed with a stopper, and the boiler was placed over the fire. The water boiled, steam was formed, which flowed through the tubes into the ball and into the L-shaped pipes. With sufficient pressure, jets of steam escaping from the nozzles quickly rotated the ball. Built by modern scientists according to Heron's drawings, the aeolipile developed up to 3500 revolutions per minute!

Unfortunately, the aeolipile did not receive due recognition and was not in demand either in the era of antiquity or later, although it made a huge impression on everyone who saw it. This invention was treated only as a fun toy. In fact, Heron's aeolipile is the prototype of steam turbines, which appeared only two millennia later! Moreover, aeolipile can be considered one of the first jet engines. There was one step left before the discovery of the principle of jet propulsion: having an experimental setup in front of us, it was necessary to formulate the principle itself. Humanity spent almost 2000 years on this step. It is difficult to imagine what human history would have looked like if the principle of jet propulsion had become widespread 2000 years ago. Perhaps humanity would have long ago explored the entire solar system and reached the stars.

Rice. 2. 1 - steam supply, 2 - steam-conducting tubes, 3 - ball, 4 - exhaust tubes

Steam boiler

Rice. 3. Steam boiler

As we can see, Heron developed three very interesting inventions: the aeolipile, the piston pump and the boiler. By combining them it was possible to get a steam engine. Such a task was probably within the power, if not of Heron himself, then of his followers.

He also described an automatic door opener, a fire pump, various siphons, a water organ, a mechanical puppet theater, etc.

Heron Alexandrian (Heronus Alexandrinus) (years of birth and death unknown, probably 1st century), ancient Greek scientist who worked in Alexandria. The author of works in which he systematically outlined the main achievements of the ancient world in the field of applied mechanics, in “Pneumatics” G. described various mechanisms driven by heated or compressed air or steam: the so-called. aeolipile, i.e. a ball rotating under the action of steam, an automatic door opener, a fire pump, various siphons, a water organ, a mechanical puppet theater, etc. In “Mechanics” G described 5 simple machines: lever, gate, wedge, screw and block. G. was also known for the parallelogram of forces. Using a gear drive, G. built a device for measuring the length of roads, based on the same principle as modern taximeters. G.'s vending machine for selling “sacred” water was the prototype of our vending machines for dispensing liquids. G.'s mechanisms and automatic machines have not found any widespread practical application. They were used mainly in the construction of mechanical toys. The only exceptions are hydraulic hydraulic machines, with the help of which ancient water drawers were improved. In op. “About Diopter” lays out the rules for land surveying, which are actually based on the use of rectangular coordinates. A description of the diopter ≈ a device for measuring angles ≈ a prototype of a modern theodolite is also given here. G. gave an account of the fundamentals of ancient artillery in the treatise “On the Manufacturing of Throwing Machines.” G.’s mathematical works are an encyclopedia of ancient applied mathematics. Metrics provides rules and formulas for the exact and approximate calculation of various geometric figures, for example Heron's formula to determine the area of a triangle based on three sides, rules for numerically solving quadratic equations, and approximate extraction of square and cube roots. Basically, the presentation in G.'s mathematical works is dogmatic - the rules are often not derived, but only clarified through examples.

═ Lit.: Diels G., Ancient technology, trans. from German, M. ≈ L., Vygodsky M. Ya., Arithmetic and algebra in the ancient world, 2nd ed., M., 1967.

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Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
- Heron, 1st century n. e., Greek mechanic and mathematician. The time of his life is uncertain, it is only known that he quoted Archimedes, and he himself was quoted by Pappus...
Encyclopedia of Ancient Writers
- St. - archbishop, theologian; mind. 04/18/328. He was elected to the See of Alexandria ca. 312. Having witnessed the emergence of the Arian dispute, he first tried to convince Arius that his ideas contradict Tradition...
Catholic Encyclopedia
- Greek engineer who built the first steam turbine, called the aeolipile. He also invented mechanisms to automatically operate doors and move statues...
Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary
- 1. Greek scientist nicknamed Mechanic. He worked in Alexandria during the time of Caesar or Nero as an engineer, mathematician and topographer...
Ancient world. encyclopedic Dictionary
- a dialect of the Greek language, created in Alexandria during the time of the Ptolemies as a result of the spread of Greek culture, but as a spoken rather than written language. It differed from the Attic one, mainly...
- was probably born in Constantinople at the end of the 7th century. Author of an essay on geodesy: “Treatise on War Machines” and “Nomenclatura vocabulorum geometriconim”, which contains only definitions of terms found in geometry...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- genus. in Alexandria around 155 BC, gained great fame as a skilled mechanic; he invented the so-called Heron's fountain, a blowing machine, a jack with gears...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- Alexandrian, ancient Greek scientist who worked in Alexandria...
- ancient Greek scientist who worked in Alexandria...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- ancient Greek scientist...
Modern encyclopedia
- ancient Greek scientist. He gave a systematic presentation of the main achievements of the ancient world in applied mechanics and mathematics...
Large encyclopedic dictionary
- Alexandrian I adj. Iambic hexameter with a pause after the third foot with a paired rhyme. II adj. A grade of high quality smooth thick paper for drawing, drawing, printing...
Explanatory Dictionary by Efremova
- I. ALEXANDRIAN I aya, oh. Alexandrins. Rel. to Alexandrina. From the title of the poem "Alexandria" fr. alterations of the 12th century. tales of Alexander the Great, written in iambic hexameter...
Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language
- Located in Alexandria, peculiar to it, emanating from...
- Ancient Egyptian year, transformed by the Roman emperor Augustus...
Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

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From the book The Complete Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions author

Heron

From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with transparent pictures] author Mazurkevich Sergei Alexandrovich

Heron There is a fairly well-known legend that the ancient scientist Heron of Alexandria (who lived in the 1st century AD) invented a steam engine. It was said that this machine was installed at the Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria and was used to lift fuel to the lighting device.

Heron

From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with illustrations] author Mazurkevich Sergei Alexandrovich

Heron of Alexandria

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GE) by the author TSB

Heron of Alexandria is a fairly famous person who has caused a lot of controversy. He invented devices that humanity uses to this day, improving them a little - for example, automatic gates. But, unfortunately, some of his labors were in vain.

The years of life of the famous Greek mathematician and mechanic have become the subject of much debate, but they still date back to the second half of the first century AD. Since the exact date is unknown, qualified historians and biographers have made assumptions and built various versions. Everyone agreed that he lived after Archimedes, since in his works Heron relies on the knowledge presented in his writings. In addition, in his works, the Alexandrian figure mentions the lunar eclipse of March 13, 62 in such a way that one can conclude that he personally observed the above-mentioned phenomenon.

The details of the life of this scientist are unknown; exact data relating to his biography has not been preserved. Perhaps historians of that time were not too interested in this person, but one way or another, all dates are approximate. The birthplace of the great inventor was the city of Alexandria.

Heron is considered a great and talented engineer in human history. He is credited with the invention of automatic doors, the self-loading crossbow, the steam turbine, and the automatic puppet theater. From this we can conclude that he devoted especially much time to automation.

Heron loved the exact sciences with all his soul; his thoughts were completely occupied by geometry, mechanics, and optics. The teacher of this famous inventor is considered to be the equally famous scientist of ancient Greece - Ctesibius, because it was his name that Heron repeatedly mentioned in his notes. Although he also used the inventions of his predecessors - Euclid and Archimedes.

The most important property of Heron of Alexandria are the books that remained after him. These works describe not only the innovations of the author himself, but also the knowledge and discoveries of his contemporaries and other ancient Greek discoverers. Heron's most famous works are works entitled “Metrics”, “Pneumatics”, “Automatopoetics”, “Mechanics”. Descendants saw the last notes only in Arabic; moreover, not all of the author’s above-mentioned works were preserved in the original, author’s version. For example, the manuscript in which Heron describes mirrors exists only in Latin.

In his works on geodesy, the author talks about the first odometer. This is the name of a device that measures distance. In 1814, Heron’s work “On the Diopter” was published, where he sets out the parameters of land surveying, which are based on the use of rectangular coordinates. A diopter is an elementary device for measuring angles, and its discovery is attributed to Heron. The bright mind of this famous scientist was visited by truly brilliant thoughts, but most of his innovations in the Middle Ages were rejected by his contemporaries. This was explained by the fact that such phenomena were of no practical interest.

In his work entitled “Mechanics”, which consists of 3 parts, Heron described 5 types of elementary mechanisms - gate, lever, wedge, block and screw. The above devices formed the basis for more complex structures, and the “golden rule of mechanics” is associated with them - an increase in force when using these mechanisms is achieved by increasing the time spent.

The ball of Aeolus, the progenitor of modern steam turbines, is also mentioned in his works. It can also be considered the first heat engine. The above-mentioned device was essentially a bronze cauldron, which was supported on supports. A pair of tubes were attached to its lid, and they held the sphere. Steam flowed through tubes from the boiler into the sphere, and as it exited the tubes it rotated the sphere.

The fire water pump, which was also discussed in the manuscripts of the discoverer from Alexandria, continuously pumped water, and the miracle fountain (also called Heron’s fountain) operated without using energy.

Many of the scientist’s works concerned optics. He conducted experiments and analyzed problems involving the refraction of light rays, and made assumptions. For example, in the treatise “Catoptrics”, the famous researcher explained the straightness of light rays with the incredibly high speed of their propagation, as well as the type and shape of the mirror that participated in the experiment.

Mathematics treatises contained a large number of formulas. The scientist also had descriptions of geometric figures. Everyone knows Heron's formula from school - it is used to determine the area of a triangle along the semi-perimeter and three sides. And, although it was Archimedes who deduced it, this theorem bears the name of a scientist from Alexandria.

The talented inventor created another incredibly useful device - an automatic oil lamp. In antiquity, an oil lamp was used for lighting, namely a bowl that contained a burning wick, previously soaked in oil. A small piece of fabric acted as a wick, which burned very quickly. The main disadvantage of such a lighting device was that it was necessary to constantly adjust the oil level in the bowl. And if one such lamp could still be controlled, then a servant had to be assigned to several similar devices, who constantly added oil to the lamp and changed the burnt piece of fabric for a new one. Heron improved this design by attaching a float and a gear to the bowl. When the oil in the bowl ran out, the float dropped to the bottom, and the gear wheel turned and fed a new wick.

Heron paid a lot of attention to theorems and formulas, but in his works he only gave examples of these formulas, and did not describe their proof or application. Therefore, not all of them were in demand in ancient Greece. In the same way, the mechanisms created by Heron did not immediately find application, because in the ancient world all the hard work was done by slaves. And the work of mechanics of that time was not appreciated; it was equated to the work of slaves.

That is why most of Heron’s inventions were set aside for several centuries. Some of the scientist’s inventions were subsequently rediscovered, but by other scientists who did not take credit for other people’s discoveries, but simply did not hear anything about the inventor from Alexandria and his achievements.

The name of Heron is still on everyone’s lips to this day, and this is connected not only with his theorem.

There is another reason. In 1976, the International Astronomical Union named a crater on the far side of the Moon after the great physicist and mathematician, immortalizing it for all time. So, Heron of Alexandria made many discoveries, but only a small part of them was appreciated.