MICROFICHE REFERENCE LIBFUUW - Cd3wd.com

3Many references describe Joseph's well, which is the first accountof the Persian wheel or chain-of-pots (Figure 3.20); however, dates varyanywhere from 1500 to 3000 B.C. (Ewbank, 1876; Eubanks, 1971; Rouse andInce, 1963). About this same time, the pulley or roller appears to haveevolved. In areas such as Mesopotamia where deep wells were dug, thepulley was soon brought into use for mots such as in Figure 3.1 (De Camp,1963). Writings on clay tablets also relate the use of water raisingtreadmills in Mesopotamia about 1200 B.C. (De Camp, 1963). Similarly,engravings on ancient medals depict the use of bellows for venting firessome three to four thousand years ago. Although their use for liftingwater was not to come for several centuries, this did mark the early useof suction and the simple flap valve (Ewbank, 1876).By 1000 B.C., the further refinement of gears allowed widespreadconstruction of watermills in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. However,it is the Chinese who are credited with combining the watermill and thewaterwheel into the noria (Figure 3.21) --a self-powered waterwheel (Roger,1905). Although wind and waterpower developed during the second milleniumB.C., their acceptance in many areas, such as the Roman Empire, was delayedbecause of the large slave labor force available.Sometime in the 5th century B.C., Athenagoras, a philosopher, observedthe stylish sprinkling pots of the day which had holes in the bottom andproposed that when the top opening was covered, atmospheric pressurecould not push down on the water, but only up, i.e., countering gravityand thus retaining the water. However, it was not until about 300 B.C. thatCtesibius combined the discovery of atmospheric pressure and the principleof the bellows into the first suction or lift pump, primarily for use infighting fires with manual power.