Book: Automatic Pleasures: - The History of the Coin Machine

I was just alerted to the fact that there is a new edition of this very interesting book on the history of coin-operated machines!

From the description:

The book established many new facts and destroyed many of the myths that had arisen in the gaming industry during the 20th century. Originally an ancient Greek invention the advent of the coin machine in the 19th century heralded a Victorian revolution which sought to establish a fully automated society. The visionaries of the past are the direct forbears of the all pervasive computer industries -- without the gaming and coin machine industries it is doubtful as to whether today's computer dominated age would have ever happened.

There are some really wonderful images and diagrams in this book. Be sure to use the "Look Inside" feature at Amazon to see what I mean!

Here is where you can buy Automatic Pleasures: - The History of the Coin Machine

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3D video animation clearly shows the workings of the Antikythera Mechanism

Have you heard of the Antikythera Mechanism? If so, you will enjoy this beautifully done 3D animation that shows its component parts and functions.

If you haven't heard of the the Antikythera Mechanism, it is an ancient artifact currently housed in the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The mechanism is a thin metal object that was found by divers in the wreckage of a ancient Roman ship off the coast of Greece in 1900. It was clearly a sophisticated instrument of some kind with a surprisingly modern style gear train. That alone was a startling discovery, but the exact purpose of the machine remained a mystery for a long time.

Recent studies, advances in imaging technology, and painstaking reproductions have led scholars to believe that the device was a form of mechanical computer. The elaborate gear train was used to calculate the movements of stars and planets for points in the past and the future with great accuracy. Scientists and scholars believe it was build around 87 B.C. -- making it one of the most sophisticated ancient devices in existence. According to an article on the Antikythera Mechanism in the journal Nature, its mechanical sophistication would see no equal until mechanical clocks appeared in western Europe in the fourteenth century.

For a more complete story of the Antikythera Mechanism, check out the book Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer--and the Century-long Search to Discover Its Secrets.

[ Thanks Joseph! ]

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Hero's automatic wine dispensing machine

Hero of Alexandria (aka Heron of Alexandria) created many amazing machines. In addition to his work on pneumatics, he also had a treatise on automata. Shown here is one of the many inventions he is credited with: an automatic wine dispensing machine. Though the narration is not in English, the graphics are so good it hardly matters what language you speak.

Here is the basic idea: A cup at one end of a balance is placed below the spout. A counter weight is removed below the cup and the opposite end of the balance becomes heavier. As the opposite end of the balance descends, it causes a stopper to lift and allow wine to flow out of the vessel and into the empty cup. Eventually, the cup fills with enough wine to tip the balance back to the original position, closing the valve. The weight below the cup is replaced and a pre-measured portion of wine taken away with the cup! Some have argued this is an early form of systems control.

To read more about Hero and other early engineers, the book Ancient Engineers comes highly recommended.

The video is by Omid Ameri.

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Book about Ancient Greek Gadgets and Machines

This 152 page book, printed in 1966 (paperback) and again in 1975 (hardcover), covers the inventions attributed to the ancient Greeks. It includes both drawings and photographs of the subject. Of particular interest is the section dedicated to the design for the first steam engine created by Heron of Alexandria.

From one Amazon Reviewer:

Basically, the book keeps what the title promises: it is a brilliant account of ancient Greek gadgets and machines, focusing both on the explanation of the most important inventions and on the famous inventors they are attributed to. Further, Robert S. Brumbaugh gives concise and enlightening descriptions of different Greek philosophers' attitudes towards machines. This, combined with Brumbaugh's absorbing writing style, makes Ancient Greek Gadgets and Machines a most rewarding read.

The author, Robert Sherrick Brumbaugh, wrote extensively on the subject of ancient Greece.

Here is where you can pick among used editions of the book Ancient Greek Gadgets and Machines.

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Working desktop Hero steam engine

Check out this sleek working steam turbine model made from solid brass and black anodized aluminum. Based on the design of Hero (or Heron, if you prefer) of Alexandria, this high-end model stands about 5 inches tall and is powered by an alcohol burner.

From the description of the steam engine model:

A precursor to the jet engine, Heron's steam turbine was the first of its kind to extract thermal energy from pressurized steam and convert it into rotary motion. The desktop steam turbine is powered by an alcohol burner that heats a sphere boiler holding 2/3 oz. of water, evoking the metal cauldron that heated Heron's original aeolipile. When steam is generated, it is expelled through two nozzles on the sphere pointing in opposite directions, generating thrust that rotates the sphere on its axis up to 2,500 rpm.

Here's where you can learn more about this working model of Hero's steam turbine.

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Video from the first LEGO Festival in Greece

Images and video from the first LEGO Festival in Greece.

Visit http://web.me.com/NeXTSTORM for more projects & pictures.

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Book: The Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria

Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria (c. 10-70 AD) was a prolific inventor and mathematician and is one of the first known creators of automata in the history of Western civilization. His original works were destroyed in the fire that consumed the ancient library in Alexandria, but some of his work survived by way of copies that were made in Arabic. Here is his work on Pneumatics, which included a working steam engine -- an invention that was perhaps several thousand years ahead of its time.

Here is the book The Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria

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Decoding the Heavens: Antikythera mechanism

Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer--and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets is about the the Antikythera mechanism a mysterious and sophisticated mechanical device recovered in 1901 from an ancient Mediterranean shipwreck. It is now thought to have been built about 150 - 100 BC and represents the first known analog computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. It's an astonishing piece of ancient mechanical technology with a fascinating history.

From the Publishers Weekly

Marchant, editor of New Science, relates the century-long struggle of competing amateurs and scientists to understand the secrets of a 2000-year-old clock-like mechanism found in 1901 by Greek divers off the coast of Antikythera, a small island near Tunisia. With new research and interviews, Marchant goes behind the scenes of the National Museum in Athens, which zealously guarded the treasure while overlooking its importance; examines the significant contributions of a London Science Museum assistant curator who spent more than 30 years building models of the device; and the 2006 discoveries made by a group of modern researchers using state-of-the-art X-ray. Beneath its ancient, calcified surfaces they found "delicate cogwheels of all sizes" with perfectly formed triangular teeth, astronomical inscriptions "crammed onto every surviving surface," and a 223-tooth manually-operated turntable that guides the device. Variously described as a calendar computer, a planetarium and an eclipse predictor,Marchant gives clear explanations of the questions and topics involved, including Greek astronomy and clockwork mechanisms. For all they've learned, however, the Antikythera mechanism still retains secrets that may reveal unknown connections between modern and ancient technology; this globe-trotting, era-spanning mystery should absorb armchair scientists of all kinds.

Here is a link for more information on the book Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer--and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets

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Automta in antiquity article from SPIEGEL Online

The German magazine SPIEGELhas published an article on automata in antiquity. Or...at least that's what I believe it is about. I cannot read German. Nevertheless, they have a number of wonderful drawings and photographs that accompany the article.

Once again the credit must go to Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik for finding this great resource.

Shown above is a diagram of Hero of Alexandria's clever method for automatically opening temple doors. The fire in the pot, creates pressure in the large water tank. This causes water to spill into the bucket, the weight of which works against the counterweight to rotate the vertical axle attached to the temple door. Very clever. Done with the right amount of ceremony, this must have seemed very magical indeed to the ancient Greeks.

Here is a link to the photoset associated with the article. If you are able to read German, you might also like to read the original article on automata in antiquity.

[ Thanks once again to Falk Keuten! ]

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