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Notes on video lecture:
Fireworks and Rocket Inventions in Ancient History
Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on May 17, 2016 (go to class or lectures)
Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:
improvements, wire, astronomer, bird, toy, water, Mongols, gun, turbine, nozzles, device, Plato, festive, rotary, air
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Archytas (428–347 BC) [ar-KEE-tus]
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Greek philosopher, mathematician, and                     
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friend of           
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was reported to have constructed and flown the first self-propelled flying             
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we don't have illustrations of this device
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described as a small         -shaped device
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may have been suspended by a         
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using a jet of steam, this device was propelled through the air
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this demonstrated the concept of reactive propulsion
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The Hero Engine
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Hero of Alexandria (65-125 AD)
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first device to transform steam into              motion
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a hollow sphere placed on top of a vessel of heated           
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the water in the vessel travels up two tubes which led to a sphere which was free to rotate on a shaft
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two L-shaped                which were attached to the sphere and pointed tangentially
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as steam flowed through the tubes and out the nozzles, it caused the sphere to rotate
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nobody understood that this was an early reaction steam               
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it was considered to be a       
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Hero went on to publish books in geometry, mechanics and pneumatics (engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized       )
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ca. 100 AD Chinese developed simple form of        powder
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made of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal dust
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when ignited produced colorful sparks and smoke
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use as fireworks for religious and                events
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experimented with filling bamboo tubes with gunpowder
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attached to arrows and launched with bows
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the first solid rocket
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first reported use was in a conflict in 1232 with the               
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would fire 100 at once
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didn't make many                          over the centuries
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but use of these rockets spread to India and Europe

Ideas and Concepts:

Story of the first rocket, via this morning's History of Rockets class: "In the fourth century BC, Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and friend of Plato, Archytas [ar-KEE-tus], is reported to have constructed and flown the first self-propelled flying device. We don't have any illustrations of this device but it was described as a small bird-shaped object, perhaps suspended and guided by a string or wire. Using a jet of steam from boiling water, it propelled itself through the air, thus demonstrating for the first time in the history of rocket science the concept of reactive propulsion."
From the ancient missed opportunities department, via this morning's History of Rockets class: "Hero of Alexandria (10-70 AD), considered the greatest experimenter of antiquity, is known for creating the first aeolipile (Αἴολος = god of wind, μπίλια = ball), also known as Hero's engine, a simple bladeless radial steam turbine which spins when the central water container is heated. Torque is produced by steam jets exiting the turbine, much like a tip jet or rocket engine. There is no evidence that shows that Hero's aeolipile served any useful purpose, and in writing of the time it was referred to merely as a toy."
Fireworks and Rocket Inventions in Ancient History