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On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:15:32 +0200, clipka <ano### [at] anonymous org> wrote:
>I think this is one of the most ingenious canal lock designs to date:
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel
>
Aye, it's braw. :)
--
Regards
Stephen
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From: Warp
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 10:40:39
Message: <4ab4ed67@news.povray.org>
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clipka <ano### [at] anonymous org> wrote:
> I think this is one of the most ingenious canal lock designs to date:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel
> Virtually all you need to do is overcome some friction (note that the
> thing does not dip into water at the lower basin, otherwise energy would
> be needed to displace water in that position). And there's no risk of
> breaking of any cables or hydraulic pipes.
Somewhat similar ingenious engineering tricks were, in fact, quite common
in antiquity. Nowadays we are too used to everything being done with
electricity, fuel-based motors and the likes, so much that it often feels
that most of humanity has forgotten all the clever tricks that people in
the past had in their sleeves.
For example, a farmer wants to build an irrigation system which takes some
water from a nearby (large) river to his crops. Problem: The crops are 10
meters higher than the surface of the river. How to lift the water to the
crops?
In today's dumbed-down lazy society most people just use some electrical
or fuel-based water pump to lift the water, which consumes energy,
pollutes the air, is expensive, and whatnot. Few people realize that
this problem was very ingenuously solved *thousands* of years ago. The
solution is completely automatic and self-supporting (ie. doesn't require
any external power source, besides the flowing river itself), and can be
constructed from cheap basic materials. It's very environment-friendly
because it causes zero pollution and doesn't consume any energy.
Can you figure out this clever solution?
--
- Warp
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On 19 Sep 2009 10:40:39 -0400, Warp <war### [at] tag povray org> wrote:
> Can you figure out this clever solution?
Yes, if the answer is what I think it is it was reinvented in the 18th Century.
No spoilers :)
--
Regards
Stephen
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From: Mr Art
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 11:30:32
Message: <4ab4f918$1@news.povray.org>
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Warp wrote:
> Can you figure out this clever solution?
>
A water wheel with either a spiral tube to transfer the water up the
bank or buckets on the side that are dumped at the top.
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From: clipka
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 13:35:53
Message: <4ab51679$1@news.povray.org>
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Warp schrieb:
> For example, a farmer wants to build an irrigation system which takes some
> water from a nearby (large) river to his crops. Problem: The crops are 10
> meters higher than the surface of the river. How to lift the water to the
> crops?
...
> Can you figure out this clever solution?
Yup.
If the river flows fast enough, a whater-wheel can be (and often is)
used, with some buckets attached in a smart way, using simple lever
principles to use the running-water's power to lift the water up.
(A modern-times alternative, which can reach quite astonishing lifting
heights even when just a small height difference is available in the
water source, would be a hydraulic ram.)
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From: Warp
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 13:50:17
Message: <4ab519d9@news.povray.org>
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clipka <ano### [at] anonymous org> wrote:
> (A modern-times alternative, which can reach quite astonishing lifting
> heights even when just a small height difference is available in the
> water source, would be a hydraulic ram.)
Good to see that not all ingenuity has died with modern times... :)
A more complicated invention of antiquity is the so-called south-pointing
chariot. A Chinese invention which is, basically, a chariot with a figure
on top which always points in the same geographical direction regardless of
how the chariot is moved and turned. In other words, the figure acts as a
non-magnetic compass, obviously very useful for travelling long distances.
The invention might be as old as from 2600 BC (although with certainty it's
at least from 200 AD).
Now that one requires a bit more engineer ingenuity to build.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pointing_Chariot
--
- Warp
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From: clipka
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 14:10:12
Message: <4ab51e84@news.povray.org>
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Warp schrieb:
>
> A more complicated invention of antiquity is the so-called south-pointing
> chariot. A Chinese invention which is, basically, a chariot with a figure
> on top which always points in the same geographical direction regardless of
> how the chariot is moved and turned. In other words, the figure acts as a
> non-magnetic compass, obviously very useful for travelling long distances.
> The invention might be as old as from 2600 BC (although with certainty it's
> at least from 200 AD).
>
> Now that one requires a bit more engineer ingenuity to build.
Not only that: It also requires high precision in the manufacturing at
least for parts of the device. Quite a remarkable feat even for 3rd
century I'd say.
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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 14:55:46
Message: <4ab52932@news.povray.org>
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clipka wrote:
>> The invention might be as old as from 2600 BC
> Quite a remarkable feat even for 3rd century I'd say.
An even more remarkable feat for being built just days after Noah's flood
subsided! ;-)
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".
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From: SharkD
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 19 Sep 2009 19:09:39
Message: <4ab564b3$1@news.povray.org>
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Warp wrote:
> A more complicated invention of antiquity is the so-called south-pointing
> chariot. A Chinese invention which is, basically, a chariot with a figure
> on top which always points in the same geographical direction regardless of
> how the chariot is moved and turned. In other words, the figure acts as a
> non-magnetic compass, obviously very useful for travelling long distances.
> The invention might be as old as from 2600 BC (although with certainty it's
> at least from 200 AD).
It would have to be very heavy, otherwise it might bounce instead of
roll around corners, and rotation information would then be lost.
Also, I am having trouble visualizing how the device behaves differently
on curved surfaces (i.e. the Earth) as opposed to a flat plane. I wish
the article had some diagrams or animations.
-Mike
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From: Warp
Subject: Re: How to lift 600-tonnes ships at virtually no energy costs
Date: 20 Sep 2009 03:44:34
Message: <4ab5dd62@news.povray.org>
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SharkD <mik### [at] gmail com> wrote:
> Also, I am having trouble visualizing how the device behaves differently
> on curved surfaces (i.e. the Earth) as opposed to a flat plane. I wish
> the article had some diagrams or animations.
I don't think that the curvature of Earth played a significant role in
the distances involved (probably like a thousand kilometers at most,
relatively close to the equator).
--
- Warp
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