Hero's aeolipile, a steam turbine
A steam engine in Alexandria, treated as a toy
Hero of Alexandria described a sphere spun by jets of steam escaping from two bent nozzles. It is the first known steam turbine, yet nobody found a use for it, and it was shown off as a curiosity.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 1st century
Did you know
A steam turbine was built in Alexandria in the 1st century, about 1,700 years before Watt's engine. Hero's sphere spun on jets of steam, but no one gave it any work to do, and it stayed a curiosity. Share →
The first vending machine sold holy water. Hero of Alexandria described a temple device in which a coin fell onto a lever that opened a valve and released a measured squirt of water. Share →
An ancient temple could have automatic doors. Hero described how a fire on the altar heated air that pushed water into a counterweight bucket, swinging the doors open as if by divine will. Share →
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Middle East
- c. 33 Crucifixion of Jesus — 17 years earlier
- 70 Siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple — 20 years later
Asia
- c. 30 Rise of the Kushan Empire — 20 years earlier
Alive at the time
- Paul the Apostle (aged 45)
- Vespasian (aged 41)
- Ban Zhao (aged 5)