We think of the steam turbine as the force that powered the Industrial Revolution. We think of automatic doors and vending machines as modern conveniences. But these things existed a couple of thousand years ago during the days of imperial Rome. They had accurate clocks, grain mills, and self-healing concrete, too, not to mention the amazing aqueducts and sewer systems that aren't covered here. Many inventions are ascribed to Hero of Alexandria, who was a gifted mathematician and an engineer who experimented with mechanical developments of all kinds, often powered by the physics of water, whether gravity or steam power.
But before the Roman Empire gets all the credit, we have to remember that Hero was Greek, and Ctesibius as well, and they worked in Egypt. Both were probably expanding on even more ancient knowledge from both cultures. The Roman Empire was big and powerful enough to allow such geniuses to not only work but document their innovations in Alexandria, established by the Greeks as a center of learning and knowledge. Nevertheless, what those engineers of the Roman era accomplished is pretty impressive. -via Damn Interesting
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