Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-01-01
Eight years to September aon for years follow
Ing:
LOOSE TOBACCO.
R.,c,n,. for Twelve montbs to September sosh
ANCIENT SCIENCE.
The Scientific knowledge Of the Ancient
Greeks and Romans.

That we owe a great deal of our mathe--
NAUTICAL knowledge as the results reached
by the ancients is q familiar fact. 1T may
not be so generally known that they APP
piled their knowledge OF mathematics to
accomplishing practical results IN tho
different departments OF experimental
science. and that many scientific ap-
pliances which are commonly supposed
to be the inventions OF modern genius
were wholly or partly anticipated by
them. In the department of me-
chanics, writes DR.. q. G.. Rolfe. In the
Popnior Science Ns,rs, they may hayelearned
great deal from the nation that taught
them so much in other directions, the
Egyptians, who must have acquired great
deal of knowledge IN that line. Inc nIs1
Greek 10 whom independent mechanical
inventions are attributed is Archytas OF
yarentum, who was also distinguishes as
general and philosopher. He lived
about 400 b. c.. and was therefore con-
Temporary Of Plato. Many of his inyen-
tjous were merely mechanical toys or curl
osities. Among these was flying wooden
dove, which excited great wonder and adj
miration. But be applied his talents TO
more serious and valuable ends, II those
authorities are TO be trusted who credit
him with the invention of the pulley and
screw. The first Greek to make mechani-
cal principles the object Of thorough scicn-
tIfic investigation was Aristotle. We are
told that he knew the principle OF the pa
rallelogram Of forces. for the special case OF
rigbt-ancled compouents, and the law OF
virtual yelocities. His knowledge OF phys
ics WAS however, more theoretical than
practical. Easily first among ancient Greek
scientists is Archimedes, of Syracuse IN
Sicily, who was born about PSI u. 9. He
possessed inventive genius IN degree
never excelled. except, perhaps. by New
ton. The story Is familiar one that
the discovery Of the admixture of silver
in O crown. which Hero had ordered
TO DO made OF pure gold, was suggest
ed 70 him bv the over10wIng of the water
when he stepped int a bath, and that he
was 50 pleased that forgetting TO put on
his clothes, he ran through the streets
shouting Eureka" g. have found It'll ~
This complete abstraction from outward
things reminds one of the stories OF Newton
sitting q great part of the day half-dressed
on his bed while composing the Prin-
cipia." Archimedes was the pioneer ia the
study of staties, and his theory OF the lever
was the basis of that department OF me-
chanics until the time of Newton, while no
ilnportant addition TO the principles OF the
equilibrium of fluids and floating bodies. a5
laid down by him. was made until the pub
lication af Stevin's researches Ia 1908. lis
greatest fame in ancient tunes was due 10
his Inventions Oh implements Va Wal. III
the second Punic war; while Marcellus was
besieging Syracuse, he was said TO have set
fire to the Roman ships by the suns rays
reflected from series OF mirrors. his
ststcment, which * not mentioned by the
historians Poly bius, Liyy, or Plutarch, has
been much discussed and written about IN
modern times. tisnOw generally regarded
rs a fiction, though one investigator, But
FUN. while preparing q dissertation on the
subject. succeeded in igniting wood at
distance of $50 feet by combination OF l4S
plane mirrors. OF far greater real import
ance was the invention of "ArchimedesS
screw ~ which he devised for the purpose
of pumping water from tho hold of great
ship which he had built for Hero. This
instrument is also said TO have been used
nv the inhabitants of lower Egypt for irrl-
eating their land. Another celebrated in
vention OF Archimedes was a sphere repre-
senting by hydraulic power the movements
Of the heavenly bodies; but OF this unfor-
tunately we have no description. Next II
rank TO Archimedes were Kteslbois and
Heron. or Hero. as his name is COM
monty written. The former was probably
born in Askra. in Bmotia, in $50 Is. g.; ac-
wears earlier He invented clepsy
dra. or water clock (Which must have
been Of complicated mechanism,
eince the hours were of different
leupths at different seGsona), and wa
ter organ. He was the first To discover the
elastic force Of the air. and to use 1t as n
motive power. His pupil Heron, was more
famous than his teacher, and was the author
OF o number of brilliant inventions. for
for which he has only IN comparatively re-
cent times received credit. His name IS
we'll known from the familiar pneumatic
expermcnt called "HerO's fountain" IN
which Jet of water IS maintained by con-
densed air. he also has the credit of IN
venting the first steam engine" which
acted exnctly on the principle of " Bark
er's mill" except that steam, and not
water, was the motive power. IL con-
sists Of boiler, having arms with lat
eral orifices, which were capable of re-
volving around a vertical AXIS; the steam
issued from the orihces, and the uncOm-
pensated pressure upon the parts opposite
these turned the boiler. lie invented a
double fOrce-pump. used as tre-enSlne,
and various other applications OF the elias
ITCHY of air and steam. lie dld not use
steaIn-power for the performance OF def-
mite mechanical work. This was first done
by Anthemus, of Tra1es. in LYDIA. who
lived in the time of Justinian. Heron also
cave his attention to the invention or me-
chapical TOYS and curiosities and wrote
book on How to Make Automata." Among
his devices OF this kind are recorded self
lighting FIRE for sacriiicial offerings and an
appliance for representing thunder IN the
atrical performances. Anthemius, who has
been mentioned above, was not only
famous mathematician and architect but
somewhat of practical joker. On ono oc-
casion he is said TO have arranged caidrons
of water in lower room of his house, each
vessel being covered with the WIDE mouth
of leather tube, which conducted To the
attic OF his next-door neighbor, Zeno,
against whom he had grudge. The water
was heated. and the stream, using IN the
confined space under the, roof, shook the
adjacent house like a slight earthquake.
much 10 the amazement Of Zeno and his
family. AT another time when Zeno had
friends to dine with him the company at
tho table were startled by the dazzling
light flashed into their faces by mirrors ar
ranged for the purpose by the wag-
gish Anthemius, while fr1ghtful noises
accompanying the blaze suggested sudden
thunderstorm. Philon OF Bysantium. who
lived some time before Heron, UNDERSTOOD
that air could be compressed or expanded,
and explained correctly the working of a
cupping-g glass. The foremost Roman IN this
branch OF science was Fitruvius, the cele-
brated writer on architecture. His BIRTH
place is not known; he lived IN the hrst
century. b. c. He invented hosting
machine. which seems to have united the
principles Of the pulley and the windlass,
and an odometer which measured the dis
.tauce traycrsed on foot or in a vehicle.
jfhe latter was practically the same in
.priucipir as the pedometers aud cyciome--
ters OF The present day. He also knew aud
made practical use Of the fact that water
rises to the same height in communicating
tubes Of different shapes and dinien-
sions. Frortinus. who lived N the time
Of yegpasian, wrote work on The Aque-
ducts OF the City of Rome" la the
course of his Investigations he was the first
TO observe that not only the size OF the
outlet, but also the elevation OF the surface
OF the water above 1t. regulated the amount
Sschargcd n gwen sams snrs aa Torpl
cell. The grammarian Priscian, who
lived at the end Of the fifth century OF our
era. Is said to have invented m hydfome-
ter which was. however, limited to deter,
mining which OF the two fluids examined
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