Search results for "History of Mechanics"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Coupling Mechanics of Antikythera Gearwheels
2012
This paper discusses the gear coupling mechanics of the ancient Antikythera mechanism, among whose distinctive characteristics was the triangular shaping of the teeth. The engagement of the tooth pairs is analyzed in detail, estimating the temporal variation of the speed ratio due to the back and forth shifting of the relative instant center. The admissibility of the theoretical contact points is carefully checked, and the magnitude of the successive tooth collisions is calculated together with the energy losses arising from the particular nature of the coupling. Some interesting results are that only one tooth pair turns out to be active at each time instant and the real path may belong on…
On the birth and growth of pendulum clocks in the Early on the History Modern Era
2016
Measuring the passage of time has intrigued humankind throughout the centuries. Ancient times witnessed the appearance and development of clepsydras and water clocks, whose place was subsequently taken by mechanical clocks in the Middle Ages. It is really surprising how the general architecture of mechanical clocks has remained almost unchanged in practice up to the present time. Yet the foremost mechanical developments in clock-making date from the 17th century, when the discovery of the laws of pendular isochronism by Galilei and Huygens permitted a higher degree of accuracy in the measuring of time.
The Rotary Aero-Engine from 1908 to 1918
2012
The rotary aero engine is a special type of air-cooled radial engine, where the cylinders are arranged like the spokes of a wheel and turn around the crankshaft. The propeller is connected to the cylinders, while the crankshaft is fixed to the frame. The rotary aero engine, developed in 1908, set new standards of power and light weight within the aircraft industry. It was adopted by many pioneer aviators and widely used to set records of endurance, speed and height. Many aero engine manufacturers produced different models and variants of this type of engine, which was extensively used until the end of the First World War. The latest evolution of the rotary engine was the counter-rotary arra…
A Note on the Mechanics of Ancient Gear Systems
2011
This paper deals with the mechanical behavior of the gearwheels of the antiquity, which were generally characterized by triangular shaping of the teeth. The engagement of the conjugate profiles is analyzed in detail, calculating the temporal variation of the speed ratio due to the back and forth shifting of the relative instant center. The admissibility of the points of the theoretical contact path is carefully checked, estimating also the magnitude of the successive tooth collisions and ascertaining the energy losses arising from the particular nature of the coupling. Some very interesting results are that only one couple of teeth turns out to be active at each time instant and that the re…