Water Wheel- Industrial Revolution: 3D Gallery

Vitruvius The Creator

The water wheel was designed by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, there is not much information on Vitruvius. He was born 80–70 BC. He was a Roman author, architect, civil engineer and military engineer, he is mostly known for his famous book ‘De Architectura’ which is known as “The Ten Books Of Architecture”. The book talks about water clocks, water pumps, etc, it also talks about philosophy, mathematics, and medicine, it is also a combination of the history of architecture and Vitruvius’ personal experience and advice on it. He is known for creating the water wheel for the first time. His knowledge of proportions and the human body influenced Leonardo Da Vinci, an influencer of the Renaissance, to create the Vitruvian Man. Vitruvius did not only create the water wheel but his books guided European architects for many years. Vitruvius was not the only person who thought about the water wheel. During the 1150s, a Hindu mathematician Bhaskara had the idea of the water wheel, he lacked the analytical mechanics that would show such a machine is impossible. During the Industrial Revolution, Richard Arkwright built water frame. A water frame is a spinning jenny powered by the water wheel. Sources show that Vitruvius is the man credited for creating the water wheel. The water wheel is one of the widely known inventions around the world. Some benefits to the water wheel were that they helped with crop irrigation, grinding grains and it supplied water for villagers. Using the water wheel as a base, many people invented different machines like the water frame and the water mill, which is used to grind grains. Different types of water wheels were created using Vitruvius’ idea as a base. Nowadays, water wheels are used to power hydroelectric dams using the help of turbines.

Function of the Water Wheel

Highlights: Overshot water wheel and its parts. Overshot, undershot, and Breastshot wheels

The water wheel was a very useful invention, especially in the 1800s because it was used to create power which helped with multiple things, it also provided some use for making paper and milling flour. The water wheel was very useful but how does it function? Well according to this picture above the water wheel had 3 different types, overshot, undershot, and breastshot wheels. I found that the overshoot and undershot wheel was used when there was a height difference and when it was taller than the other wheels. The undershot wheel scooped up the water from under while the overshot wheel scooped up the water from above it. The breastshot wheel could pick up more inflows. The breastshot wheel also picks up the water from below because it is flowing down, while the overshot wheel has water coming down from above. The overshot water wheel has something called a headrace above it which is the thing that gives it the water. The other parts of the water wheel are called the wheel rotation which is like it sounds, it is the part that carries the water while also rotating the wheel down. The tailrace is the final part of the water wheel and it is when the water is poured off and onto the platform.

Modernization of the Water Wheel

The waterwheel has proven quite useful for tasks used to create a more efficient and easier lifestyle, but all the changes and tweaks made on this marvelous invention have developed it into a modern, surprisingly even more efficient, machine. Now water wheels are used for things such as hydro-electric dams, the water wheel uses its energy to spin the turbine thus creating hydroelectric power. Although water wheels are being used for new things they are still used as they were before to power things such as mills, for grain. Now that resources like steel are more abundant, most water wheels are built out of more sustainable materials that last longer, are more cost-efficient, and are more environmentally friendly. One more big improvement was the change from horizontal water wheels to modern vertical water wheels. The horizontal water wheels were inefficient and wasteful, but the vertical water wheel used gravity to create more power thus creating a more productive source of energy. With the growing idea of clean energy around the world due to climate change, water wheels are known as a great source of renewable energy, and helpful to reduce carbon footprint. This shows the impact of the industrial revolution as it created several inventions useful to this day for modern problems.

History Of Water Wheel

The following two pictures show the changes the water wheel has gone through. The water wheel dates back at least 2000 years ago. The difference from todays water wheel is that the first water wheel was not as energy efficient. The function of the water wheel has changed over time. The water wheel 2000 years ago would not be as reinforced and would break down a lot more than a modern water wheel would. The main point is that the water wheel is a completely different invention than it was 2000 years ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrews

Mr and Mrs Andrews is an oil on canvas portrait of about 1750 by Thomas Gainsborough, now in the National Gallery, London. [more]

Flatford Mill

Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River) is an oil painting by English artist John Constable, painted in 1816. It is Constable's largest exhibition canvas to be painted mainly outdoors, the first of his large "six-foot" paintings [more]

The Fighting Temeraire

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting by the English artist J. M. W. Turner. HMS Temeraire was one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. [more]

The Hireling Shepherd

This is a painting by William Holman Hunt, a leading British Pre-Raphaelite.

Ophelia

Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851 and 1852. It depicts Ophelia, a character from Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark. [more]

The Music Lesson

The Music Lesson or Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman by Jan Vermeer, is a painting of young female pupil receiving the titular music lesson. [more]

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Water Wheel- Industrial Revolution