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[Doppel]

Once in a while i come across this thread and every time i can't but laugh (in a non-mocking way)
The thought that Toady, although a genius, would have invented the screw pump is kinda like Sid Meier having invented the Railroad.

[LegoLord]

Friend of mine used this technique to make a sand fountain.

Got a video of that?  Sounds AWESOME.

[Slappy Moose]

Am I the only one that sees this as an incredibly inefficient way to move water vertically?


But unless I'm missing a design aspect, wouldn't the screw need to be perfectly airtight against the pipe so the water would not just slip between the two components?

It seems like a waterwheel (or carousel) system would be simpler: a rotating wheel that has buckets which puck up water below and spill it out at the top of the wheel.



Please, someone explain to me how this works vertically. I can see how it would work well by pushing water horizontally.

[LegoLord]

I think it's more at an angle that straight up vertical.

[Doppel]

Am I the only one that sees this as an incredibly inefficient way to move water vertically?


But unless I'm missing a design aspect, wouldn't the screw need to be perfectly airtight against the pipe so the water would not just slip between the two components?

It seems like a waterwheel (or carousel) system would be simpler: a rotating wheel that has buckets which puck up water below and spill it out at the top of the wheel.



Please, someone explain to me how this works vertically. I can see how it would work well by pushing water horizontally.

How could a waterwheel with buckets draw water out of the soil?
Anyways, sure the screwpump has to be made properly but people were skilled back then in making stuff like that and probably even more then now.

[Marlowe]

Good reason to make them out of bronze rather than iron though.

[Zironic]

You would only need to move the pump quickly enough with a loose configuration to produce water in significant quanities. However, with an air tight configuration, the system would work perfectly.

[LegoLord]

You would only need to move the pump quickly enough with a loose configuration to produce water in significant quanities. However, with an air tight configuration, the system would work perfectly.

Not necessarily.  The increase in friction might just slow down the screw enough to make it less efficient.

[bluea]

Please, someone explain to me how this works vertically. I can see how it would work well by pushing water horizontally.

It has a limit of around a thirty degree incline. But it can have a quite high throughput with just a direct hand crank. No gears, seals, bearings or anything else still gets you a pretty good rate of water. Yes, of course there's slop. Waterwheel-like arrangements tend to be overly involved for a one-man-pump though. Particularly if you're trying to match the flowrate from the screwpump.

[Foa]

I've heard that Mythbusters tested it but I don't remember if it was a myth or not.

They did. They used the same materials available in the myths time period (polished brass sheets) and couldn't get the boat to ignite. They even used a super modern version with the help of a University and they still couldn't do it.

Now, Archimedes' Claw, on the other hand, could work.

Hmm, goblins vs. the Claw...

[Rilder]

Screw pumps are also a good way to move grain into silos.

[makar]

I've heard that Mythbusters tested it but I don't remember if it was a myth or not.

They did. They used the same materials available in the myths time period (polished brass sheets) and couldn't get the boat to ignite. They even used a super modern version with the help of a University and they still couldn't do it.

Now, Archimedes' Claw, on the other hand, could work.

If it was the episode i saw (and was it really mythbusters, or was it some other similar program i cannot recall) then the conclusion was inconclusive tending to negative.

Seeing that episode i had some remarks about the weather, it was a bit hazy in a way you will not have at noon day sunny mediterrenean bay. (i.e. much more sun power at the supposedly historical location)

Also they tried to set the wood afire. Why set the wood afire if you can burn the sails and rigging.
The ropes themselves would have been treated with oil to improve durability, the same with the sail.
The whole ship was treated with burnables, als oil and tar do so much to improve durability vis a vis (salt) water. Once fire starts at the sail, the sail is a lost cause, and if not quickly and properly discarded, then the ship is a lost cause too.

[sneakey pete]

Not necessarily.  The increase in friction might just slow down the screw enough to make it less efficient.

Ah, but if you use nano material engineering, you could line the edges of the screw with a material that would always be slippery due to some particle trick. its really cool stuff. and i can't remember how it works. And i had the exam for that subject today.

Am I the only one that sees this as an incredibly inefficient way to move water vertically?

It seems like a waterwheel (or carousel) system would be simpler: a rotating wheel that has buckets which puck up water below and spill it out at the top of the wheel.

Oh, i'm sure it would be. if you had the space. and the materials.

Please, someone explain to me how this works vertically. I can see how it would work well by pushing water horizontally.

It doesn't pump vertically, but you'd have multiple pumps "zigzaging" the water up at an angle.