A Greek engineer invented a functional steam turbine two millennia before the Industrial Revolution
Hero of Alexandria's 'aeolipile' was a functional steam turbine invented in the 1st century AD, utilizing jet propulsion principles nearly two millennia before the jet age.
The aeolipile, described by the Greek engineer Hero of Alexandria, was the world’s first device to convert steam pressure into rotational motion. It consisted of a hollow sphere mounted on a boiler, with two curved nozzles protruding from its equator. As water boiled, steam was forced through the nozzles, creating a tangential reaction force that caused the sphere to spin at speeds exceeding 1,000 rpm.
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