Corn-grinding windmill, equipped with an auxiliary steam engine (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, circa 1900). Source: “Geschiedenis van de techniek in Nederland“.
Hybrid windmill
April 23, 2009 by Filed Under: History, Obsolete technology, Steam, Wind Power, Windmills
The immutable verities of grand physical laws
April 17, 2009 by Filed Under: Instruments, Obsolete technology, Quotes
“The design and manufacture of scientific instruments has undergone a radical transformation in the last 30 years, achieving what might be described as the democratization of accuracy. Levers, pinions, wheels, and linkages have given way to microprocessors that read data at exquisite levels of sensitivity and reveal it instantly on digital displays. This transformation has affected our lives far beyond the laboratory, but to my eye the gains have been accompanied by losses.”
Read: The engineer’s art, why a contemporary-art expert also collects old machines.
Picture: Einthoven’s string galvanometer.
The development of the electric motor
March 15, 2009 by Filed Under: Engines & Motors, Obsolete technology
Picture gallery at the Spark Museum.
Steam log haulers
February 22, 2009 by Filed Under: Obsolete technology, Steam
Steam log haulers: The handful of
Lombard steam log haulers known to still exist today are a part of
history that illustrates the ingenuity of those who came before us.
That history came alive Saturday as one of these surviving 19-ton
machines steamed into action in Brunswick.
Snow scooter from the 1920s
January 25, 2009 by Filed Under: Obsolete technology, Snow-tech, Travel
