the sublimation of ancient physics knowledge

-the use of vending machines in 1711 can be said to be a symbol of our times. The earliest vending machine was designed by Herod, a Greek scientist in Alexander's time. He invented this device for giving holy water in temples. This automatic vending machine is a kettle with a short outlet pipe at the bottom. The water inlet of the tube is in the pot. There is also a small stick in the pot that can rotate like a seesaw on a pivot. A piston hangs from one end of the rod. At ordinary times, the stick is kept in a horizontal state, and the piston just blocks the water inlet. If you put a coin through the slit above the kettle, it will hit the other end of the stick, so the stick will tilt and lift the piston, and the water will flow out of the water outlet pipe and be injected into the glass. When the coin falls to the bottom of the pot, the stick returns to its normal state and cuts off the water flow. Nowadays, simpler coin-operated control machines, such as candy vending machines, are made by similar principles.

the talented hero invented many things. It can be seen from his many works on mechanics and engineering that his thinking includes scientific practice and living room magic.

The automatic log designed by Hero is considered as the earliest counting device. It is an odometer with wheels and a turbine, which is installed in the box on the carriage. His automatic log occupies an important page in the history of machinery.

Hero has also made a measuring instrument that can measure the angle and correct the level. It attracts people's attention, not only because it is more accurate than earlier instruments, but also because it has interchangeable parts.

In addition, he invented the press for squeezing olive oil and grape juice and the crossbow, and described in the book how to make musical instruments sound with an air pump. Most of his inventions are for entertaining guests or to impress admirers. Hero has made many automatic devices operated by ropes, such as mechanical birds that can sing and puppet shows that can lift the curtain. What's more, he also uses steam or hot air to drive parts. He invented a steam turbine called a rotating ball. Steam enters a hollow ball, and then it is ejected from a pair of nozzles on the symmetrical side of the ball, so the hollow ball runs under the thrust of steam. This device proved the power of steam, which was 1,711 years earlier than the appearance of steam engines.

Hero's most amazing design is a model temple. The opening and closing of the doors of the temple is indirectly controlled, which makes the audience feel very mysterious. The altar is hollow. When the altar is ignited and heated, the air in the cavity will be heated and expanded, and a living rod will be pressed down. After being pressed, the water in the container below will flow out from a tube and into a bucket, so the bucket will droop, driving the rotating shaft of the door connected with it through the rope to open the door. When the fire in the altar goes out, the air in the cavity contracts, the water is sucked back into the container, the weight of the bucket is reduced, the balance weight falls, and the door is closed.

We don't know how many designs of Hero have been made successfully. But the drawings and descriptions of these ideas recorded in his book undoubtedly show that he was many centuries ahead of his time.