A BRIEF HISTORY OF FLUID MECHANICS1
One of the first engineering problems humankind faced as cities were developed
was the supply of water for domestic use and irrigation of crops. Our
urban lifestyles can be retained only with abundant water, and it is clear
from archeology that every successful civilization of prehistory invested in
the construction and maintenance of water systems. The Roman aqueducts,
some of which are still in use, are the best known examples. However, perhaps
the most impressive engineering from a technical viewpoint was done
at the Hellenistic city of Pergamon in present-day Turkey. There, from 283
to 133 BC, they built a series of pressurized lead and clay pipelines (Fig.
1–11), up to 45 km long that operated at pressures exceeding 1.7 MPa (180
m of head). Unfortunately, the names of almost all these early builders are
lost to history. The earliest recognized contribution to fluid mechanics theory
was made by the Greek mathematician Archimedes (285–212 BC). He
formulated and applied the buoyancy principle in history’s first nondestructive
test to determine the gold content of the crown of King Hiero I. The
Romans built great aqueducts and educated many conquered people on the
benefits of clean water, but overall had a poor understanding of fluids theory.
(Perhaps they shouldn’t have killed Archimedes when they sacked
Syracuse.)
During the Middle Ages the application of fluid machinery slowly but
steadily expanded. Elegant piston pumps were developed for dewatering
mines, and the watermill and windmill were perfected to grind grain, forge
metal, and for other tasks. For the first time in recorded human history significant
work was being done without the power of a muscle supplied by a
person or animal, and these inventions are generally credited with enabling
the later industrial revolution. Again the creators of most of the progress are
unknown, but the devices themselves were well documented by several
technical writers such as Georgius Agricola (Fig. 1–12).
The Renaissance brought continued development of fluid systems and
machines, but more importantly, the scientific method was perfected and
adopted throughout Europe. Simon Stevin (1548–1617), Galileo Galilei
(1564–1642), Edme Mariotte (1620–1684), and Evangelista Torricelli
(1608–1647) were among the first to apply the method to fluids as they
investigated hydrostatic pressure distributions and vacuums. That work was
integrated and refined by the brilliant mathematician, Blaise Pascal (1623–
1662). The Italian monk, Benedetto Castelli (1577–1644) was the first person
to publish a statement of the continuity principle for fluids. Besides formulating
his equations of motion for solids, Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727)
applied his laws to fluids and explored fluid inertia and resistance, free jets,
and viscosity. That effort was built upon by the Swiss Daniel Bernoulli