Why First Industrial Revolution_Tassios

8/6/2019 Why First Industrial Revolution_Tassios

1/8

% Why the First Industrial RevolutionDid Not Tak e Place in AlexandriaT.P. Tassios

IVational Technical University of Athens, GREECE1. IntroductionSeveral facts will be briefly reminded first in order to understand the socio-economic andcultural events which led to the culmination of the ancient Greek Technology inAlexandria, about the first century of our era. But before going to historical facts, it isappropriate to invoke something more fundamental and convincing, Mythology that is,since it reflects the broadest and most genuine of social attitudes. So, Plato (Protagoras,32 1c) describes the following post-Creation scene: "Prometheus sees the humans beingnaked, barefooted, homeless and unarmed [...I; thus, wondering what salvation to find forthe humans, steals from Efaistos and AthCna the technical knowledge and the fire, [...]and offers to the humans".It is therefore clear that for the Greek holy scriptures, Technology was a gift given toMankind right at the moment of Genesis! My first conclusion will therefore be that theGreeks were a people clearly opened to Technology...2. From the 6'hto the 3'd Century B.C.But let us better follow the path of History now.First we should observe the slow development of Technology during the Neolithic periodin Greece itself, or the gradual osmosis of technological progress from Mesopotamiatowards the Greek regions. Nothing special that is, up to about the 6" century BC;thereafter, something different happens in Greece:I will first indicatively refer to ThalCs - not as a great mathematician as you h o w him,but as a great Engineer who diverted the Alys river so that the Lydian army is transportedacross (HCrodotos, I, 70). (Incidentally, Plato himself, Politeia, 600a, admired ThalCsmainly because of his technological achievements!). Almost at the same time, (6" cent.BC) Eupalinos, the famous Engineer, drives in Samos one of the longest tunnels ofhistory (more than 1,0 Km long) cutting on both sides of the mountain Kastrion, with arather surprisingly precise encountering in the middle.In both cases, what made feasible such large technical works was not the earth-moving orrock-cutting techniques, but something really new in Technology: Its marriage with a bitof Science. In fact, both ThalCs and Eupalinos had used the newly founded science ofGeometry in order to measure distances between unattainable points and trace straightlines on uneven grounds.Similarly, Mechanics as a science, as developed i.a. by ArchimCdCs himself, allowed himto develop his giant-cranes behind the walls of Syracuse (3rdcent. BC): Cranes whichsuddenly were emerging ou t of the walls, were grasping the large floating besieging -boats of the Romans, shaking them in the air and finally shattering them against therocks. Plutarch (Marcellus XVIII) reports the famous roman general confessing the s h am e he felt watching this achievementof one man.Marcellus' mistake however was that this was not one man's job, but the implementationof a new force in History, i.e. science.Remaining in the area of military technology, let us continue with these examples bymentioning the mathematical formula of Filon of Byzantion (3rdcent. BC) predicting thediameter "d" of the spring-cord of a catapult needed to throw a stone weighing "w"

'

/Uh nternational Symposium on Electrets, I999O-78O3-5O25-1/99/$1O.00 0 1 9 9 9 IEEE


2/8


3/8

3b) Within such an environment, we have now to recall the significance of the Library of

Alexandria for science and technology. The issue of 100.000 or 700.000 volumes?is of secondary importance; what really matters is the fact that one of the prerequisitesof development, i.e. accumulation of international knowledge, was observed. In fact,parallel to the Library, a sort of State Research Foundation was operating, the famousMouseion. Alexandrias skyscraper, its.Faros (the light-house of 111 m of height) mayin fact be considered as a symbol of illumination of the world.

c) Let us now inventorise great Engineers and technicalhcientific writers of the 3rdcent. BC:- Sineas, Pyrros, Sostratos, DCmCtrios, Epimachos, EgCtor, KtCsivios, Eukleides,Not three (or six) per century, as they used to be in the previous period, butmore than eleven in one century.In this respect, it is worth noting the social status of those writers: They are no morearistocrats or farmers; the fathers of some of them are just barbers (KtCsivios) or shoe-makers (Heron).

d) Besides, a more general turn is observed in the mentality of these scientists: Instead oftrying to understand the Cosmos from outside (e.g. the Chaos or the four basicelements), they now seek to bind together the micro-facts of here and now, trying tolend to them a possibly broader significance. Practical significance included - and thisis of basic importance for the subject we are dealing with here. A remarkable exampleof such an attitude is the free dissectormy of corpses (Erasistratos, 31dBC), a scientificpractice which will be lateron prohibited for about one thousand years (up to the year1238AD, Salerno).

This is the Alexandrian atmosphere into which the last chapter of the Greek Technologywas to be written.4. Technology in AlexandreiaStarting by KtCsivios and ArchimCdCs, passing though Philon of Byzantion and endingwith Heron of Alexandreia, we will recall now the essential achievements of GreekTechnology near the end of the 1st millennium BC and the birth of the 1st millennium ofour era. This may allow us eventually to attempt an answer to the question of the title o fthis lecture.a) Basic Sciences

ArchimCdCs, Viton, Filon of Byzantion etc.

Progress in Mathematics was excellent. And I wish to remind that most of theMathematicians in the ancient World were famous Engineers, including AnthCmiosthe Architect of Aghia Sophia in Constantinopolis (6th cent. AC).It is more important to see closer some of the progress in Mechanics.Statics was the most advanced branch. The theory on levers, wedges, pulley systems,wheels and rollers is systematically exposed in the books of Philon (Baroulkos) andHeron (MCchanika) with such a scientific clarity that it could be almost directlytaught today.Fluid Mechanics was less, yet sufficiently, advanced.Compressibility and elasticity of air was understood. by Stratton of Lampsakos (3rdBC); considerable progress was subsequently made by Philon and Heron in theirrespective books Pneumatika. On the other hand, hydrostatics was given a soundmathematical basis by ArchimCdCs. As an example, it is a joy for todays scientists toobserve how precisely the concept of the same level oi two liquids is defined: Theyare at the same distance from the earths centre. Elegant and comprehensive;


4/8

4

sphericity of the earth and the nature of gravity forces are clearly refereed to in thisdefinition.Dynamics however was not developed; several attempts of the Alexandrians tounderstand deceleration of projectiles were still rudimenta y...Both, scientific and technological development were needing a sound and precisesystem of basic measurements. In this respect, it seems that Alexandria was wellequipped.

b) Instruments and m easuring devices

Distances were directly measured by rulers and by hodometra (the taximeters ofHeron), or indirectly by geodetical means, like the surprisingly precise measurementof the diameter of Earth by the pentathlon EratosthCnCs (3rd BC).Angles were simply measured with gnomons or even by astrolabes (Eudoxos, 4thBC).Forces were measured by means of improved balances, thanks to ,the fundamentalarchimedian assimilation of forces to weights.Time - measuring by means of Ktesivian and Archimedian hydraulic clocks, wasmade easier and more precise than with solar clocks: The confusion betweenobjective time-interval and conventional division between sunrise and sunset wasnow easily avoided.Astronomical simulators and other computer devices, like the famous mechanism ofAntikythera (1st BC), were also developed.The basic weaponry.of every mechanical construction was already available: Hardmetallic alloys (even lead pipes were made so strong as to be used in an enormoussiphon in Pergamon (2nd BC) under a pressure of almost 20 atm.), basic tools andmechanisms (such as pulley-blocks, geared wheels, elliptical ones too, and toothedrulers), valves of several types, screws, linear and helicoidal springs, etc..Numerous industrial applicationswere therefore in use:- Complex and heavy cranes:Trispaston and pentaspaston, or even a gearbox system

described by HCron with a reduction ratio 1 200 (MCchanika). Both movablecranes and derricks were in use.- Sophisticated catapults (arrow-shooters and stone-throwers): The normal weight of20 Kg (stone shot of 25 cm in diameter) was achieved, before ArchimCdts will be

able to fire a bolt 6 m long or a stone weighing 80Kg, up to a range of 200 m.Complex torsion-spring catapults and multi-shooters (nohupoha),made of severalmetals, contained advanced mechanical parts and automations. Note that completelymetallic (X~~K~ZOVOS)r pneumatic ( a q k n o v o ~ )atapults had succeeded the old useof animal sinew.

- Water pumps were broadly used: (i) Rotor-screw-pump (archimedean) mainly forirrigation (output about 10 m3ihour); all mediterranean countries were using it foralmost two thousand years. (ii) Horizontal axle tympanon (a drum with fixedblades), possible outputs of 30 m3hour. (iii) Polykadia (multi-bucket wheel) forgreater water depths; a forgotten design, rediscovered in the Middle Ages! (iv)Halyssis (buckets fixed to an endless chain at intervals) for really deep and narrowsources, outputting around lm3hour. And, above all, (v) the pneumatikonorganon, a modern force-pump that is, with metallic cylinders, pistons and valves,able to work also submerged in a well. Invented by KtCsivios (3rd BC) and

c) Mechanical Engineering

.


5/8


6/8

6This is not however the place to elaborate further on the subject; it would suffice justto mention the names of some of these automates: .- Moving mirrors- Everlasting libation- Singing birds- Automatic opening and closing of doors of the temple- Theatre automates, entering the scene and leaving it after performing a shortEvery known mechanical, hydraulic and steam powered mechanisms were used,together with sophisticated programming, thanks to specific windings of severalstrings.

theatrical piece with figurines, etc.

5. And the Revolution?a) If all this is so, why then the Greeks had not produced the industrial revolution, one

and a half millennium before the West European one?The question seems legitimate. Lots of the prerequisites for such a historical eventwere fulfilled in the Hellenistic World; some of them, of socio-economic and culturalnature, were previously presented (s3):(i) A politically and commercially unified world; moreover, the in-habitants ofAlexandria were not much less than one million.(ii) A systematically accumulated international knowledge and research, thanks to theLibrary and the Mouseion.(iii) A rapid scientific and technological development was fulfilled through at least adozen of great engineers and writers.(iv) The mentality of people was much more pragmatic and innovative than two

centuries before or two centuries afterwards.On top, of these favourable conditions, available Technology (as summarised in oursection 4), especially in Mechanical Engineering, was almost ready for the big jump.Then, what?b) But let us first observe how this jump was in fact carried out later on in the West,between 18th and 19th century:(i) The first characteristic of the western industrial revolution is its non-revolutionary nature. A long process preceded its starting: As an example, if

steam-engine was one of its sine qua non conditions, whereas Denis Papin startedat 1679, the first steam powered pump was installed by .Thomas Newcomen in1712, and James Watt installs his regulated machine only in 1783. In otherwords, even under the very favourable conditions of the 18th century, almost onecentury was needed for a prototype to become operational. I will take that twocenturies might have been necessary for the same purpose in Alexandria.

(ii) A second basic characteristicof the western industrial revolution is its deeprooting in Science. After a re-birth of scientific endeavours around say the year1500, a 200 years further scientific development was needed, on top of what wasalready known.Here again, I will assume that a twice that long period, i.e. four centuries, mightbe needed in Alexandria for the same additional development. Incidentally, thelast of the continuous editions of the books of HCron appeared in Italy in theyear of 1578. I will therefore take that only after the 16th century, Technology inthe West reached a substantially higher level than the hellenistic one; a fact whichconfirms that the potentiality of Alexandrian knowledge, if continued, was able to


7/8

7

generate a sort of industrial revolution after two centuries under westernconditions or, say, after four centuries under Mediterranean conditions.

c) The next question is then why such an interruption of scientific and technologicalprogress of more than one millennium after Alexandria? Why, for instance, WesternEurope was expecting the one hundred volumes of the Arab Scholar Alhazen (-1000 AD) in order to become familiar with the Greek science, from Aristotle up toPtolemy?

I will now attempt a comprehensive answer to these questions, together withsome reasons behind the decadence after Alexandria.

An attempt for possible answersAn interruption of scientific progress was imposed to the Greek world after the

Roman invasion.a l : First, because the life-style of the critical fi-ee-citizen (Athens-like) or the

persistent sponsoring of Science by the Successor Kings. (Alexandria style) wereboth abolished.

a2: Second, because the Romans with their clear inclination for immediate practicalapplications (especially military ones), have lived out on Greek science, withoutcontributing very much to scientific matters.In view of the intimate relationship of science and Technology, as it was provedto exist in Greece (6th BC) and in the West (16th AD), we are allowed to assumethat the natural path towards an Industrial Revolution in Alexandria was madedifficult. after the roman conquest; unwillingly though, since Romans were infact very fond of Technology, which in Roman times was considerably developedin scale - not in kind (magnifications and specifications - not innovations). Weshould also note here that the role of some Christian groups at later stages wasnot very friendly to Science and Technology either.

The consecutive fires and destruction of the Alexandrian Library (by Julius Caesar in47 BC, by Aurelianus in 270 AD and by Omar Khalif in the year 641), and above allthe closure of the Mouseion, deprived Mankind of an invaluable know-how. Onlyfragments of that knowledge will be painfully collected during the subsequentmillennium.Nevertheless, even without these two basic causes, an eventual revolution inAlexandria would be further needing several centuries of uninterrupted evolution invarious fields:c 1 In Dynamics, a field in which any technological application had to be based on a

scientific understanding; in Dynamics, nothing can be done just practically.c2: In industrial experience and education, so that a critical mass of Technicians and

Engineers is produced, creating an operational network of mutually supportingteams.

c3: In prospecting new more efficient fuel, like the lignite available aroundMediterranean Sea, (already used, according to Theophrastos in Peloponnesos) orin more massive production of Charcoal.

Anyway, .even in the hypothetical case of History without Romans, some kind ofintensive flourish of Technology (akin to the western industrial revolution) might haveappeared in Alexandria after a period of few centuries. To venture a guess about thelength of such an intermediate period would be a rather useless and highly uncertain

(*I Ibn a1 Haytham has indeed inspired Bacon, Kepler, Descartes and Huygens.. .


8/8

8intellectual exercise. Besides, several purely internal degradation mechanisms could inthe meantime cancel the entire delicate process.Only in a science-fiction environment, one could play with a n a 1 o g i e s (as 1myself have insinuated in 5 5b) and dare to say that somewhere after the middle of thefirst millennium of our era, steam-powered boats, bearing large fluid-fire guns, couldhave crossed the Mediterranean Sea; a good part of their cargo being lignite andcharcoal as their ow n fuel, anyway.If this were to be the case, the cultural/economical centre of gravity of the worldwould have continued to be several thousand kilometres down to the South ..And some of you today might be research-fellows at the Mouseion of Alexandria ...Now, waking up from such. a dream, we may feel happy that at least the ecologicaldestruction of the planet was delayed for, say, 1000 years...

Documents

Why First Industrial Revolution_Tassios