Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in horizontal
section a square case or cistern; this cistern is filled with
water nearly to the top, and two wheels marked _a_, _a_, and
_b_, _b_, are placed in the water in the cistern. By capillary
attraction the water rises between the two wheels marked _x_,
_x_, to a height above the level of the water in proportion to
the distance of the wheels from each other at _x_, _x_. As the
water rises between the wheels marked _x_, _x_, above its level,
the weight of water between the wheels at _x_, _x_, will cause
the wheels to continually revolve.
Figure 2 represents the same as Figure 1, but in a vertical
section. The said power may be obtained by wheels moved on axis,
or by other apparatus by rise and fall in the water by vertical
motion.
The Jurin Device
The device which we have designated "The Jurin Device," was not, in
fact, invented by Jurin. James Jurin furnished an account of the
invention to The Royal Society of London, and it appears in the reports
of that society published in 1720. The invention was by a friend of
Jurin's whose name he does not give in the account.
Jurin's account of his friend's invention is as follows:
Some days ago a method was proposed to me by an ingenious friend
for making a perpetual motion, which seemed so plausible, and
indeed so easily demonstrable from an observation of the late Mr.
Hawksbee, said to be grounded upon experiment, that though I am
far from having any opinion of attempts of this nature, yet, I
confess, I could not see why it should not succeed. Upon trial
indeed I found myself disappointed. But as searches after things
impossible in themselves are frequently observed to produce other
discoveries, unexpected by the Inventor; so this Proposal has
given occasion not only to rectify some mistakes into which we
had been led, by that ingenious and useful member of the Royal
Society above named, but likewise to detect the real principle,
by which water is raised and suspended in capillary tubes, above
the level.
My friend's proposal was as follows:
Fig. 1. Let A B C be a capillary siphon, composed of two legs
A B, B C, unequal both in length and diameter; whose longer and
narrower leg A B having its orifice A immersed in water, the
water will rise above the level, till it fills the whole tube
A B, and will then continue suspended. If the wider and shorter
leg B C, be in like manner immersed, the water will only rise to
same height as F C, less than the entire height of the tube B C.
This siphon being filled with water and the orifice A sunk below
the surface of the water D E, my friend reasons thus:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account