NAME – SONIA (1099), PRIYA (1132)

CLASS – 3B

TOPIC – PRE – INDUSTRIAL PRIME MOVERS

Most people in preindustrial societies had to spend their lives as peasants, laboring in ways that in some societies
remained largely unchanged for millennia. But the inconsistent food surpluses that they produced with the aid of
a few simple tools and the exertion of their muscles and the draft of their animals sufficed to support the
unevenly advancing complexity of urban societies. Physically, these achievements were reflected above all in the
construction of remarkable structures (ranging from ancient Egypt’s pyramids to the Baroque churches of the
early modern era), the rising capacities and increasing reach of transportation (ranging from slow wheeled
transfers on land to faster ships capable of circumnavigating the planet), and improvements in a multitude of
manufacturing techniques, spearheaded above all by advances in metallurgy. The prime movers and fuels
energizing these advances remained unchanged for millennia, but human ingenuity improved their performance
in many remarkable ways. Eventually, some of these conversions became so powerful and so efficient that they
were able to energize the initial stages of modern industrialization.

We can divide this journey in two phases. 1st when animate matters were in use and later when steam engine
came into picture. Animate labor and conversions of the kinetic energies of water and wind (by sails and mills)
were the only prime movers in traditional societies before the diffusion of steam engines. Although the
subsequent retreat of traditional prime movers was relatively rapid, waterwheels and windmills retained (or even
increased) their importance during the first half of the nineteenth century, sail ships became marginal means of
ocean transportation only after 1880, and draft animals dominated even the most advanced Western agricultures
until after World War I.

SOLAR ENERGY

The sun is the closest star to Earth. It radiates light and heat, or solar energy, which makes it possible for life to
exist on Earth. Plants need sunlight to grow. Animals, including humans, need plants for food and the oxygen
they produce. Without heat from the sun, Earth would freeze. There would be no winds, ocean currents, or
clouds to transport water. Solar energy has existed as long as the sun—about five billion years. While people
have not been around that long, they have been using solar energy in a variety of ways for thousands of years.
Solar energy is essential to agriculture—cultivating land, producing crops, and raising livestock. Developed about
10,000 years ago, agriculture had a key role in the rise of civilization. Solar techniques, such as crop rotation,
increased harvests. Drying food using sun and wind prevented crops from spoiling. This surplus of food allowed
for denser populations and structured societies. Early civilizations around the world positioned buildings to face
south to gather heat and light. They used windows and skylights for the same reason, as well as to allow for air
circulation. These are elements of solar architecture.

Other aspects include using selective shading and choosing building materials with thermal mass, meaning they
store heat, such as stone and concrete. The greenhouse is another early solar development. By converting
sunlight to heat, greenhouses make it possible to grow plants out of season and in climates that may not be
suited for them. One of the earliest greenhouses dates to 30 C.E., before glass was even invented. Constructed
from translucent sheets of mica, a thin mineral, it was built for the Roman emperor Tiberius, who wanted to be
able to eat cucumbers all year. The general technique is the same today, although there have been many
improvements to increase the variety and amount of crops grown. Once food is harvested, solar energy can be
used to cook it. The first solar box cooker was built in 1767 by Horace de Saussure, a Swiss physicist. It reached
temperatures of 87.8 degrees Celsius (190 degrees Fahrenheit) and was used to cook fruit. Solar cookers are used
in many parts of the world in growing numbers. Solar thermal energy can be used to heat water. First introduced
in the late 1800s, the solar water heater was a big improvement over stoves that burned wood or coal because it
was cleaner and cost less to operate. They were very popular for American homes in sunny places, including the
U.S. states of Arizona, Florida, and California. However, in the early 1900s, low-cost oil and natural gas became
available and solar water systems began to be replaced. Besides heating water, solar energy can be used to make
it potable, or suitable for drinking. One method is solar disinfection (SODIS).
Developed in the 1980s, SODIS involves filling plastic soda bottles with water then exposing them to sunlight for
several hours. Solar power—the conversion of sunlight into electricity—is yet another application of solar
technology. This can be done in a number of ways. The two most common are photovoltaic (solar cells) and
concentrating solar power. Solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. The amount of power generated by
each cell is very low. Therefore, large numbers of cells must be grouped together, like the panels mounted on the
roof of a house, to generate enough power. The first solar cell was constructed in the 1880s. The earliest major
application was on the American satellite Vanguard I, launched in 1958. A radio transmitter powered by solar
cells operated for about seven years; one using conventional batteries lasted only 20 days. Unlike solar cells,
which use sunlight to generate electricity, concentrating solar power technology uses the sun’s heat. Lenses or
mirrors focus sunlight into a small beam that can be used to operate a boiler. That produces steam to run
turbines to generate electricity. This method will be used at the Solana Generating Station, which is being built by
the APS utility company outside of Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States.

There are some challenges with solar power. First, it is intermittent, or not continuous. When there is no sun—at
night, for example—power cannot be generated. In order to provide continuous power, either storage or other
energy sources, such as wind power, must be used. Second, while both photovoltaic and concentrating solar
power can be used virtually anywhere, the equipment they require takes up a lot of space. Installation, except for
on existing structures, can have a negative impact on the ecosystem by displacing plants and wildlife. Lastly, the
cost to collect, convert and store solar power is very high. However, as technological advancements are made
and demand rises, the costs are dropping.

HOW IT CHANGED PEOPLE’S LIVES?

Solar energy has been used for a long time for the benefit of humans. Almost all the energy forms used in
electrical power generation are of solar origin. Oil, coal, natural gas and woods were originally produced by
means of photosynthesis. In earlier times, humans who used to survive on collected food and wood were reaping
benefits of solar power indirectly. The plants they consumed ripened by the sunlight provided by the sun.
Similarly, the wood they collected also had solar energy tapped in it. When fire was invented, the tapped solar
energy of the wood was converted into the heat energy which was used for different purposes, from cooking
food to scaring animals away at night. Fire was a major turning point in the lives of humans. Chinese people had
their sole opening of their homes facing south to catch wintertime the low sun rays to assist the warmth of the
houses. Suspended thatched roof was used to keep away the high summer sun from the houses. The ancient
Egyptians used specific dehydration technology to dry grains, formerly storing them in seal silos. Salting was vital
in food preparation and conservation, too. The sun was used to evaporate sea water to obtain salt.

ANIMAL ENERGY

Intensification of agriculture was possible due to important advances as mentioned below:

The first was the introduction of animal labour which partially replaced human labour.

The two key constraints of crop productivity, ie, shortage of water and lack of nutrients was partially sold by
irrigation and fertilization.

Third traditional cultivation was made more resilient and productive by growing a variety of crops (through multi
cropping or in rotations).

Animal Labour in Agriculture

Fundamental energetic advances were possible due to the introduction of draft animals into agriculture. They
became indispensable for fertilization and were leading energizers of irrigation. In turn, these
advances made it possible to support larger numbers of more powerful animals. Animals made the
greatest difference in the activity of ploughing due to high power requirements of this task. Animals
were also used in many agents for lifting irrigation water and for processing harvested crops and they were
eventually used everywhere for transportation. Hitching the ox to the flow in 4500 BC was the first source of
animal power for food production that made possible a surplus system. By 2500 BC domesticated donkeys and
horses were commonly used for carrying loads and drawing carts and chariots. Bulls provided substantial animal
power once domesticated and controlled. By 1400 BC oxen were being used for a variety of draught tasks. They
pulled carts filled with suppliers to support military and trading expeditions and pulled wagons filled with foreign
visitors. The horse moved from being a primary source of food to a primary means of transport the horse soon
became a symbol of status and wealth. And was primarily used in battles. However, there was another use of the
horse that revolutionised economic and demographic growth in medieval Europe-thee application of horse
power in agriculture. Oxen as draught animals were very slow, and horses began to replace the ox as primary
draw animals in Europe in the Medieval Ages. By the ninth century horses were harnessed with a rigid
padded collar rather than the suffocating yoke harness used for oxen, so that the horse was able to put his
entire weight into pulling. The shod and harnessed horse not only made ploughing easier but he was also capable
of carrying goods to market and peasants back and forth to distant fields from urban areas

BIOMASS

Nearly all traditional societies could produce heat and light only by burning biomass fuels. Woody phytomass, the
charcoal derived from it, crop residues, and dried dung provided all the energy needed for household heating,
cooking, and lighting and for small-scale artisanal manufactures; later, in larger proto-industrial enterprises,
those fuels were used in firing relatively large quantities of bricks and ceramics, making glass, and smelting and
shaping metals. The only notable exceptions were found in ancient China, where coal was used in the north in
iron making and natural gas was burned in Sichuan to evaporate brines and produce salt and in medieval
England. The provision of biomass fuels could be as easy as making an everyday short trip to a nearby forest or
bush or mountainside to collect fallen branches and break off dry twigs, or to gather dry grasses, or to gather
some dry straw after the grain harvest and store it under house eaves. In West European countries this
dependence diminished rapidly after 1850. The best reconstructions of the primary energy supply show that in
France, coal began to provide more than half of all fuel energy by the mid1870s, and in the United States, coal
and oil (and a small volume of natural gas) surpassed the energy content of fuelwood by 1884 (Smil 2010a). But
elsewhere the dependence on phytomass fuels continued well into the twentieth century: in the most populous
nations of Asia it remained dominant until the 1960s or 1970s, and in sub-Saharan Africa it remains the single
largest source of primary energy.

WOOD

Wood was used in any available form: as fallen, broken, or lopped-off branches, twigs, bark, and roots—but
chopped stem wood became available only where good cutting tools—adzes, axes, later saws—were common.
Wood variety made surprisingly little difference. There are thousands of woody plants, and though their physical
differences are substantial—the specific density of some oaks is almost twice as high as that of some poplars—
their chemical composition is remarkably uniform. The energy density of wood should always refer to absolutely
dry matter, but wood burned in traditional societies had a widely varying moisture content. Freshly cut mature
hardwoods (leafy trees) are typically 30% water, while softwoods (conifers) are well over 40%. Such wood burns
inefficiently as a significant part of the released heat goes into vaporizing released moisture rather than heating a
cooking pot or a room. When wood has more than 67% of moisture it will not ignite. That is why dry fallen
branches and twigs or hacked-off pieces of dead trees were always preferable to fresh wood, and why wood was
usually air-dried before combustion. There are no records of typical biomass fuel consumption during antiquity,
and only a few reliable quantities were recorded for some medieval societies. Average annual energy
requirements in the Roman Empire around 200 CE added up to 650 kg/capita. Estimates for Western Europe and
North America just before their switch to coal show even higher average needs. Those nineteenth-century
northern European, New England, Midwestern, or Canadian communities heating and cooking only with wood
consumed annually anywhere between 3 and 6 t of the fuel per capita.

CHARCOAL

Charcoal contains only a trace of moisture, and it was a biomass fuel always preferred by those who could afford
its price. This high-quality fuel is virtually smokeless, and its energy content, equal to that of good bituminous
coal, is roughly 50% higher than that of air-dried wood. Charcoal’s other main advantage is its high purity.
Because it is virtually pure carbon, it contains hardly any sulfur or phosphorus. This makes it the best possible
fuel not only for indoor uses but also in kilns producing bricks, tiles, and lime and in the smelting of ores.
CROP RESIDUES AND DUNGS

Crop residues were indispensable fuels on deforested, densely settled agricultural plains and in arid, sparsely
treed regions. Cereal straws and stalks were usually the most abundant, but many other residues were locally
and regionally important. These included legume straws and tuber vines, cotton stalks and roots, jute sticks,
sugar cane leaves, and branches and twigs pruned from fruit trees. Some crop residues needed drying before
combustion. Ripe straws are only between 7% and 15% water, and their energy content is comparable to that of
deciduous trees. The low density of crop residues also meant that open fires and simple stoves had to be stoked
almost constantly. Because of a number of competitive nonenergy uses, crop residues were often in short supply.
Legume residues were an excellent high-protein feed and fertilizer. Cereal straw makes a good ruminant food and
animal bedding; many societies (including England and Japan) used it for thatching house roofs, and it was also a
raw material for manufacturing simple tools and domestic articles.

In India, where dung use is still common in many rural areas, both cow and water buffalo droppings are gathered
regularly, mostly by harijan (untouchable) children and women, both for their own household use and for sale. A
recent survey of rural energy use in South Asia found that 75% of Indian, 50% of Nepali, and 47% of Bangladeshi
households are still using dung for cooking.

WATERWHEEL

The earliest horizontal waterwheels are often referred to as either Greek or Norse wheels, but the origin of their
design remains uncertain. They became common in many regions of Europe and everywhere east of Syria. This
simple and relatively inefficient design was best suited for small-scale milling. Vertical wheels supplanted the
horizontal machines because of their superior efficiency. They turned the millstones by right-angle gears, and in
the Western literature they became known as Vitruvian mills, after the Roman builder gave the first clear
description of hydraletae, dated to 27 BCE. But one thing that is impossible to do is to estimate reliably the
contribution of waterwheels to the overall primary energy supply of ancient and medieval societies. It is argued
that waterwheels were more common during the Roman era than is usually assumed, and although only 20 early
medieval water mill sites have been identified, about 6,500 localities had mills in eleventh-century England.

Vertical waterwheels are classified according to the point of impact. Undershot wheels were propelled by the
kinetic energy of moving water (fig. 4.10). They worked well in a slow but steady flow, but location on swift-
flowing streams was especially desirable because the maximum theoretical power of undershot wheels is
proportional to the cube of the water speed: doubling the speed boosts the capacity eightfold. The efficiency of
undershot wheels could be further improved by forming the base below the waterwheel rim into a closely fitting
breast over a 30° arc at the bottom center to increase the water retention.

Traditional overshot wheels, powered largely by gravitational potential energy, operated with heads over 3 m,
and their diameters were usually equal to about three quarters of the head. Because most of the rotary power
was generated by the weight of the descending water, overshot wheels could be placed on slowly flowing
streams. This advantage was partially negated by the need for a well-directed and carefully regulated water
supply, which required the frequent building of storage ponds and races. Overshot wheels operating with excess
carrying capacity, that is, with reduced spillage from buckets, could be more efficient, though less powerful, than
machines under full flow. Undershot wheels could be placed directly in a stream, but such a location naturally
increased the chances of flood damages. overshot wheels needed a regulated water supply.

Grain milling remained the dominant use of water power: in medieval England it accounted for about 90% of all
milling activity, with most of the rest used for cloth fulling and only 1% for other industrial activities. The late
Middle Ages saw the widespread use of water power in ore crushing and smelting and in stone and wood sawing,
wood turning, oil pressing, papermaking, tanning, wire pulling, stamping, cutting, metal grinding, blacksmithing,
majolica glazing, and polishing. English waterwheels were also used for winding and water pumping in
underground mines. All of these tasks were done by waterwheels with a higher efficiency than people or animals
could provide, and hence also with much increased labor productivity. Moreover, the unprecedented magnitude,
continuity, and reliability of power provided by waterwheels opened up new productive possibilities. This was
especially true in mining and metallurgy. Indeed, the energy foundations of Western industrialization rest to a
significant degree on these specialized uses of waterwheels. Human and animal muscles could never convert
energy at such high, concentrated, continuous, and reliable rates—but only such deliveries could increase the
scale, speed, and quality of countless food-processing and industrial tasks. Yet it took a long time for typical
waterwheels to reach capacities surpassing the power of large harnessed animal teams.

Waterwheels were the most efficient traditional energy converters. Their efficiencies were superior even when
compared to the best steam engines, whose operation converted less than 2% of coal into useful power by 1780,
and usually no more than 15% even by the end of the nineteenth century. No other traditional prime mover
could deliver so much continuous power. Waterwheels were indispensable during the early stages of both
European and North American industrialization. Waterwheels reached their apogee—whether evaluated in terms
of individual or total capacities or in terms of efficiency of design—during the nineteenth century, at the same
time that steam engines were being adopted for new stationary and transportation uses, and the rise and
eventual dominance of the new prime mover overshadowed the importance of water power.

SIMPLE MACHINES

Animate energies remained the most important prime mover for most of humanity until the middle of the
twentieth century. Their limited power, circumscribed by the metabolic requirements and mechanical properties
of animal and human bodies, restricted the reach of pre-industrial civilizations. Societies that derived their kinetic
energy almost solely (as in the case of ancient Mesopotamia or Egypt, with sail ships being the only exception) or
largely from animate power—medieval Europe is an excellent example, with water and wind power limited only
to certain tasks, and in rural China that was the case until two generations ago—could not provide a reliable food
supply and material affluence to most of their inhabitants.

There were only two practical ways in which the delivery of useful animate power could be increased: either by
concentrating individual inputs or by using mechanical devices to redirect and amplify muscular exertions.
Human capacities in lifting and moving loads are limited to weights substantially smaller than their body mass.
Heavier burdens were manageable only with the help of simple devices that conferred significant mechanical
advantage, usually by deploying a lesser force over a longer distance. A simple machine uses a single applied
force to do work against a single load force. Ignoring friction losses, the work done on the load is equal to the
work done by the applied force. The machine can increase the amount of the output force, at the cost of a
proportional decrease in the distance moved by the load. The ratio of the output to the applied force is called the
mechanical advantage.

A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can
be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage to multiply force. Usually the term refers
to the five classical simple machines that were defined by Renaissance scientists: any of several devices with few
or no moving parts that are used to modify motion and the magnitude of force order to perform work. They are
the simplest mechanisms known that can use leverage to increase force. The simple machines are the lever,
wedge, wheel and axle,pulley, and screw

LEVER

History

The earliest evidence of the lever mechanism dates back to the ancient Near East circa 5000 BC, when it was first
used in a simple balance scale. In ancient Egypt circa 4400 BC, a foot pedal was used for the earliest horizontal
frame loom. In Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) circa 3000 BC, the shadouf, a crane-like device that uses a lever
mechanism, was invented. In ancient Egypt, workmen used the lever to move and uplift obelisks weighing more
than 100 tons. This is evident from the recesses in the large blocks and the handling bosses which could not be
used for any purpose other than for levers. The earliest remaining writings regarding levers date from the 3rd
century BC and were provided by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who famously stated "Give me a lever
long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." Autumn Stanley argues that the
digging stick can be considered the first lever, which would position prehistoric women as the inventors of lever
technology.

WHAT IT IS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Levers are rigid, slender pieces of wood or metal. As they pivot around a fulcrum they convey an mechanical
advantage that is easily calculated as a quotient of effort-arm and load-arm lengths. The ancient use of levers
ranged from driving oared ships to moving heavy load. Levers are classified according to the position of fulcrum.
In the first class of lever the fulcrum is between the load and the applied force, which acts in the opposite
direction to a displaced load. In the second class of lever the fulcrum is at one end and the force acts in the same
direction as the load. Levers of the third class do not provide any mechanical advantage but increase the load’s
speed, as is clear from the operation of catapults, hoes, and scythes. Common hand tools using levers of the first
class are crowbars, scissors, and (a double lever) pliers. Wheelbarrows have been among the most often used
levers of the second class. Chinese barrows, used since the Han dynasty, usually had a large (90 cm diameter)
central wheel surrounded by a wooden framework. With the load right above the axle they could carry large
loads (commonly 150 kg); they were used by peasants to take products to markets and sometimes also to
transport people, who sat on the sides. Little sails could be erected to ease propulsion. European barrows are
first convincingly documented during the high Middle Ages (late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries) and
subsequently were used mostly in England and France, usually in construction and mining. Their fulcrum was at
the end, which put more strain on people pushing them, but they still offered a considerable (typically threefold)
mechanical advantage.

The levers also have some disadvantages, including:

Levers have significant weights applied at various points around their fulcrums. Over time, the weight and
movement causes wear near the fulcrum point, leading to bending and eventual breaking. Bending of the rigid
arm leads to an inefficient lever and reduces the mechanical advantage. The third type of lever has the
disadvantage of reducing the force exerted on the system. The force is between the load and the fulcrum. While
it does create a mechanical advantage, it reduces the overall force, leading to inefficiency in the system. In the
case of an arm, the bicep produces the force, and the elbow is the fulcrum.In a perfect world, the rigid arm is
perfectly rigid. However, in reality, no substance is perfectly rigid. The rigid arm bends depending on the weigh of
the load. This can lead to imprecise measurements.

WHEEL AND AXLE

History

The Halaf culture of 6500–5100 BCE has been credited with the earliest depiction of a wheeled vehicle, but this is
doubtful as there is no evidence of Halafians using either wheeled vehicles or even pottery wheels. One of the
first applications of the wheel to appear was the potter's wheel, used by prehistoric cultures to fabricate clay
pots. The earliest type, known as "tournettes" or "slow wheels", were known in the Middle East by the 5th
millennium BCE. One of the earliest examples was discovered at Tepe Pardis, Iran, and dated to 5200–4700 BCE.
These were made of stone or clay and secured to the ground with a peg in the center, but required significant
effort to turn. True potter's wheels, which are freely-spinning and have a wheel and axle mechanism, were
developed in Mesopotamia (Iraq) by 4200–4000 BCE. The oldest surviving example, which was found in Ur
(modern day Iraq), dates to approximately 3100 BCE. Evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared by the late 4th
millennium BCE. Depictions of wheeled wagons found on clay tablet pictographs at the Eanna district of Uruk, in
the Sumerian civilization, are dated between 3700–3500 BCE.

In the second half of the 4th millennium BCE, evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared near-simultaneously in the
Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Eastern Europe (Cucuteni–Trypillian culture). Depictions of a wheeled
vehicle appeared between 3500 and 3350 BCE in the Bronocice clay pot excavated in a Funnelbeaker culture
settlement in southern Poland. Surviving evidence of a wheel–axle combination, from Stare Gmajne near
Ljubljana in Slovenia (Ljubljana Marshes Wooden Wheel), is dated within two standard deviations to 3340–3030
BCE, the axle to 3360–3045 BCE. Two types of early Neolithic European wheel and axle are known; a circum
alpine type of wagon construction (the wheel and axle rotate together, as in Ljubljana Marshes Wheel), and that
of the Baden culture in Hungary (axle does not rotate). They both are dated to c. 3200–3000 BCE. Historians
believe that there was a diffusion of the wheeled vehicle from the Near East to Europe around the mid-4th
millennium BCE. An early example of a wooden wheel and its axle was found in 2002 at the Ljubljana Marshes
some 20 km south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. According to radiocarbon dating, it is between 5,100 and
5,350 years old. The wheel was made of ash and oak. ] In China, the earliest evidence of spoked wheels comes
from Qinghai in the form of two wheel hubs from a site dated between 2000 and 1500 BCE. In Roman Egypt,
Hero of Alexandria identified the wheel and axle as one of the simple machines used to lift weights.

WHAT IT IS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

The wheel and axle is a type of simple machine used to make tasks easier in terms of manipulating force by
applying the concept of mechanical advantage. The wheel and axle consists of a round disk, known as a wheel,
with a rod through the centre of it, known as the axle. This system uses angular momentum and torque to do
work on objects, typically against the force of gravity. The wheel and axle simple machine is closely related to
gears. Like all other simple machines the wheel and axle system changes the force by changing the distance over
which the force must be applied; if the input force is reduced to the output force, then the force must be applied
over five times the distance. The work done is always force times distance, and this must always be the same
because of the conservation of energy. The wheel and axle both rotate at the same rate. What this means is that
both the axle and the wheel will complete one full rotation in the same amount of time (as opposed to how gears
work). Due to the size difference in the radius of the wheel and axle, this means that the distance the two parts
rotate through in the same amount of time is different. This is due to the difference in the circumferences of the
wheel itself and the axle that supports it. This supplies the conditions for mechanical advantage. The wheel and
axle form a circular lever which produces a large mechanical advantage, even for heavy wheels on a rough
surface. First wheels were solid wooden wheels. Spoked wheels appeared about 1,000 years later, first on
chariots, and friction was reduced by iron rims. Americas had no native wheels, and the desert environments in
many Muslim lands made pack camels more important than wheeled transport pulled by oxen. One of the first
applications of the wheel to appear was the potter's wheel, used by prehistoric cultures to fabricate clay pots.
Car tires, bicycle, Ferris wheel, electric fan, screwdriver, drill, etc. are some of the examples of a wheel and axle.

The wheel and axle also have some disadvantages, including:

● It can be affected by friction, which reduces its efficiency

● It can be difficult to repair or replace, depending on the application

● It can be affected by external factors such as weather and terrain

WEDGE

History

The origin of the wedge is unknown, because it has been in use as early as the Stone Age. Circa 3000 BC, in
Ancient Egypt quarries, bronze wedges were used to break away blocks of rock used for construction. Wood
wedges, that swelled after being wet, were also used. Some Native American tribes used antler wedges as a
means of splitting and working wood to make canoes, houses, and other wood objects.

WHAT IT IS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

A wedge is a triangular double inclined plane, often made of metal, wood, stone, or plastic, commonly been used
for splitting rocks. It is thick on one end and tapers to a thin or sharp edge on the other end. The wedge simply
transports energy in the form of friction and collects it to the pointy end. The longer and thinner a wedge is
(sharper), the more work it does with little effort. If the wedge is shorter and has a wider angle at the tip, one
needs more force to do the work. First example of a wedge - hand axe made by chipping stone, to form a bifacial
wedge. Some good examples of wedges are - nails, knives, axes, teeth. The mechanical advantage of a wedge is
higher when the wedge is longer with a thinner tip. Wedges have been in use for millions of years. Earlier
humans used wedges made of hard rocks and stones to hunt (like spears), cut and trim trees, and carve stones.
The concept of wedges is also used in jets and modern cars. You will notice that jets, fast cars, speed boats, and
trains have pointed noses. That helps them cut through the air (air acts as a resistance). This feature of pointed
noses cutting through air is known as aerodynamics. Wedges also have some disadvantages that should be
considered. Some of the drawbacks of wedges include: Safety concerns: Wedges can be dangerous if not used
properly, and users need to take proper safety precautions. Limited range of motion: Wedges can only move in a
straight line, making them unsuitable for some applications. Limited effectiveness: Wedges may not be effective
in some situations, such as when dealing with materials that are too hard or dense.

A SCREW

History

While a recent hypothesis attributes the Archimedes' screw to Sennacherib, King of Assyria, archaeological finds
and pictorial evidence only appear in the Hellenistic period, and the standard view regards the screw machine as
a Greek invention, most probably by the 3rd-century BC polymath Archimedes. Though resembling a screw, the
screw mechanism associated with the name of Archimedes is not a screw in the usual sense of the word. By the
1st century BC, wooden screws were commonly used throughout the Mediterranean world in screw presses.
Metal screws used as fasteners were rare in Europe before the 15th century.Handheld screwdrivers have existed
since medieval times. However they probably did not become truly widespread until after 1800, once threaded
fasteners had become commodified.

The metal screw did not become a common fastener until machine tools for mass production developed toward
the end of the 18th century. This development blossomed in the 1760s and 1770s along two separate paths that
soon converged. The mass production of wood screws in a specialized, single-purpose, high-volume-production
machine tool; and the low-count, toolroom-style production of machine screws (V-thread) with easy selection
among various pitches. The first path was pioneered by brothers Job and William Wyatt of Staffordshire, UK, who
patented in 1760 a machine that one might today best call a screw machine of an early and prescient sort. It
made use of a leadscrew to guide the cutter to produce the desired pitch, and the slot was cut with a rotary file
while the main spindle held still. Not until 1776 did the Wyatt brothers have a wood-screw factory up and
running. Their enterprise failed, but new owners soon made it prosper, and in the 1780s they were producing
16,000 screws a day with only 30 employees.Meanwhile, English instrument-maker Jesse Ramsden was working
on the toolmaking and instrument-making end of the screw-cutting problem, and in 1777 he invented the first
satisfactory screw-cutting lathe. The British engineer Henry Maudslay gained fame by popularizing such lathes
with his screw-cutting lathes of 1797 and 1800, containing the trifecta of leadscrew, slide rest, and change-gear
gear train, all in the right proportions for industrial machining. In a sense he unified the paths of the Wyatts and
Ramsden.

These developments of the 1760–1800 era, with the Wyatts and Maudslay as arguably the most important
drivers, caused great increase in the use of threaded fasteners. Standardization of threadforms began almost
immediately, but it was not quickly completed; it has been an evolving process ever since. In 1821 Hardman
Philips built the first screw factory in the United States for the manufacture of blunt metal screws. An expert in
screw manufacture, Thomas Lever, was brought over from England to run the factory. The screws were made
from wire prepared by "rolling and wire drawing apparatus" from iron manufactured at a nearby forge. The screw
mill was not a commercial success. The American development of the turret lathe (1840s) and of automatic
screw machines derived from it (1870s) drastically reduced the unit cost of threaded fasteners by increasingly
automating the machine-tool control. This cost reduction spurred ever greater use of screws. Throughout the
19th century, the most commonly used forms of screw head were simple internal-wrenching straight slots and
external-wrenching squares and hexagons. These were easy to machine and served most applications
adequately.

In 1908, Canadian P. L. Robertson was the first to make the internal-wrenching square socket drive a practical
reality by developing just the right design to allow the head to be stamped easily but successfully, with the metal
cold forming as desired rather than being sheared or displaced in unwanted ways. Practical manufacture of the
internal-wrenching hexagon drive shortly followed in 1911. In the early 1930s American Henry F. Phillips
popularized the Phillips-head screw. Threadform standardization further improved in the late 1940s, when the
ISO metric screw thread and the Unified Thread Standard were defined. Precision screws, for controlling motion
rather than fastening, developed around the turn of the 19th century, and represented one of the central
technical advances, along with flat surfaces, that enabled the industrial revolution. They are key components of
micrometers and lathes.

WHAT IT IS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

 Screws are circular inclined planes wrapped around a central cylinder. They convert rotational motion to linear
motion, and a torque (rotational force) to a linear force. They have a large mechanical advantage that workers
are able to exert high pressure with minimal effort. The most common form consists of a cylindrical shaft with
helical grooves or ridges called threads around the outside.The smaller the pitch (the distance between the
screw's threads), the greater the mechanical advantage (the ratio of output to input force). The screw passes
through a hole in another object or medium, with threads on the inside of the hole that mesh with the screw's
threads. When the shaft of the screw is rotated relative to the stationary threads, the screw moves along its axis
relative to the medium surrounding it. Because of its self-locking property (see below) the screw is widely used in
threaded fasteners to hold objects or materials together: the wood screw, sheet metal screw, stud, and bolt and
nut. The self-locking property is also key to the screw's use in a wide range of other applications, such as the
corkscrew, screw top container lid, threaded pipe joint, vise, C-clamp, and screw jack. Screws are also used as
linkages in machines to transfer power, in the worm gear, lead screw, ball screw, and roller screw. Due to their
low efficiency, screw linkages are seldom used to carry high power, but are more often employed in low power,
intermittent uses such as positioning actuators. Rotating helical screw blades or chambers are used to move
material in the Archimedes' screw, auger earth drill, and screw conveyor. The micrometer uses a precision
calibrated screw for measuring lengths with great accuracy. While screws offer a wide range of advantages, some
disadvantages and limitations to screw drives are worth noting. Here are a few: Limited shear strength, Pre-
drilling required, risk of over-tightening, Corrosion susceptibility, limited load-bearing capacity.

A PULLEY

History

As is the case with all the simple machines, the origin of the pulley is unknown. When early peoples lifted heavy
objects by throwing vines or other crude ropes over tree limbs, they used the idea of a single fixed pulley to
change the direction of a force. But since there was no wheel to turn, this use resulted in considerable friction.
The earliest evidence of pulleys dates back to Ancient Egypt in the Twelfth Dynasty (1991-1802 B.C.E.), although
these were probably not used to gain mechanical advantage but rather to change the direction of the pull. There
is also evidence of their use in Mesopotamia in the early second millennium B.C.E. It is not recorded when or by
whom the pulley was first developed. It is believed however that Archimedes developed the first documented
block and tackle pulley system, as recorded by Plutarch. Plutarch reported that Archimedes moved an entire
warship, laden with men, using compound pulleys and his own strength.

WHAT IT IS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

A pulley is a simple machine consisting of a wheel rotating about its axle. It is constructed by looping a rope or a
cable around the groove of the wheel. Therefore, the three main parts of a pulley are the wheel, axle, and rope.
A pulley is used for lifting heavy objects by applying force at one end of the rope. A pulley works by changing the
direction of the applied force that is manifested at the object. The wheel rotates about its axle when the rope is
pulled from one end and the object is raised above the ground. The other end is either fixed or attached to the
object. The groove in the wheel helps to keep the rope in place. Combining two or more pulleys increases the
number of loops and reduces the effort required to lift the object. However, the work done will still depend on
the mass and the height raised. Depending upon how the rope and the wheel are combined, there are three
types of pulleys. Fixed: Also known as a single pulley, it is the simplest of all pulleys. The pulley is fixed to one
spot, and the wheel rotates about its axle. The rope moves over the wheel, pulling the load. The effort required
to lift the object is the same as its weight. Hence, the mechanical advantage is equal to 1.

Movable: It is slightly more complex than the fixed pulley. The pulley does not remain fixed. It is attached to the
load, and the two move together. The disadvantage is that the pulley itself adds to the weight of the load. This
pulley is suitable when the load is below the person lifting them.

Compound Pulley: It combines fixed and moveable pulleys. The advantage of this system of pulleys is that the
effort required to move a load is less than half the load. The more the number of pulleys, the less is the effort.
The mechanical advantage is always greater than 2. However, the disadvantage of using a compound system is
that the length of the rope and the distance it travels increase. It means that a longer time is required to lift the
load. A system of two pulleys is called a double pulley.
The main disadvantage of pulleys is that they require large space to increase their mechanical advantage. The risk
of slipping and breaking ropes, belts, or chains is high when they move over wheels without grooves. Ropes get
weaker with continuous use and break anytime. If the ropes are installed inside the pulley system, they should be
checked regularly or often to avoid machine breakage. The wheels, belts, ropes, or chains require constant
maintenance and regular checkups. A single fixed wheel pulley with a rope or belt is hard to lift heavy objects;
however, pushing objects downwards is quite easy. Man force will be applied to lift things. They can slip because
they use friction for transferring motion. Another disadvantage of the pulley is that they require large space to
operate and install. Pulley systems are not always reliable or suitable for high power transfer.

HOW SIMPLE MACHINES CHANGED PEOPLE’S LIVES?

People had to work to have the things they needed, such as food, shelter and houses. People, however, have
always tried to find ways to get help to do this work. Early people trained and used animals to help them work.
One reason is that animals — for example, oxen — are stronger and have more energy than humans, therefore
exerting more force. At a later date, however, people invented simple devices called machines to exert, transfer
or transform energy to do work for us. Simple machines are useful because they reduce effort or extend the
ability of people to perform tasks beyond their normal capabilities. The use of simple machines made daily life
much easier. Humans had limited muscle power and could not lift heavy weights. Human muscle power
combined with the simple machines made lifting of heavy weights much easier. Simple machines helped people
in many different ways. The basic purpose for which most simple machines are designed is to reduce the effort
(force) required to perform a simple task. To achieve this, the force applied must act over a longer distance or
period of time resulting in the same amount of work being performed by a smaller force. Screws, levers and
inclined planes are designed to increase the distance over which the reduced force acts so that we can push or
pull with less effort. The effect of this design is often referred to as providing a ‘mechanical advantage’.
Wheelbarrows, an example of a lever mostly used in construction and mining, were in much use in Europe. Such
simple machines helped labourers a lot because now they can move heavier loads easily and at longer distances.
Another example of use of simple machines in daily life is the use of a pair of scissors.

WIND POWER

HISTORY

Windmills became the most powerful prime movers of the preindustrial era in flatlands and in a number of arid
Asian and European regions with seasonally strong winds. The first clear records of European windmills come
from the last decades of the twelfth century. Their use spread first from Persia to the Byzantine territory. Early
European machines were all post mills. In Western Europe they were gradually replaced by tower mills and
smock mills. Dutch millers were the first ones to introduce more efficient blade designs. Windmills were also
used both in Europe and in the Islamic world in grinding and crushing, papermaking, sawing, and metalworking.
Old American windmills were often used for salt extraction, but their numbers remained low. New American
windmills appeared right after the middle of the nineteenth century. Dutch mills, American windmills were
smaller, simple, affordable and yet efficient machines serving individual railway stations and farms. We have no
information on the capacities of early windmills. The first reliable experimental measurements date from the late
1750s.

WHAT IT IS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Anything that moves has kinetic energy, and scientists and engineers are using the wind’s kinetic energy to
generate electricity. Wind energy is created using a wind turbine, a device that channels the power of the wind to
generate electricity. The wind blows the blades of the turbine, which are attached to a rotor. The rotor then spins
a generator to create electricity.

There are two types of wind turbines: the horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) and vertical-axis wind turbines
(VAWTs). HAWTs are the most common type of wind turbine. They usually have two or three long, thin blades
that look like an airplane propeller. The blades are positioned so that they face directly into the wind. VAWTs
have shorter, wider curved blades that resemble the beaters used in an electric mixer. Small, individual wind
turbines can produce 100 kilowatts of power, enough to power a home. Slightly larger wind turbines sit on
towers that are as tall as 80 meters (260 feet) and have rotor blades that extend approximately 40 meters (130
feet) long. These turbines can generate 1.8 megawatts of power. Even larger wind turbines can be found perched
on towers that stand 240 meters (787 feet) tall and have rotor blades more than 162 meters (531 feet) long.
These large turbines can generate anywhere from 4.8 to 9.5 megawatts of power. Once the electricity is
generated, it can be used, connected to the electrical grid, or stored for future use. The United States
Department of Energy is working with the National Laboratories to develop and improve technologies, such as
batteries and pumped-storage hydropower so that they can be used to store excess wind energy. Wind turbines
can be standalone structures, or they can be clustered together in what is known as a wind farm. While one
turbine can generate enough electricity to support the energy needs of a single home, a wind farm can generate
far more electricity, enough to power thousands of homes. Wind farms are usually located on top of a mountain
or in an otherwise windy place in order to take advantage of natural winds. The largest offshore wind farm in the
world is called the Walney Extension.

Disadvantages

The two major disadvantages of wind power include initial cost and technology immaturity. Firstly, constructing
turbines and wind facilities is extremely expensive. The second disadvantage is technology immaturity. High cost
of energy can, in part, be addressed directly with technology innovations that increase reliability and energy
output and lower system capital expenses. Offshore wind energy produces more energy than onshore wind
energy, but costs much more to establish. The primary costs of wind turbines include construction and
maintenance. New technology is needed to lower costs, increase reliability and energy production, solve regional
deployment issues, expand the resource area, develop infrastructure and manufacturing facilities, and mitigate
known environmental impacts. Therefore, one may argue that implementation of wind energy must be delayed
until technological advancements are made.

Other disadvantages include:

● Aesthetic impact: Many people are concerned with the visual effects that wind turbines have on the beautiful
scenery of nature. They believe that giant wind turbines distract viewers from the beautiful surroundings.

● Wildlife: Wind turbines may be dangerous to flying animals. Many birds and bats have been killed by flying into
the rotors. Experts are now conducting research to learn more about the effects that wind turbines have on
marine habitats.

● Remoteness of location: Although this may be an advantage (placing wind turbines in desolate areas, far away
from people), it may also be a disadvantage. The cost of travel and maintenance on the turbines increases and is
time consuming. Offshore wind turbines require boats and can be dangerous to manage.

● Noise: Some wind turbines tend to generate a lot of noise which can be unpleasant

● Safety at Sea: In the darkness/at night it may be difficult for incoming boats to see wind turbines thus leading
to collisions.

HOW WIND ENERGY CHANGED PEOPLE’S LIVES?

When wind energy was invented, its use was confined to grinding grains. It goes without saying that windmills
were the workhorses of medieval times, transforming the way people lived and worked. They were not only
picturesque landmarks, but they also played a significant role in transforming grains into flour, powering
industries, and changing the lives of countless individuals. In medieval Europe, windmills were the unsung heroes
of the agrarian world. While in low-lying Netherlands, these windmills were used for drainage of excess water
from the settlements, as they faced high risk of floods. These windmills kept areas dry. French windmills
diversified into roles like crushing sugarcane to extract its juice for making sugar. Role of windmills were deeply
intertwined with the specific needs and industries of each region. Beyond their mechanical utility, they also
became cultural symbols, evoking the resilience and innovation of medieval societies. These silent sentinels of
the past stand as a testament to the harmonious coexistence of technology and nature, bridging the chasm
between old-world charm and modern functionality.

CONCLUSION
All the prime movers discussed earlier changed the lives of contemporary people in different ways. For example,
use of biomass fuels proved to be a major turning point in the lives of humans. The first form of biomass as an
energy source is the use of fire, which changed everything completely. Water mills helped to change the way of
life in Medieval Europe, and affected all levels of society from each individual to entire countries. The positive
influence would have been primarily in the saving of time and money. People could do a larger amount of work in
a shorter amount of time and for lower costs with a water-powered mill. Heavier burdens were manageable only
with the help of simple devices that conferred significant mechanical advantage, usually by deploying a lesser
force over a longer distance. Windmills provided medieval society with a reliable source of energy that helped
initiate a thirteenth-century Industrial Revolution. Along with these , there are several pre-industrial prime
movers including explosives and guns, oared ships, iron and steel, buildings and structures, etc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

● Fortunado, Ismael. (2023). Simple Machines.

● Smil, Vaclav. Energy and Civilization: A History. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press, 2017.

● Chapman, S. & Crichton, F. (2017). Wind turbine syndrome: a communicated disease. Sydney University Press:
Sydney.

● Shubov V. Mikhail, History of Prime Movers and Future Implications.

● https://academic.oup.com/mit-press-scholarship-online/book/13253/chapter-abstract/166 573751?
redirectedFrom=full text

● Elman R. Service, The Prime-Mover of Cultural Evolution

● Vaclav Smil, The two prime movers of globalization: history and impact of diesel engines and gas turbines.

● https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-technology/The-Industrial-Revolution-1 750-1900

● Ignou - energy resources unit -11