AEOLIPILE

Etymology

Noun

aeolipile (plural aeolipiles)

A steam engine powered by rocket propulsion due to escaping steam, consisting of a pressure vessel mounted on a bearing, with one or more tubes which exhaust steam tangentially to the rotation axis so as to create rotation.

Source: Wiktionary


Æ*ol"i*pile, Æ*ol"i*pyle, n. Etym: [L. aeolipilae; Aeolus god of the winds + pila a ball, or Gr. i. e., doorway of Æolus); cf. F. éolipyle.]

Definition: An apparatus consisting chiefly of a closed vessel (as a globe or cylinder) with one or more projecting bent tubes, through which steam is made to pass from the vessel, causing it to revolve. [Written also eolipile.]

Note: Such an apparatus was first described by Hero of Alexandria about 200 years b. c. It has often been called the first steam engine.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

10 January 2025

INTERSPERSION

(noun) the act of combining one thing at intervals among other things; “the interspersion of illustrations in the text”


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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