The pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria

Chapter 52: 48. A Thyrsus made to whistle by being submerged in Water.

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About This Book

A systematic practical handbook of machines and demonstrations that uses air, steam, heat, and water to produce mechanical effects. The text gives clear descriptions, construction details, and diagrams for siphons, valves, pumps, fountains, jets, self‑acting mechanisms, and ritual or theatrical contrivances driven by pressure and temperature changes. Explanations focus on the mechanical principles behind pneumatic and hydraulic behaviors and on ways to control flow and timing, with numbered propositions that pair instructional steps with illustrative figures for building and operating each apparatus.

48. A Thyrsus made to whistle by being submerged in Water.

By immersing a thyrsus in water to produce the sound either of a pipe or of any bird. Let A B C D (fig. 48), be a thyrsus; and at the extremity of its head, which must be hollow and shaped like a fir-cone, let there be an orifice D. Close the shaft a little below the mouth by the partition A E, and place near it a small pipe, F, just beneath the mouth of the tube, and passing through an orifice in the partition. If we insert the thyrsus in water and force it downwards, the air contained in it being driven out by the water will produce a sound. If there is nothing but the pipe we shall have a whistle only; but if there is any quantity of water under the partition there will be a gurgling sound.