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The Waterwheel of Europe

Summary
The water wheel essential in infleuncing the economic and scientific sphere of the West. The advent of the water wheel, transitioned Europe into a region no longer dominated by manual labor. The advent of the water wheel resembles this mechanical transition that the West has undergone.

Introduction
The water wheel was primarily used to power mills. The Waterwheel’s date of origin is widely disputed; and cannot conceivably be tracked down to any one year. The focus of the article two-fold is to introduce an explanation of how the water wheel arose to dominance in Medieval Europe, including the types of water wheels, and their location. The second aspect is to specify the reasoning and influence the wheel had on the growth of the West, both economic and scientific.

Historical Background
The use of the waterwheel dates back thousand years before the year of 1066. In 1066, William the Conqueror was victorious in the “Battle of Hastings”, and during his reign he subjugated England. William categorized the English manors‘, becoming the absolute ruler of England. In the years between 1066-1100 William laid the fundamental framework for the legal system which westerners now live. The most essential fact about power in the modern world is the relationship between power and the state. The state is the residence of power in the world we live in, and we define our independence to the relation of the state’s power, both; individually and generally. The concept of imminent domain comes from this period. William calls vassals to pledge and undying loyalty to the state, it is through this that we find ourselves owning our property over sufferance of the state. The assembly convened by William of Normandy, most famously referred to as the “Domesday” or Doomsday survey; attributed a new methodology of recording and registering every element of the English Economy. The Domeday survey was a foundation to early medieval methods of enumerating and accounting. Among the calculations of the Survey; was a recording of over six thousand mills spread across three thousand different locations. The great English Historian pointed out, Norman demands on the English were as extreme as any in history; “The subjugation of a nation by a nation has seldom, even in Asia been more Complete". Williams involvement in the categorization of England, was fundamental in that other European countries soon followed. The documentation each individual wheel, contributed to a societal change across Europe. Documenting each wheel allowed countries to operate at optimal efficiency. The waterwheels economic contribution in Europe, helped spark a change on the outlook of the world.

Locations
The type of water wheel selected to be put into use was dependant upon the location. Generally if only small volumes of water and high waterfalls were available a millwright would choose to use, an overshot wheel. The decision was influenced by the fact that the buckets could catch and utilize and even a small proportion of water. For large volumes of water with small waterfalls the undershot would have been used, since it was more adapted to such conditions and cheaper to construct. So long as these water supplies were abundant the question of efficiency remained irrelevant. By 18th century Europe with increased demand for power coupled with limited water locales, an emphasis was made on having the waterwheels use, to function at maximum efficiency scheme . Location inadvertently inspired emphasis on producing at a maximum efficiency model.

Importance to Medieval Europe (Economic Infleunce)
The Waterwheel was known by both the Greek and Roman civilizations, but by the high middle ages, of eleventh century Europe, there were parts of Europe where the exploitation of water was common place. The water wheel is understood to have actively shaped and forever changed the outlook of Westerners. Europe began to transition from muscle labor, human and animal labor, towards mechanical labor with the advent of the Water Wheel. Medievalist Lynn White Jr. contended that the spread of inanimate power sources was eloquent testimony to the emergence of the West of a new attitude toward, power, work, nature, and above all else technology. Even the most conservative commentator’s regarding the extent to which the water wheel influenced Medieval western technology and science recognize the basic elements of a power-based economy responsible for distinguishing the Europeans above all others, had begun with the framework instilled by the water wheel. Furthermore Europeans, for the first time had begun to show there own capabilities for mechanized innovations, by not limited themselves to merely water, but by beginning to experiment with wind and tidal mills. Waterwheels influenced the construction of cities, more specifically canals. The techniques that developed during this early period such as stream jamming and the building of canals, put Europe on a hydraulically focused path, for instance water supply and irrigation technology was combined to modify supply power of the wheel. Illustrating the extent to which there was a great degree of technological innovation that met the growing needs of the feudal state.

Importance to 17th and 18th Century Europe (Scientific Infleunce)
Millwrights distinguished between the two forces, impulse and weight, at work in water wheels long before 18th century Europe. Fithezerbert an 16th century agricultural writer wrote, “druieth the whele as well as with the weight of the water as with strengthe [impulse]”. Leonardo da Vinci also discussed waterpower noting “the blow [of the water] is not weight, but excites a power of weight, almost equal to it’s own power”. However even realization of the two forces, weight and impulse, confusion remained over the advantages and disadvantages of the two, and there was no clear understanding of the superior efficiency of weight. Prior to 1750 it was unsure as to which force was dominant and was widely understood that both forces were operating with equal inspiration amongst one another. The waterwheel, sparked questions of the laws of nature, specifically the laws of force. Torricellos work on waterwheels, used an analysis of Galileo’s work on falling bodies, that the velocity of a water sprouting from an orifice under its head was exactly equivalent to the velocity a drop of water acquired in falling freely from the same height.

Applications of the Water Wheel in Medieval Europe
The water mill was known for thousands of years to Europeans, It was used exclusively for grinding grain and, producing flour for bread, malt for beer, or coarse meal for porridge”. This application of technology hadn’t changed much over 1000 years. Hammermills for instance; were mills which were made up of shaft, tappets, the wheel turns and the hammer strikes downward. One type was filling mill, which was used for clothe making. The hammer style mill beat the clay into softer sturdy clothe. The Hammer Mill was also used for Iron-making and working, this activity was labor intensive and required an excessive amount of hammering, one application attributed from hammer milling was “rod ironing“. The water wheel was also used in papermaking. Papermaking requires literally beating material to a pulp. The application of the water wheel in papermaking, is the historical point where the “West” begins to apply different means of power such as windmills, post mills, tower mills, and the Dutch mill.

Types
There are four basic types of water wheels. The horizontal, the undershot, the breast shot, and the overshot. The wheels work based on two principles; gravity and. The horizontal and undershot wheel are impulse wheels (known as chain reaction), they work with the flow of water, the flow of water rotates the paddle, spinning the wheel, creating energy, and ultimately powers the mill. The undershot and breast wheels rely on the force of gravity. The gravity of the falling water atop the wheel in these examples, fall into buckets, and alongside that wheel through the force of gravity weight is dispersed from top to bottom, spinning the wheel, ultimately generating power.

Pictures of Types
See also;
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