Page 299 - The Lost Ways

- By M. Richard -

“It seems better to me for a child to have these

skills and never use them than not have them
and one day need them.”

– Kristin Cashore

We tend to think of the use of machinery as something associated with the
industrial age. Many of our modern tools and equipment are powered by either electric
motors or gasoline engines—both inventions of the industrial age.

But mankind’s history of building and using machinery goes much further back than that.
Before our modern means of producing mechanical energy, manpower, animal power,
and even water power were in common use.

The water wheel was invented to harness the naturally occurring kinetic energy contained
in flowing water. This was mankind’s first “free” energy that was provided by nature. Like
solar power, other than the initial investment in equipment, there is virtually no cost

associated with using water power.

There are three basic styles of water wheels: the horizontal, the undershot vertical, and
the overshot vertical. We can see an evolution of design between these three as the most
recent of the three has been the overshot vertical water wheel.

However, the horizontal water wheel has been improved upon and encased and is now
called an impeller. These are used extensively in hydroelectric plants around the world.

So even though it is the oldest style, it has become the only water wheel design in
common use today.

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