Archimedes' screw or the Archimedean screw is one of several inventions and discoveries reputed to have been made by Archimedes. Archimedes of Syracuse (circa 287 BC - 212 BC), was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, physicist and engineer. ...

The Archimedes' screw is a simple machine used primarily to transfer water from a lower-lying body of water into irrigation ditches. Another interesting application is "stealing" land from under sea level in the Netherlands. Since the primary objective in this case is to lift water to a given height rather than simply move it from a river to the irrigation field, more than one machine was used to successively lift the same water volume, due to the limitations of this machine. Image from http://www. ... In physics, a simple machine is any device that only requires the application of a single force to work. ... Irrigating cotton fields Irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ...

The machine consists of a screw inside a hollow pipe. The lower end of the device is put in the water, and the screw is then turned (usually by a windmill or by animal or human labor). As the bottom end of the tube turns, it scoops up an amount of water. This puddle of water will slide up in the spiral tube as the shaft is turned, until finally it falls out from the top of the spiral tube and feeds the irrigation system. This article refers to the threaded fastener. ... Pitstone Windmill, believed to be the oldest windmill in the British Isles A windmill is an engine powered by the energy of wind. ...

The interface between the screw and the pipe does not need to be perfectly water-tight because of the relatively large amount of water being scooped at each turn in respect to the angular speed of the screw. Also, water leaking from the top section of the screw leaks into the previous one and so on, so a sort of equilibrium is achieved while using the machine, thus reducing the decrease in efficiency. In physics, mechanical efficiency is the effectiveness of a simple machine. ...

Use in vehicle propulsion

Modified Archimedean screws are also used for vehicle propulsion. This works best over water, snow, sand, and other soft surfaces, although it can work as effectively over solid surfaces. This is normally done with pairs of screws: If they are rotated in opposite directions the vehicle will move forward; the same direction the vehicle will move sideways; different speeds cause the vehicle to turn. To date no production vehicles have been created using the screws. However, the Soviets with their first cosmonauts made vehicles that utilised such a drive to cross the tundra in Siberia since helicopters at that time were ill-equipped for the conditions. The British exploration team Ice Challenger also used the drive in their Snowbird 6 vehicle (a modified Bombardier tracked craft) to traverse the ice floes in the Bering Strait. U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit. ... Siberian federal subjects of Russia Siberia ( Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Strait Bering Strait is also a country music band The Bering Strait is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, the eastmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point of the American continent, about 85 km in width, with a...

See also

• progressive cavity pump
• helical pump
• auger