Chain pump facts for kids
A chain pump is a clever machine used to lift water. It has many round discs attached to a long, endless chain. Part of the chain goes into the water. The chain then moves through a tube, which is just a bit wider than the discs. As the chain pulls the discs up the tube, water gets trapped between them. This water is then lifted and poured out at the top. Chain pumps were very important for hundreds of years. People used them in the ancient Middle East, Europe, and China.
Chain Pumps in the Ancient Middle East and Europe
The first records of chain pumps come from Babylonia around 700 B.C. Early versions were often powered by people or animals. This helped move water for farming or daily needs. Around 200 B.C., similar devices appeared in ancient Egypt. These often used gear-wheels to help lift the water.
Both ancient Greece and Rome also used chain pumps. Sometimes, small pots or scoops were attached to the chain. As these went over a top wheel, they would tip the water out. An example from the 2nd century A.D. can still be seen in London today. Famous thinkers like Philo of Byzantium (2nd century B.C.) and Vitruvius (around 30 B.C.) wrote about these pumps. Parts of a Roman chain pump, used to remove water from a ship's bottom (a bilge pump), were found from a 1st-century barge in Lake Nemi.
Later, during the Renaissance in Europe, chain pumps became important in mines. They helped remove water from deep underground. A scientist named Georg Agricola showed these pumps in his book De re metallica in 1556. Chain pumps were also vital on ships to keep them from sinking. They were even used for small-scale irrigation in the 1800s.
Chain Pumps in Ancient China
Chain pumps were also very important in ancient China, starting from at least the 1st century A.D. There, they were often called dragon backbones. An early description came from the philosopher Wang Chong around A.D. 80. Chinese chain pumps often used square-shaped paddles, unlike the round discs seen elsewhere. These pumps usually lifted water up a slanted channel.
Chinese chain pumps used different power sources. Some were powered by the force of flowing water turning a water wheel. Others used oxen to turn a wheel that moved the chain. There were also pumps that people operated by pressing pedals with their feet.
These pumps became very common across the Chinese countryside from the 1st century onwards. They were mainly used for irrigation, helping farmers water their crops. They also helped with public works, like supplying water to cities. For example, an engineer named Bi Lan built many chain pumps outside the capital city of Luoyang. These pumps brought water to the palaces and homes through a system of pipes. Later, the famous engineer Ma Jun built chain pumps to water the royal gardens for Emperor Ming of Wei (226–239).
During the Song dynasty (10th–13th centuries), chain pump technology got even better. They were crucial for expanding farming. While simpler water-lifting tools existed, the square-pallet chain pump became much more common for farm use around the year 1000 A.D.
Later, from the 13th century, the Chinese began using windmills to power their square-pallet chain pumps. This idea came from the Middle East. There were also other designs, like the cylinder chain pump. The book Tiangong Kaiwu (1637) by Song Yingxing shows a cylinder chain pump. It used waterwheels to lift water from a river to higher farm fields. Poets like Li Chuquan praised how chain pumps helped farming grow during the Song era. The Song government even helped spread this technology to new areas.
Learn More About Pumps
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- Chain drive
- Rope pump
- Sakia
- Waterladder pump
