Image: Huyghens Gunpowder and Air Engine

Description: Huyghens' Gunpowder and Air Engine, consisting of a hollow cylinder A, well polished within and of uniform size throughout. B, a movable piston inserted into the top of the cylinder, the upper portion of which is surrounded by a small quantity of water. C, C, two apertures, each one-half the diameter of the cylinders which are fastened to the main cylinder at the apertures, (one of the tubes being shown extended, the other hanging). E, E, holdfasts, by which the cylinder is joined to the case in which it sits, which is not shown in the figure. F, F, a cord attached to the piston and passing over a pulley G, for the purpose of raising whatever is attached to it. H, a small box for receiving the charge of gunpowder, attached to the bottom of the cylinder by means of a screw, a leather ring being employed to aid in making the joint air-tight. On the explosion of the charge, the air contained in the cylinder was driven out through the leather tubes C D, C D, which were momentarily extended, but immediately closed again by the external air; and the cylinder being vacuous, the piston B was driven down by the atmospheric pressure, drawing with it the cord F, and raising whatever was suspended by it.
Title: Huyghens Gunpowder and Air Engine
Credit: Galloway, Robert Lindsay (1881) The Steam Engine and Its Inventors: A Historical Sketch, London: Macmillan and Co., p. 22
Author: Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) and Willem Jacob Gravesande (1688-1742) in (1751) Christiani Hugenii Zulichemii Opera varia, 1, Lugduni Batavorum, Apud Janssonios vander Aa, p. 280
Permission: Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse The author died in 1742, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/PDMCreative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0falsefalse
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No