2 posts tagged “history”

History Channel show on 25April2007 on inventions of the medieval Islamic countries from 800AD to 1600AD.

1. Tea Serving Girl: Robot that serves tea every 7.5 minutes
   
2. Antikathera Mechanism
1. Al Gajera: Rebuilder  and modifier of analogue time computer of brass wheels based on ancient Greek design. Like a modern mechanical watch, except 50 cm diameter (18 inch).
   
3. Taki Al Din:  Water drawn pump with six camshafts on a water-run piston.
4. Al Jazari: inventor of improved pumps based on "shadoof"
   
1. Water raising device No. 3: old design found in modern Damascus. Used from 1300s to 1970. Uses complex gears.
   
5. I missed the vocal on a segment on an islamic sextant, the device for shooting the angle of the sun to determine longitude.
6. Book of Knowledge of Ingenuos Mechanical Devices: Islamic book of blueprints of 50 inventions.
1. Includes Al Jazari's clock run off candles: uses lead weight connected to pulleys.
2. Elephant clock in Dubai. Similar to celestial clocks of China in 1300s. 8 Meters tall.
   
7. Weapons from China. Trebuchet. Gunpowder. Fireproof uniforms. Torpedo that is a stingray-shaped rocket that skims above the water to attack a ship at waterline.
8. Hassan Al Rama: in 1200's summarized state of gunpowder invented in China to be able too power rockets and cannons in 1377.
   
9. The "St. Petersburg Manuscript" shows fireproof uniforms: sink underneath, cotton padded in middle, and wool outer. Small flammable bundles of linen attached to firecrackers where attached to the wool outer layer. These were lit as the soldiers charged into enemy calvary to scare horses.
10. Stingray shaped torpedo that skimmed along surface of water.  Richard Windley, UK model builder, build one.
    

Great news for history buffs. PCMag.Com published an article on 11.13.06 by Natali T. Del Conte reporting this new overlay to Google Earth.

"The David Rumsey maps overlayed on Google Earth integrate historic cartographic masterpieces dating as far back as the 17th century."

The article is linked here ==> http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2058485,00.asp

For typical users, Google Earth  can only run on a PC with Windows. The download is linked here ==> http://earth.google.com/

A less elaborate online version is "Google Maps", found here ==> http://www.google.com/maps