5 ms·

I always wondered if Archimedes could have realized more applications of his lever and invented the gear and kicked off the industrial revolution early.

• miki_tyler 1y ago
  He might have a "cameo". At some point I will need the Romans to make screws and nuts!
• krapp 1y ago
  The Antikythera mechanism was likely within Archimedes' lifetime or not long after his death, so he certainly knew what gears were.
• jcranmer 1y ago
  > kicked off the industrial revolution early. Short answer: no. Longer answer: read https://acoup.blog/2022/08/26/collections-why-no-roman-industrial-revolution/ https://acoup.blog/2022/08/26/collections-why-no-roman-indus... (which covers it better than I could, from an actual historian).
  • 90s_dev 1y ago
    I meant technologically not economically.
    • jcranmer 1y ago
      Technologically, probably not. The first invention of the Industrial Revolution isn't a steam engine, it's the flying shuttle, and the Romans are using far more primitive looms than 18th century Europe is, and I'm not sure their looms could have taken advantage of the flying shuttle.
      • 90s_dev 1y ago
        Maybe the Romans invented both of those but just didn't tell you.
      • MandieD 1y ago
        First, they’d need spinning wheels. Even with the primitive looms the Romans were using, far more labor went into producing the yarn (processing flax, cleaning wool, spinning with hand spindles)