When an inventor has a unit of measurement named after him, it's clear his work had more than a small impact on scientific and industrial progress. So it was for James Watt, whose Watt engine is often ...

But sometimes, his inventions took on a more playful bent. Not for nothing was the classical Arabic term for mechanics and engineering “Ilm al-Hiyal” (the “science of tricks”); in a 1551 treatise by ...

Heron, the great inventor of Alexandria, described in detail what is thought to be the first working steam engine. He called it an aeolipile, or "wind ball". His design was a sealed caldron of water ...

Technology tends to have a way of becoming smaller as it evolves. The ever-convenient microchip and lithium-ion battery serve in tandem as the brains of so many devices today, and their sleek and ...

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If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...