2017-09-117 (Day 260 Screw This

The Falkirk Wheel relies on Archimedes’ principle that a floating body displaces its own weight of water. So it’s no surprise that there is an exhibition of another of Archimedes’ inventions at the wheel – the Archimedes Screw.

This allows water to be raised in height, and amonst its many uses this is believed to have been the mechanism by which the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were irrigated (350 years before Archimedes!)

At the water park, you can use the screw to raise water from the bottom tank to the top simply by turning the handle attached this Archimedes screw. It works, too!