The Segner wheel or Segner turbine is a type of

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

invented by Johann Andreas Segner in the 18th century. It uses the same principle as

Hero's Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the ''K-1 Romanex'' ...

aeolipile An aeolipile, aeolipyle, or eolipile, from the Greek "Αἰόλου πύλη," , also known as a Hero's (or Heron's) engine, is a simple, bladeless radial turbine, radial steam turbine which spins when the central water container is heated. Torq ...

. The device is placed in a suitable hole in the ground (or at the slope of a hill). The

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

is delivered to the top of a vertical

cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...

, at the bottom of which is a rotor with specially bent pipes with nozzles (see image). Due to the hydrostatic pressure, the water is ejected from the nozzles, causing the rotor to rotate. The useful torque is transferred to a powered device through a belt and

pulley Sheave without a rope A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft enabling a taut cable or belt passing over the wheel to move and change direction, or transfer power between itself and a shaft. A pulley may have a groove or grooves between flan ...

system. Segner turbines, also called reaction or Scotch turbines, were built in the mid-1850s to power the

inclined plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

lifts along the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Today, the Segner wheel principle is used in

irrigation sprinkler An irrigation sprinkler (also known as a water sprinkler or simply a sprinkler) is a device used to irrigate (water) agricultural crops, lawns, landscapes, golf courses, and other areas. They are also used for cooling and for the control of airb ...

Alexander Bogdanov Alexander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov (; – 7 April 1928), born Alexander Malinovsky, was a Russian and later Soviet physician, philosopher, science fiction writer and Bolshevik revolutionary. He was a polymath who pioneered blood transfusion, a ...

cited this an example of an important innovation which paved the way for the development of

steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

. The turbine at Museo Hacienda Buena Vista is "the only pre-Scotch type known to exist and is the sole extant example of a pioneer and historically important machine that was invented at the close of the 17th century by Dr. Baker.... The Buena Vista turbine is, in effect, a missing link in the evolution of mechanical artifacts better known to the historians of technology." (The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology, Vol. 4, No. 1 978 pp.55–58)."Robert Sackett, Preservationist, PRSHPO (Original 1990 draft). Arleen Pabon, Certifying Official and State Historic Preservation Officer, State Historic Preservation Office, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 9 September 1994. In ''National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Hacienda Buena Vista''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 23. Listing Reference Number 91001499. 17 October 1994.

Gallery

File:2. GENERAL VIEW OF THE SCOTCH TURBINE. WATER ENTERED TURBINE FROM BOTTOM AND EXITED THROUGH ARMS VISIBLE AT THE TOP OF THE TURBINE. - Morris Canal, Scotch Turbine, Hopatcong, Sussex County, NJ (cropped).jpg, Scotch turbine from Inclined Plane 3 East of the

at Ledgewood, New Jersey File:Morris Canal, Scotch Turbine Display - detail.jpg, Detail view of the arms and nozzles of the turbine, on display at Hopatcong State Park

References

External links

Barker's Mill
at physics.kenyon.edu *One of the last remaining examples is at

Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about in area. Located from the Delaware River and from Manhattan, New York City, the lake forms part of the border between Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex and Morris ...

; there is an excellent picture a

Water turbines Hungarian inventions {{Mech-engineering-stub