Of screws and screwdrivers - history - Abstract

Magazine Antiques, Nov, 2000 by Alfred Mayor

The book continues forward through ever more precise lathes, backward to the screw press of the ancient Greeks, and backward even further to the water screw invented to raise water by Archimedes (c. 287- 212 B.c.), also a military engineer. The author comments that it is "as far as we know, the first appearance in human history of the helix," and the screw, like the spiral staircase, is a helix. The author continues: "The discovery of the screw represents a kind of miracle. Only a mathematical genius like Archimedes could have described the geometry of the helix in the first place, and only a mechanical genius like him could have conceived a practical application for this unusual shape."

Here ends this thoughtful, limpidly written exploration of screws and screwdrivers, the passage of time, the evolution of civilizations, and human invention.