Steam-powered elevating machine

In the 17th century Denis Papin had the idea of using the energy contained in steam to raise a liquid to be used, for example, in jets and fountains. The lower part of the machine is filled with water. A valve at the base of the funnel prevents it from flowing back. The steam produced in the boiler is channelled into the cylinder to power a piston, which when it descends acts on the water in the pipes below to raise it to the reservoir, which has a valve that prevents the water from descending. When the cylinder has been emptied of its steam, the device is refilled with water, the piston rises and the cycle can recommence. This scale model, based on Nouvelle Manière d’élever l’eau par la force du feu (A new way of raising water with the power of fire), the treatise published by Denis Papin in 1707, was made in 1947 for an exhibition organised by the Conservatoire to mark the scientist’s tercentenary.