368

Whitehursl’s Water-Ram.

[Book IV.

tempts to remedy the evil, it was determined to sold er one end of a smallerpipe immediately behind the cock, and to carry the other end to as higha level as the water in the cistern; and now it was found that on shuttingthe cock the pipe did not burst as before, but a jet of considerable heightwas forced from the upper end of this new pipe : it therefore became ne-cessary to increase its height to prevent water escaping from it—uponwhich it was continued to the top of the hospital, being twice the heightof the supplying cistern, but where to the great surprise of those whoconstructed the Work, some water still issued : a cistern was thereforeplaced to receive this water, which was found very convenient, since itwas thus raised to the highest floors of the building without any extralabor. Here circumstances led the workmen to the construction of a water-ram without knowing that such a machine had been previously devised.

The first person who is known to have raised water by a ram, designedfor the purpose was, Mr. Whitehurst, a watchmaker of Derby , in England.He erected a machine similar to the one represented by the next figure,in 1772. A description of it was forwarded by him to the Royal Society ,and published in vol. lv, of their Transactions.

No. 167. Whitehurst’s Watcr-Ram.

A, represents the spring or reservoir, the surface of the water in whichwas of about the same level as the bottom of the cistern B. The mainpipe from A to the cock at the end of C, was nearly six hundred feet inlength, and one and a half inches bore. The cock was sixteen feet belowA, and furnished water for the kitchen offices, &c. When it was openedthe liquid column in A C was put in motion, and acquired a velocity dueto a fall of sixteen feet; and as soon as the cock was shut, the momentumof this long column opened the valve, upon which part of the water rushedinto the air-vessel and up the vertical pipe into B. This effect took placeevery time the cock was used, and as water was drawn from it at shortintervals for household purposes, “ from morning tili night—all the daysin the year,” an abundance was raised into B, without any exertion orexpense.

Such was the first water-ram. As an original device, it is highly honor-able to the sagacity and ingenuity of its author; and the introduction of anair vessel, without which all apparatus of the kind could never be madedurable, strengthens his Claims upon our regard. In this machine he hasshown that the mere act of drawing water from long tubes for ordinarypurposes, may serve to raise a portion of their contents to a higher level;an object that does not appear to have been previously attempted, oreven thought of. The device also exhibits another mode, besides thatby pressure engines, of deriving motive force from liquids thus drawn,and consequently opens another way by which the immense power ex-pended in raising water for the supply of cities, may again be given