Ancient Engineers' Inventions: Precursors of the Present, Edition 2

Cesare Rossi · Flavio Russo

Aug 2016 · History of Mechanism and Machine Science Book 33 · Springer

About this ebook

We live in an age in which one can easily think that our generation has invented and discovered almost everything; but the truth is quite the opposite. Progress cannot be considered as sudden unexpected spurts of individual brains: such a genius, the inventor of everything, has never existed in the history of humanity. What did exist was a limitless procession of experiments made by men who did not waver when faced with defeat, but were inspired by the rare successes that have led to our modern comfortable reality. And that continue to do so with the same enthusiasm. The study of the History of Engineering is valuable for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it can help us to understand the genius of the scientists, engineers and craftsmen who existed centuries and millenniums before us; who solved problems using the devices of their era, making machinery and equipment whose concept is of such a surprising modernity that we must rethink our image of the past.

About the author

Cesare Rossi received the Mechanical Engineer Degree cum Laude at the University of Napoli - "Federico II" in 1979; in the same year his doctoral thesis received the Asmeccanica (Italian Mechanical Engineering Association) award.

He participated in many International Conferences, often with invited lectures and as Chairman. His research activities where carried on mainly in the topics of Tribology, Rotor Dynamics, Mechanical Vibrations, Chaotic Motions of Mechanical Systems, Robot Mechanics, Video Applications for Robotics. Since several years he is interested in studies and researches on the History of Engineering and presently he cooperates with researchers (also on the field) mainly in which the Classic Age is concerned. He is a member of the A.I.S.I (Italian Society for the History of Engineering).

Flavio Russo holds a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Rome.

Has been studying military architecture and military history in general for the past thirty years, focusing especially on military technology. For ten years he was member of Scientific Councils of the Italian Institute for the Castles and of National Committee for Studies of Fortified Architectures at the Italian Cultural Heritage Department.

Currently he is working at the reconstruction of a roman water wheel, starting from archaeological finds.