Things I thought I knew, and on which I agreed with a lot of other historians, turned out to be ever more questionable. Perhaps even wrong. And so I had to delve ever deeper to get to the truth, and to reformulate what I knew.
Looks like it pushes out or in evenly in four directions. I'd imagine that would be useful in some sort of manufacturing process, but I'm not sure what.
For De Caus' engine, I don't see why putting lenses in the vessel walls (as opposed to clear glass) helps -- isn't it just the net flux of sunlight into the vessel that heats it up?
Yes, it's a good point. Had this discussion in the comments of Part II as well. His subsequent version, in which he used a frame filled with lenses to all focus on the copper wall of the vessel, would have worked much better. To be fair to him, I don't think anybody would have understood at the time, as concepts like "energy" hadn't yet been developed.
Looks like it pushes out or in evenly in four directions. I'd imagine that would be useful in some sort of manufacturing process, but I'm not sure what.
Go on...
Maybe it's some sort of push-pull machine that can place and retrieve something from a furnace or other hazardous environment?
In a roundabout sort of way this is sort of on the right track. But so roundabout that my saying so isn't a hint!
For De Caus' engine, I don't see why putting lenses in the vessel walls (as opposed to clear glass) helps -- isn't it just the net flux of sunlight into the vessel that heats it up?
Yes, it's a good point. Had this discussion in the comments of Part II as well. His subsequent version, in which he used a frame filled with lenses to all focus on the copper wall of the vessel, would have worked much better. To be fair to him, I don't think anybody would have understood at the time, as concepts like "energy" hadn't yet been developed.