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she commented on the word æolipyle
A pneumatic instrument or toy, illustrating the force with which vapor generated by heat in a closed vessel rushes out by a narrow aperture. (It is said to have been invented by Hero of Alexandria, and has had many forms and applications, but is now arranged to illustrate the reaction of the air upon the issuing stream of steam, producing circular motion.)
(French æolipyle, fr. Latin Æoli pylæ, the doorway of Æolus, god of wind; the vapor bursting from an orifice like the winds from the opened door of the cave of Æolus.)
August 19, 2008