If you've ever run out of puff using your breath to start a campfire, imagine what it'd mean to an ancient blacksmith. That would rate high on the list of jobs they'd rather not do, which probably explains why they had slaves blowing into clay tubes about 3500 BC in West Asia to make bronze.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Unfortunately, even a lot of slave lungs would never be sufficient. Clearly, this is a job that needs a machine, which is what happened in Egypt around 1450 BCE.
We know because a painting in the Tomb of Rekhmirea shows pot bellows (or bowl bellows) being used.
These have been found in Roman-era Sudanese iron-working sites and are still used in many parts of Africa and Asia for smelting and forging iron.
These bellows used leather stretched over the top of a clay pot with a vent at the bottom. By pushing and pulling the leather, air would exit the vent.
People in Syria and Lebanon still use them to melt glass to make bottles.
The next improvement arrived in 400 BCE in China, where they invented box bellows.
These used an internal sliding panel. Using a rod, a person would push the panel to force air through a vent.
During the Han Dynasty, about 200 BCE, somebody realised that it would be more efficient if the bellows worked in both directions. The double-action piston blows air when pushed and pulled.
The more familiar bellows, shaped like a spade, appeared around 1100 AD.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
While these were a lot better than a squad of puffing slaves, operating these for an extended period would be exhausting.
As in the Han Dynasty, these were improved with the double-action pumps that worked as the paddle was moved in either direction.
Towards the end of the 19th century, somebody invented the hand-cranked blower that used fan blades inside a housing.
These blowers were more compact than bellows. Now they're mostly antiques, more than something a professional blacksmith would use.
Now that everything is electric, these devices are mostly curiosities.
Still, bellows are an important member in the pantheon of simple inventions, without which we would still be living in caves.
None of the metal objects around you today would be possible without them.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@Zoho.com; Podcast: FuzzyLogicOn2xx.Podbean.com
