SS Archimedes SS Archimedes SS "Archimedes" was a steamship built in Britain in 1839. She is notable for being the world's first steamship to be driven by a screw propeller. "Archimedes" had considerable influence on ship development, encouraging the adoption of screw propulsion by the Royal Navy, in addition to her influence on commercial vessels. She also had a direct influence on the design of another innovative vessel, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's , then the world's largest ship and the first screw-propelled steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The principle of moving water with a screw has been known since the invention of
Trammel of Archimedes of Archimedes intended to draw, cut, or machine ellipses, e.g. in wood or other sheet materials. An ellipsograph has the appropriate instrument (pencil, knife, router, etc.) attached to the rod. Usually the distances "a" and "b" are adjustable, so that the size and shape of the ellipse can be varied. The history of such ellipsographs is not certain, but they are believed to date back to Proclus and perhaps even to the time of Archimedes. Wooden versions of the trammel of Archimedes have been produced also as toys or novelty items, and sold under the name of Kentucky do-nothings, nothing