Archimedes' screw a crank mechanism in his "Bellifortis" (1405). This mechanism quickly replaced the ancient practice of working the pipe by treading. The Archimedes screw consists of a screw (a helical surface surrounding a central cylindrical shaft) inside a hollow pipe. The screw is usually turned by windmill, manual labor, cattle, or by modern means, such as a motor. As the shaft turns the bottom end scoops up a volume of water. This water is then pushed up the tube by the rotating helicoid until it pours out from the top of the tube. The contact surface between the screw and the
SS Archimedes overhaul. Her engines and machinery were removed on an unspecified date at Sunderland, after which she continued in service as a sailing ship. In 1852, her sails and rigging were renewed, but she disappeared from the Register again a year or two later. She reportedly ended her career in the 1850s, in service between Chile and Australia. Although the adoption of the screw propeller was an historical inevitability given the work of John Ericsson and others, "Archimedes" considerably hastened acceptance of the technology. The Dover trials, carried out in April–May 1840, persuaded the Royal Navy to build a 900-ton steam