See Also: Archimedes' Principle
A simple mechanical device used to lift Water and such light
materials as grain or sand, and believed to have been invented
by Archimedes in the third century B.C. It consists of a large continuous screw inside a
cylindrical chamber. To lift water-for example, from a river to its bank-the
lower end is placed in the river, and water rises up the spiral threads of the
screw as it is revolved.