Long before the age of mass industry, the ancient Greek inventor Hero of Alexandria designed a machine that spun solely on steam power. In the first century AD he built what later became known as the earliest steam engine, the aeolipile. This clever device featured a hollow sphere mounted on a pivot so that when water was heated steam escaped from two curved nozzles and set the sphere spinning rapidly. The contraption was regarded as a novelty for creating magical temple effects rather than a me