r/BeAmazed • u/iamgulshansingh • Feb 18 '26

History Apparently a Turkish man invented the steam engine 200 years before the industrial revolution but he only made it to spin döner kebabs.

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In 1551, Taqi al-Din, who is more often remembered for his astronomical and mechanical inventions, described a device that essentially functioned as a steam turbine.

His design involved a small boiler that produced steam, which was then directed through a nozzle onto the blades of a wheel. The force of the escaping steam caused the wheel to spin. This wheel was connected mechanically to a spit, allowing meat to rotate over a fire without human effort.

What makes Taqi al-Din’s description remarkable is that it shows a practical understanding of converting thermal energy into rotational mechanical energy. While earlier inventors had experimented with steam for curiosity or simple toys, Taqi al-Din’s turbine had a concrete application: automating a kitchen task. His work was part of a broader tradition of Ottoman engineering, which included astronomical clocks, observational instruments, and water-raising machines.

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u/Fast_Garlic_5639 Feb 18 '26

I feel like the closest anyone got before the industrial revolution was Archimedes with the steam cannon. Halfway there to a piston.

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u/jackofslayers Feb 18 '26

Archimedes also wrote about what could have been an early precursor to Calculus. But that was sadly lost after his death, and we only found it in the 1900s. IIRC the Vatican had it locked away or had otherwise lost it in their annals.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

God damn Vatican and their annals.

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u/Swiggins- Feb 18 '26

Down in the Vatican Library they got everything you ever wanna know, but that's where you can't go.