Lift Water with an Archimedes Screw

Jul 01, 2023

A gravity-defying science project from Science Buddies

Key ConceptsPhysicsLiquidsGeometryEngineering

IntroductionCan you think of a way to make water run uphill—without using electricity? The ancient Greeks discovered how to do just this! They developed a device called the Archimedes screw to lift water from one location to another. This tool is so useful that it is still in widespread use today. In this activity you will build your own hand-powered Archimedes screw from simple materials.

BackgroundArchimedes of Syracuse was born in the 3rd century B.C. He liked to solve problems and was one of the most important inventors of his time. The king requested that Archimedes build the biggest ship possible. This ship proved to be leaky, and Archimedes had to invent a device to remove water from it. So he designed what we now call the Archimedes screw. It was very effective because it got rid of the water and only required one person to operate it. The Archimedes screw was soon also used to transport water from low-lying areas up to irrigation ditches. The design is so effective that it is still being used today. For instance, it is used to lift wastewater in water treatment plants and even to lift water in some amusement park rides. It's a tool that has never gone out of style.

The Archimedes screw is a form of positive-displacement pump. A positive-displacement pump traps fluid from a source and then forces the fluid to move to a discharge location. The Archimedes screw is made up of a hollow cylinder and a spiral part (the spiral can be inside, but here you'll put it outside the cylinder). One end is placed in a low-lying fluid source and the other end is tilted up into a higher discharge area. To move water all you need to do is rotate the screw. As the screw moves it scoops up a small amount of water into the first pocket. On the next turn of the screw the first pocket of water moves to the second pocket, and a new scoop of water enters the first pocket. This motion continues, and eventually the first scoop of water comes out at the other end.

There are many factors that determine how well the Archimedes screw will work, such as the length, its angle, the radius and more. In this project you will build and demonstrate your own Archimedes screw. Optionally you can even try changing the screw design to find out how to make it lift water faster!

Materials

Preparation

Procedure

Observations and ResultsHow does the Archimedes screw manage to move water uphill? When you bend the tubing into a spiral shape, it forms individual pockets where water can get trapped because the tubing curves upward on both sides. If you look at your screw from the side, you will see these pockets filled with water. As you rotate the screw it traps alternating pockets of air and water, and the individual pockets move up the screw to the upper container. If you tilt the screw up at too steep of an angle, eventually one side of each pocket will point downhill allowing the water to flow back down. This is easiest to see if you stand the pipe up vertically—notice how there is nowhere for the water to get "trapped" without flowing downhill.

More to ExploreMoving Water with the Archimedes Screw Pump, from Science BuddiesArchimedes, from Famous ScientistsWalking Water, from Scientific AmericanHeavy Lifting with a Lever, from Scientific AmericanSTEM Activities for Kids, from Science Buddies

This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies

Ben Finio is a senior staff scientist at Science Buddies and a lecturer at the Cornell University Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Follow him on Twitter @BenFinio.

Lauren J. Young

Luke Taylor and Nature magazine

Chelsea Harvey and E&E News

Tim Vernimmen and Knowable Magazine

Diana Reiss | Opinion

Manon Bischoff