Rockets History

Rockets are not new. The fact that we have only been traveling to space for a short time does not mean that rockets are a new invention. More than 2300 years ago, Archytas of Tarentum, a Greek scientist constructed a bird from wood. Filling the hollow model with water, he hung it from the ceiling, then, with a heat source (probably a candle), Archytas brought the water to a boil, producing steam. The steam escaped from a hole in the bird’s tail, making it fly around the room. This crude rocket demonstrated what Sir Isaac Newton would 2000 years later call his third law of motion, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."