The journal
Who invented these mechanisms, how they work and what they were used for. One article a month, to read before you build the model or after.
Thermodynamics
The radial engine, cylinders in a star around a single crankshaft
Cylinders in a star, a master rod, an odd number of cylinders: the engine that crossed the Atlantic and carried the first airliners.
By Adrien, 1 October 2026, 5 min read
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Watchmaking,
Breguet's tourbillon (1801) and gravity in a pocket watch
In 1801, Breguet set the whole heart of a watch spinning on itself to cancel out gravity. The history and mechanics of the king of complications.
Read the article (4 min)
Physics,
Why a spinning gyroscope does not fall over
Spun up to speed, a disc refuses to tip and swings sideways when you push it. From Foucault's experiment to the navigation of aircraft and satellites.
Read the article (4 min)
Thermodynamics,
The Stirling engine, a hot-air engine patented in 1816
An engine that cannot explode, burns nothing inside itself and recycles its own heat. Invented in 1816, it now powers submarines and cools sensors.
Read the article (5 min)
Topology & Kinetics,
The Möbius strip, a strip of paper with only one side
A strip, a half twist, and the paper loses one of its sides. How an 1858 curiosity became the emblem of topology and of recycling.
Read the article (5 min)
Power transmission,
The differential, or why two wheels on one axle turn at different speeds
In a corner, your two wheels do not travel the same distance. The differential has solved that puzzle since 1827. Open the case and follow the torque.
Read the article (4 min)
Watchmaking,
The anchor escapement, the part that regulates a pendulum clock
A falling weight does not tell the time. It must be held back and released, tooth by tooth. The history and workings of the anchor escapement.
Read the article (5 min)
Power transmission,
How a universal joint carries rotation between two shafts out of line
Two shafts out of line, a cross between them, and the rotation carries through. The story and secrets of the joint hidden under trucks and in steering columns.
Read the article (5 min)
Power transmission,
How the Maltese cross moves film one frame at a time
One wheel turns endlessly, the other steps a quarter turn and locks. The mechanism that ran cinema frame by frame, taken apart piece by piece.
Read the article (5 min)
Astronomy,
The orrery, a hand-cranked solar system
Turn a crank and the Earth circles the Sun, the Moon circles the Earth. Three centuries of mechanical planetaria, from London to your desk.
Read the article (4 min)