The Archimedes screw, an ancient Greek invention for lifting water. Learn about its origins, how it works, and its modern ...

Used over 2000 years ago by the Egyptians for irrigation, the Archimedes screw is still in use today, ranging in size from a quarter of an inch to twelve feet in diameter.

The most famous of these were the Archimedes' Screw (a device for raising water that is still used in crop irrigation and sewage treatment plants today) and Archimedes' principle of buoyancy.

PNNL is helping Percheron evaluate using composite instead of steel to make screw-shaped turbines called Archimedes Hydrodynamic Screw turbines, which enable hydropower generation in small waterways.