01-29-2009, 01:36 PM
Quote:It would be also of interest whether the stream of liquid was ejected continuously or with interruptions. This question has been hardly addressed in the scientific debate, at least in the half dozen articles I read.
I'm pretty certain it wouldn't be continuous. The earliest Greek "flamethrower" used a bellows to blow the flames but didn't project anything (circa 424 BC used by the boeotians)
Heron of Alexandria suggested that a large syringe could be used as a flame thrower.
References to flame weapons are often vegue but I don't recall ever reading anything to suggest a continuous pressure being maintained for such a machine. It would be easy enough to do, simply by adding an air bladder, but there is no evidence for it, nor would there be any need for it.
Colin
