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Experiments on the mechanics of reaction wheels conducted by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler and his son Albert in the 1750s found application about 75 years later. In 1826 Jean-Victor Poncelet of France proposed the idea of an inward-flowing radial turbine, the direct precursor of the modern water turbine. This machine had a vertical spindle and a runner with curved blades that was fully enclosed. Water entered radially inward and discharged downward below the spindle. A similar machine was patented in 1838 by Samuel B. Howd of the United States and built subsequently. Howd’s design was improved on by James ...(100 of 9585 words)