Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Pathway · p-1da28ffddd · demonstrated

Waterwheel (mechanical)

Gravitational potential differenceGravitational descent of fluidMechanical motionMechanical work

Falling water turns a wheel; the wheel turns a millstone.

Epistemic state of the route

known constituent relations
3 / 3 established or replicated · weakest constituent established
constituent maturity floor
K4 · experimentally observed
search for this exact route
A recorded pathway or a reviewed search records a demonstration of this composition.
recorded pathway
Waterwheel (mechanical) · commercial
composition maturity
K8 · commercial technology
recorded-pathway overlap
this route is the recorded pathway Waterwheel (mechanical)
route-level evidence
1 source for the complete composition · 2 cited by the constituent steps
boundaries and interfaces
BOUNDARY compatible · no region transition

Explorematrix context · physics checks · steps · route evidence · constituent evidence · cite

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.19 × C.24 · Gravitational potential difference × Turbomachineryfamily: Turbomachinery

Steps

  1. 01
    Gravitational potential difference —drives→ Gravitational descent of fluidestablishedclaim record
    gravitational → mechanical
    liquid
    refs [1]
  2. 02
    Gravitational descent of fluid —produces→ Mechanical motionestablishedclaim record
    mechanical → mechanical · loss to thermal
    • falling or flowing water transfers weight and momentum to waterwheel buckets or paddles
    • producing shaft rotation
    liquid · bulk flow required
    refs [1]
  3. 03
    Mechanical motion —converts into→ Mechanical workestablishedclaim record
    mechanical → mechanical · loss to thermal
    refs [2]

Evidence for the complete composition · 1

  1. [1]
    S. L. Dixon, C. A. Hall. Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery (7th ed.) (2014)
    Butterworth-Heinemann · doi:10.1016/C2011-0-05059-7 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record

Evidence for the constituent relations · 2

  1. [1]
    S. L. Dixon, C. A. Hall. Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery (7th ed.) (2014)
    Butterworth-Heinemann · doi:10.1016/C2011-0-05059-7 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  2. [2]
    A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)
    Wiley · doi:10.1002/9781119245964 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record

Cite this route

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). route p-1da28ffddd: Waterwheel (mechanical). Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/path/1da28ffddd

Ids and matrix addresses are stable across revisions; the revision hash identifies the exact canonical files the record was compiled from and is meta.data_hash in every /api export. Reuse terms: see the license field in any export.