Editing Ctesibius (section)

==Inventions==
Ctesibius was the son of a barber, born {{circa|300}} BCE, probably{{snd}}but not certainly{{snd}}in Alexandria.{{efn|There is no direct evidence for the place of birth of Ctesibius. He is given {{lang|la|Alexandrinus}}, {{lit|the Alexandrian}}, as "an ethnic" or "a [[wikt:deme|deme]]" (the element in traditional Greek onomastic formulae ascribing geographic or ethnic origin),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rizakis |first1=Athanasios |editor1=Robert Parker |title=Changing Names: Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Greek Onomastics |date=April 2019 |publisher=British Academy |isbn=978-0-19-188424-5 |url-access= subscription|url=https://academic.oup.com/british-academy-scholarship-online/book/37130 |language=en |chapter=New Identities in the Greco-Roman East: Cultural and Legal Implications of the Use of Roman Names |doi=10.5871/bacad/9780197266540.003.0011 |pages=237–257}}</ref> in early mentions and reference to his work, including by [[Vitruvius]] ({{BCE|1st century}}) in {{lang|la|[[De Architectura]]}}.<ref>{{cite book |author =Vitruvius |title=De Architectura |at= Book IX, Chapter 8.2}}</ref>}}<ref name="hoff">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Hoffmann |first1=James J. |editor1=Neil Schlager |others=Associate editor: Josh Lauer |title=Ctesibius of Alexandria |date=2001 |pages=400–401 |url=https://archive.org/details/B-001-002-827/page/n373/mode/2up |encyclopedia =Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery |volume =1 ''2000 BC to AD 699''|publisher=Gale Group|quote=Ctesibius (also spelled Ktesibios) was a Greek physicist and inventor who was probably born in Alexandria sometime around 300 B.C. He was the first of many Greeks to become part of the great ancient engineering tradition in Alexandria.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pollard |first1=Justin |last2=Reid |first2=Howard |page=130 |title=The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World |date=2007 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0143112518 |chapter=The Clockwork City}}</ref> He began his career as a [[barber]], following his father.<ref name="hoff"/>
[[File:Hydraulis organ of Ctesibius.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of Ctesibius' hydraulis at the [[Museum of Ancient Greek Technology|Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology]], in [[Athens]], [[Greece]].]]
During this first career, he invented a [[counterweight]]-adjustable [[mirror]]. Another of his inventions was the [[hydraulis]], a water organ that is considered the precursor of the modern [[pipe organ]] and the first keyboard instrument.<ref name="hoff"/> He and his wife Thais were reputed to be highly-skilled players of the instrument.<ref>Athenaeus Deipnosophistae 4.174e</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Leon|first=Vicki|title=Uppity Women of Ancient Times|publisher=Conari Press|year=1995|isbn=9781573240109|pages=82}}</ref> He improved the [[water clock]] or clepsydra ('water thief'), which for more than 1,800 years was the most accurate clock ever constructed, until the Dutch physicist [[Christiaan Huygens]]' invention of the [[pendulum clock]] in 1656. Ctesibius described one of the first [[force pump]]s for producing a jet of water, or for lifting water from wells. Examples have been found at various Roman sites, such as at [[Silchester]] in Britain. The principle of the [[siphon]] has also been attributed to him.
[[File:Ctesibius's_water_clock,_3rd_century_BC,_Alexandria_(reconstruction).jpg|thumb|Hydraulic clock of Ctesibius, reconstruction at the Technological Museum of [[Thessaloniki]]]]