Potter’s wheel
device · 4000 BC · Stone Age
A spinning disc for shaping vessels; one of the first uses of rotation.
What it is made of
- Wheel head — has part. A spinning disc for shaping.
- Flywheel — has part. A lower flywheel turned by the foot.
- Axle — has part. A vertical axis.
Principles and materials it uses
- Stone — is made of. Early potter’s wheels were stone discs on an axle.
- Wood — is made of. Later — wooden ones.
- Angular momentum — uses. A heavy disc keeps spinning by inertia.
Where it is used
- Pottery — is used in. The wheel made shaping vessels faster and more even.
Things built in a similar way
- Wheel — works like. A potter’s wheel is a spinning disc; it is sometimes seen as a forerunner of the transport wheel.