From the devices that power ships and trains to the workings of clocks, typewriters, and guns, this engrossing visual narrative profiles the specific and unique properties of hundreds of mechanical devices. Nearly 1,000 detailed illustrations depict steam-powered appliances, spring-powered devices, hydraulic equipment, and other machines, many of which remain in common use today. Each apparatus features a detailed line drawing and an informative explanation of its workings and uses. A final chapter chronicles 400 years of impassioned but futile searching for a perpetual motion machine.The companion to Dover's 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances, this volume features fewer but more complex machines than its predecessor. Today's readers—especially engineers, inventors, and other mechanically inclined individuals—will find endless fascination and inspiration among the novelty and variety of these ingenious mechanical designs.