Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2009
A generation brought up with bicycles and cars takes for granted the necessity of lubrication. Yet consultation of the Encyclopaedia Britannica reveals that the earliest book devoted to a theoretical examination of the subject appeared in 1883; before that date, lubrication was based solely on rule of thumb and traditional experience. It is natural to enquire how far the Greeks and Romans advanced in acquiring this empirical knowledge.
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