Left: the original vacuum pump. Center: a 1663 third generation vacuum pump. Right: a semi-modern laboratory size scale version.
In science, vacuum pump (TR:69), as contrasted with an air pump, is a device that is able to withdraw air from an attached bulb (vacuum bulb, or receiver), thus producing a vacuum in the receiver, e.g. via the mechanical cranking of an arm, the down-stroke of each arm working to remove the air from a connecting vessel (top bulb) or vacuum bulb, via the mechanism of a piston and cylinder action with a one-way valve, and thus create a vacuum or region devoid of gas.
History The first vacuum pump was invented in circa 1650 by German engineer Otto Guericke, as shown adjacent. [1] The third design, supposedly, being more of a portable design, was built in 1663. The following shows a "second generation" vacuum pump, the one shown constructed in Guericke’s private house in 1664, spanning from the cellar up to his office. [2]
![[Untitled]](http://image.wikifoundry.com/image/3/3fc36a3a0ae542acb0c31262dbf2d4a6/GW550H274 "[Untitled]")
