Ma Jun (mechanical engineer)

<p>Ma Jun (fl. 200–265), <a href="/facts/Courtesy_name/T51gfmRe">courtesy name</a> Deheng, was a Chinese practical man, inventor, and politician who lived in the state of <a href="/facts/Cao_Wei/MDpLYXyC">Cao Wei</a> during the <a href="/facts/Three_Kingdoms/VPwdBTMA">Three Kingdoms</a> period of China. His most notable invention was that of the <a href="/facts/South-pointing_chariot/WV0sqhoH">south-pointing chariot</a>, a directional <a href="/facts/Compass/86MaeFXu">compass</a> vehicle which actually had no <a href="/facts/Magnetic/eo75vApl">magnetic</a> function, but was operated by use of <a href="/facts/Differential_(mechanical_device)/ecdB4NMK">differential</a> gears (which applies equal amount of <a href="/facts/Torque/KcrcvNtV">torque</a> to driving wheels rotating at different speeds). It is because of this revolutionary device (and other achievements) that Ma Jun is known as one of the most brilliant mechanical engineers and inventors of his day (alongside <a href="/facts/Zhang_Heng/jBwoVGQ4">Zhang Heng</a> of the earlier <a href="/facts/Eastern_Han_dynasty/hanfxS9D">Eastern Han dynasty</a>). The device was re-invented by many after Ma Jun, including the astronomer and mathematician <a href="/facts/Zu_Chongzhi/gqfBj1n1">Zu Chongzhi</a> (429–500). In the later medieval dynastic periods, Ma Jun's south-pointing chariot was combined in a single device with the distance-measuring <a href="/facts/Odometer/SQ0cGdcy">odometer</a>.
</p>

Ma Jun (mechanical engineer) open-in-new

Ma Jun (mechanical engineer)