The Wind-Sphere Ship    by Steven R. Southard
Price: $2.99 USD. 6470 words. Published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing  on August 23, 2010. .
Heron of Alexandria, in the 1st Century A.D., invented a primitive steam engine he called an aeolipile, or “wind-sphere.” Persuaded by his friend Praxiteles, he used this engine to propel a ship. If his steam-ship could beat a man-rowed galley in a race, could Heron bring about the Industrial Revolution 1700 years early?