science

Kunstgraben

Kunstgraben is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kunstgraben rather than just read about it. In short: A Kunstgraben is a type of man-made water channel that was once used by mines to drive the water wheels needed for power, mine drainage and a host of other purposes. The term is German (plural: Kunstgräben).

Key takeaways

Kunstgraben belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kunstgraben to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kunstgraben from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A Kunstgraben is a type of man-made water channel that was once used by mines to drive the water wheels needed for power, mine drainage and a host of other purposes. The term is German (plural: Kunstgräben). Similar ditches supplying water mills in England are called leats.

Background Until the invention of the steam engine, water power was the main source of energy utilised by the various mechanical engines employed in the mining industry, such as water wheels, reversible water wheels, water-column engines or water turbines. To enable mine workings to be driven ever deeper, more and more power was needed. The water available in the vicinity of the pits was insufficient for that purpose and springs frequently dried up as a result of be diverted for use in the mines. As a result, the water needed for the mine workings sometimes had to be transported over long distances.

Usage The aim was to have the greatest possible height difference at the site of the water power engine. This difference is known as the height of impact (Aufschlaghöhe). To achieve this the Kunstgräben were laid with only a very slight gradient, so that they resembled contours in the terrain and followed all the twists and turns of the valleys. In order to overcome natural obstacles Kunstgräben were frequently led along the bottom of tunnels in so-called Röschen or, more rarely, over aqueducts; the best-known Kunstgraben aqueducts being the Altväter Bridge near Halsbrücke and the Sperberhai Dyke in the Harz Mountains. Typically a Kunstgraben started at a weir or divert (Wasserteiler) and ran along Röschen and via water storage ponds or Kunstteiche to the pit. The water power engine usually had a headrace and a tailrace (Aufschlagrösche and Abzugsrösche). A footpath was laid parallel to the Kunstgraben that acted as an access route for the ditch overseer (Grabensteiger), whenever he went to the weir to adjust the paddles. These paths are frequently used as walking trails today, where they have survived. The Kunstgräben were often covered by rough boards (Schwarten). These acted, on the one hand, to keep the ditches clear and protect them from becoming overgrown and, on the other hand, to protect the ditches from destruction by cattle. It also helped to defend the owners of the ditches from the claims of neighbouring landowners, who had otherwise to be compensated for the loss of income and land resulting from the construction of Kunstgräben and who often brought claims as a result of allegedly drowned livestock and game.

Well-known examples Dyke Ditch (Dammgraben) Neugrabenflöße Upper Harz Ditches Upper Harz Water Tunnels

See also Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System Upper Harz Water Regale Kunstteich Leat

Sources Georg Agricola (2006), De Re Metallica Libri XII: Zwölf Bücher vom Berg– und Hüttenwesen (unveränderter Nachdruck der Erstausgabe des VDI-Verlags 1928 ed.), Wiesbaden: Marixverlag, ISBN 3-86539-097-8 Gunther Galinsky, ed. (1988), Reymann: Fotodokumentaristen der Bergstadt Freiberg 1865–1945 (in German) (2. verbesserte ed.), Leipzig: Fotokinoverlag, ISBN 3-7311-0003-7 Lysann Petermann (2005), "Der Rothschönberger Stolln", Reihe Bergbauhistorie der Klosterregion Altzella (in German), Reinsberg Herbert Pforr: Das erzgebirgische Kunstgrabensystem und die Wasserkraftmaschinen für Wasserhaltung und Schachtförderung im historischen Freiberger Silberbergbau. In: Bergbau Heft 11/2007, S. 502-505 (Digitalisat) Siegfried Sieber (1954), Zur Geschichte des erzgebirgischen Bergbaues (in German), Halle (Saale): Wilhelm-Knapp-Verlag, p. 135 Otfried Wagenbreth (1988), Eberhard Wächtler (ed.), Der Freiberger Bergbau: Technische Denkmale und Geschichte (in German) (2nd ed.), Leipzig: Deutscher Verlag für Grundstoffindustrie, ISBN 3-342-00117-8

External links Historic diagrams of water systems used in mining at mineralienatlas.de

See also Mining in the Upper Harz Man engine

Illustrations

Covered section of the Hohbirker Kunstgraben near Brand-Erbisdorf

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kunstgraben

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kunstgraben claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kunstgraben before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kunstgraben ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kunstgraben

In research: Kunstgraben appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kunstgraben in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kunstgraben is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hydropower, Kunstgraben, Water management in mining, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kunstgraben outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kunstgraben in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kunstgraben means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kunstgraben out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kunstgraben in simple terms?

Why does Kunstgraben matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kunstgraben?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kunstgraben.