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1000
aeolipile
An aeolipile, aeolipyle, or eolipile, also known as a Hero's engine, is a simple, bladeless radial steam turbine which spins when the central water container is heated. Torque is produced by steam jets exiting the turbine. -
1551
Smoke-Jack
A rudimentary impact steam turbine was described in 1551 by Taqi al-Din who described a method for rotating a spit by means of a jet of steam playing on rotary vanes around the periphery of a wheel. These devices were then called "mills" but are now known as steam jacks. The engine was not concentrated and most of its energy was dissipated in all directions,so they were never seriously considered for industrial use. -
Cylinders
Denis Papin (22 August 1647 – c. 1712) was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor. Papin devised a version of the same cylinder that obtained a more complete vacuum from boiling water and then allowing the steam to condense; in this way he was able to raise weights by attaching the end of the piston to a rope passing over a pulley. Papin's research plays a key part in the development of the first successful industrial engines. (From A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine) -
Savery Steam Pump
The first steam engine to be applied industrially was the "fire-engine", designed by Thomas Savery in 1698. Savery made two key contributions. First he used condensed steam to produce a partial vacuum in the pumping reservoir, and using that to pull the water upward. Secondly, in order to rapidly cool the steam to produce the vacuum, he ran cold water over the reservoir. (From Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present) -
Steam Engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force is transformed, by a connecting rod and flywheel, into rotational force for work.