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Steam Engine
The Steam Engine's History -
Orignal Idea of The Steam Engine
Thomas Savery comes up with the idea of the steam engine to help remove water from the coal mines. At the time though his invention could not be carried out until many years later. -
First Revisions are Made
Thomas Newcomen makes revisions to Thomas Savery's design. His changes involved changing the pump up a litlle and making it pump into a cylinder. A natural vacuum was created as a result and powered a piston. This allowed steam not to be limited on the pressure of the steam because the piston increased pressure. -
Problems Arise
Problems with the steam engine are recognized and a need for improvement is arizing among the people. Eventually this a project that James Watt will take on.
(Note that date is not official this happened throughout the entire year). -
James Watt is Assigned the Steam Engine Project
The University of Glasgow gives James Watt the task of inproving the steam engine. He identified its problems and tried to improve it. -
James Watt Redirects steam in Cylinder
Watt figures out how to push steam two ways with the piston instead of one. This almost doubled the steam engine's efficiency and was one of the biggest breakthroughs for the steam engine. -
James Watt Adds a Condenser
James Watt puts on a seperate condenser that could stay cool while the cylinder where the water would be turned into steam could stay hot. There was still a problem though, the rest of the parts could overheat from the excess heat released by the cylinder. -
Steam Jacket Add On
To prevent the previous problem of heat escaping the cylinder was no more. A steam jacket would allow steam to pass through but reduced the amound of heat allowed through. This was because it was a great insulator. -
A New Lubricant
The traditional oil lubricant on the piston is replaced by a new water/oil lubricant. This is alot cheaper than traditional lubricants and also reduced jamming and malfunctions within the steam engine. -
A Larger Scale
The steam engine is put on a larger scale allowing more power to be made. The biggest steam engines couldn't be carried by a man and were about 600-900 lbs. But there were smaller. -
Final Revisions
The steam engine is practically complete and the final changes are being made. Mainly this is when a lot of testing it took place. The entire thing was a major success. -
First Steam Engine Train
In 1803 the first train that used the steam engine was made when a wealthy investor put money towards it. Later it was a success. Then people began to realize that the steam engine could have a lot bigger purpose than just pumping water out of coal mines. -
Back Bone of Revolution
The steam engine is now practically the back bone of the industrial revolution. But more importantly the transportation revolution, because now it was behind the train. Which was the cheapest and most effective way of traveling and transpoting goods at the time.
