The steam engine
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For everyone
The steam engine, which turns the heat of coal into motion, became the engine of the Industrial Revolution. Newcomen's 1712 engine pumped water out of mines. The separate condenser patented by James Watt in 1769 greatly reduced fuel consumption.
For specialists
The Newcomen engine cooled its cylinder on every cycle, so heat losses were very high. Watt's separate condenser kept the cylinder hot and raised efficiency roughly two- to fourfold. The later double-acting cylinder, sun-and-planet gear and centrifugal governor made the engine a source of rotary power in factories. Carnot's study (1824) of the theoretical limits of heat engines was directly inspired by these machines.
Claims
Evidence
Supporting
Boulton & Watt charged mine owners a premium of one third of the coal saved compared with the old Newcomen engines.[2]
Challenging
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Connections
Sources
- Report (1769). Patent No. 913: A new invented method of lessening the consumption of steam and fuel in fire engines. Great Britain Patent Office
- Book (1989). Power from Steam: A History of the Stationary Steam Engine. Cambridge University Press
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). The steam engine. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/buhar-makinesi/
@misc{athena_buhar_makinesi,
title = {The steam engine},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/buhar-makinesi/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history