HOW DID THE INVENTION OF THE STEAM ENGINE

HOW DID THE INVENTION OF THE STEAM ENGINE IMPACT MODERN DAY? Jade Mc. Kave 2019

HOW WAS THE STEAM ENGINE INVENTED? Thomas Savery, James Watt, and Thomas Newcomen. Thomas Savery • Born 1650 and died 1715 • Savery was tasked with the difficult problem of pumping water out of coal mines in the 1690 s. • Using methods by the French physicist Denis Papin and others, Savery created a machine consisting of a closed vessel filled with water into which steam under pressure was introduced, forcing water to a higher level. • An energetic advertising campaign brought him customers, and he manufactured a number of his engines not only for pumping out mines but also for supplying water to large buildings. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS 2

JAMES WATT • Born January 19 th, 1736 and died August 25 th 1819 • Watt was a Scottish instrument maker and inventor. • He was elected fellow of the royal society of London in 1785. • Watt was taught at home by his mother, later in grammar school, where he learned Latin, Greek, and mathematics. • Part of his education came from his fathers workshops, where he would make models with his own set of tools and equipment. FIRST 3 UP CONSULTANTS

THOMAS NEWCOMEN • Born February 24 th 1664, and died August 5 th 1729 • As a ironmonger at Dartmouth, Newcomen became aware of the high cost of using the power of horses to pump water out of the Cornish tin mines. • He worked with an assistant for more than 10 years named John Calley or Cawley. The mainly worked on a steam pump. • The steam pump was superior to Thomas Savery’s Crude pump. The intensity of pressure was not limited by the pressure of the steam. FIRST UP CONSULTANTS

HOW HAVE THESE INVENTIONS IMPROVED LIFE? • Before the steam engine, most factories and mills were powered by water, wind, horse, or (wo)man. Water was a good source of power, but the factory had to be located near a river or lake. Both river and wind could at times be unreliable at times as the river could dry up during a drought or freeze during the winter and the wind didn't always blow. • The invention of the steam engine impacted industry in a variety of ways, not the least of which involved the European exploration and colonization of the African continent. Transportation, in general, was improved, proving profitable to businesses which could now transport products easier and faster. Another change of importance involves the location needed for factories, which no longer needed close proximity to rivers for energy. FIRST UP 5 CONSULTANTS

HOW DID THESE INVENTIONS WORK? • Thomas Savery’s invention the Crude pump worked by closing a vessel filled with water into which steam under pressure was introduced, forcing the water to a higher level; when the water was expelled, a sprinkler condensed the steam, producing a vacuum capable of drawing up more water through a value below. To make the effect as nearly continuous as possible, Savery assembled two containing vessels in the same apparatus. • James Watt’s invention called the “Watt Engine” no relation to its creator James Watt. In May 1765, after dealing with he task of trying to improve Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine, he suddenly came upon a solution. Watt had realized that the loss of latent heat was the worst defect of the Newcomen engine and that therefore condensation must be effected in a chamber distinct from the cylinder but connected to it. • Thomas Newcomen’s invention the atmospheric steam engine. This creation was superior to Thomas Savery’s invention “The crude engine”. In Newcomen’s engine the intensity of pressure was not limited by the pressure of steam. Instead, atmospheric pressure pushed the piston down after the condensation of steam had created a vacuum in the cylinder. FIRST UP 6 CONSULTANTS