The Invention of the Steam Engine

Abstract

This casestudy is a historic analysis of the developments that resulted in the steam engine. The range of inventions that started with Savery's 'Miner's Friend' (a water pump to solve the dramatic water problem in the British eighteenth century mines) over a century culminated in the steam engine used to power factories, coaches, locomotives and ships. In the early eihteenth century it was Newcomen's atmospheric steam engine (1712) that started the use of stationary steam engines, followed by Watt's discovery of the condensor (1769). His Eureka-moment was the next step in the development process of the steam engine. It created all those magnificent engines used to create the Industrial Revolution. Then it was Trevithick's high pressure steam engine (1802) that found its way into mobile applications. His 'Puffing Devil' and 'Catch Me Who Can' flabbergasted the Londoners of that time. In total it were these basic innovations and their 'clusters of innovations' that created in totality the invention of the steam engine. The book describes the work of the many individual engineers and scientists. It places the inventions in the context of Europe in the eighteenth century; the 'madness of times', its wars and revolutions as well as 'the gentlemen of science' and the ‘engineers’ who explored the nature of heat and the power of fire. Their contributions resulted in several 'clusters of innovations', described in detail (including patent wars, businesses, and applications). Both from the micro-perspective of the individual scientist and inventor, as well as the macro-perspective of their influence on society, the basic innovations are described. The book gives the reader a view on what was the mechanism behind the First Industrial Revolution that created the foundations for our present society. This book is part of series of books (the Invention Series) that covers the inventions within the General Purpose Technologies that fueled breakthrough technological changes. Other titles include: 'The Invention of the Steam Engine', 'The invention of the electro-motive Engine', ‘The Invention of the Electric Light’, ‘The Invention of the Communication Engine ‘Telegraph’’, and ‘The Invention of the Communication Engine ‘Telephone’’. Commercial versions are available through Amazon.