History 1037
The Steam Engine
The Development and Impact of the Steam Engine
In this presentation, students will be introduced to:
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Power before Steam Power
The Development of the Steam Engine
Thomas Newcomen, James Watt, and the Inventors of the Modern Steam Engine
The Industrial Revolution
The Emergence of the Factory System
The Railroad
Image Source: http://www.portlandfiremuseum.com/steam_engine.htm
Power before Steam Power:
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At the beginning of the eighteenth century, before the invention of the steam engine, people had to
rely on muscle, wind, and water power to supply the energy necessary to do their work.
Early mills used water power (pictured below), which meant that their owners had to build the mills
near waterfalls.
A drought in the summer or a cold snap in the winter could threaten to dry up or freeze the only
reliable power source, halting production.
A more reliable power source was needed to power new and emerging industries.
Image Source: Library of Congress
Early attempts to Harness the Power of Steam:
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Humans have been aware of the power of steam since the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
According to Ancient writings, in the first century AD, a man named Hero from Alexandria harnessed
the power of steam to build an “aeolipile” (pictured below).
To see a demonstration of how the device worked, please check out the following short video:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ccfF7IJbhw&feature=related
Though Hero’s device was definitely innovative, he never recognized its application outside of
entertainment. In fact, it would take almost 2000 years before people began to view steam as a viable
source of power.
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aeolipile_illustration.png
The Invention of The Steam Engine:
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The impetus for the development of the modern steam engine came from the mining industry.
During the early 18th century, miners struggled to stop mines from filling with water as they dug deeper
and deeper into the earth.
The traditional methods for stopping flooding – manual pumping using humans or animals – were
simply too slow and costly to effectively remove the water.
The first steam engines were invented to mechanically pump water out of coal mines.
Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/BASF_Werk_Ludwigshafen_1881.JPG
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The modern steam engine was invented in a series of stages by a number of inventors interested in
solving the problem of mine flooding.
The following information examines the efforts of Thomas Savery, Thomas
Newcomen, and James Watt and how their efforts transformed a simple water pump
into an earth-changing invention.
Thomas Savery (1650-1715)
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Thomas Savery was born in England in 1650.
He worked as a military engineer and eventually rose to the rank of Captain in the early 1700s.
Savery spent a lot of his free time performing experiments and inventing devices, especially with tin
and copper.
In 1698, he patented a machine called the Miner’s Friend. The Miner’s Friend was a device that
removed water from mines by harnessing the power of steam.
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Savery.gif
Savery’s Steam Engine
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Savery’s invention has generally been recognized as the precursor to the modern steam engine. His
invention drew water out of mines using the power of suction.
Savery’s invention featured a furnace, boiler, connecting pipes, valves, and “force” pipes. The idea was
to boil water, generate steam, and then use the steam power to force the water out of the mines.
Though it became increasingly sophisticated over the years, Savery’s steam engine was limited in terms
of its power and wasteful in terms of its extensive use of coal.
Savery did, however, effectively market the device (see the next image) and many were quite excited
about its possibilities.
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Savery-engine.jpg
Thomas Savery sells his Steam Engine
The following is an excerpt from Thomas Savery’s advertisement, “The Miners Friend - Or An Engine To Raise
Water By Fire” from 1702:
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“For draining of mines and coal pits, the use of the engine will sufficiently recommend it self, in
raising water so easier and cheap; and I do not doubt, but that in a few year, it will be a means of
making our mining trade, which is no small part of the wealth of this kingdom, double, if not
triple to what it now is. And if such vast quantities of lead, tin, and coals are now yearly exported,
under the difficulties of such an immense charge and pains as the miners are now at to discharge
their water, how much more may be hereafter exported, when the charge will be very much
lessened by the use of this engine, every way fitted for the use of mines? For the far greater part
of our richest mines and coal-pits, are liable to two grand inconveniences, and thereby rendered
useless; The eruption and excels of subterraneous waters, as not being worth the expense of
draining them by the great charge of horses or hand labour. Or secondly, fatal damps, by which
many are struck blind, lame, or dead in these subterraneous cavities, if the mine is wanting of a
due circulation of air. Now both these inconveniences are naturally remedied by the work of this
engine of raising water by the impellant force of fire.”
Available at: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsavery.htm
The Inventor: Thomas Newcomen
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In the early 1700s, Thomas Newcomen modified Savery’s invention.
Newcomen was born in England in 1663 to a family of moderate means.
Though he received little formal education, he trained as an ironmonger in Devon, England. Some of
his biggest customers were mine owners.
In spite of Savery’s invention, mine owners continued to struggle to stop their mines from flooding as
they dug deeper and deeper into the earth. Though early pumps were in use, and were portable and
easy to control, they were not efficient enough for widespread application.
Newcomen attempted to find a solution to the problem by modifying Savery’s invention.
Newcomen’s Steam Engine
To see a demonstration of how Newcomen’s steam engine works, please check out the following short video:
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http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/34868-massive-engines-newcomen-steam-enginevideo.htm
Continue to view the next clip: The Newcomen Engine in Action
Newcomen’s steam engine differed from Savery’s in several ways and was
considered the first self-acting steam engine:
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It was called an “atmospheric engine” because the steam was under pressure.
It also used pistons to increase the power of the engine.
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In spite of the added power, Newcomen’s engine still suffered from some design flaws. These were
investigated by James Watt.
Image Source: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele/newcomen.htm
The Inventor: James Watt
Image Source: http://www.nndb.com/people/531/000050381
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James Watt was born in Scotland in 1736. His father was a carpenter and a shipbuilder and from an
early age, James expressed interest in becoming an instrument-maker.
Watt sought out an education in instrument-making in England and returned to Glasgow, Scotland to
work.
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Due to his skill, he attracted the attention of university scientists who asked Watt to assist them in
studying the Newcomen steam engine.
They wanted to determine why Newcomen’s engine required so much steam.
Watt studied the problem for two years before coming to a significant realization.
Watt’s Steam Engine
Watt described his “moment of inspiration”:
"I had gone to take a walk on a fine Sabbath afternoon, early in 1765. I had entered the green by the gate at the foot of
Charlotte Street and had passed the old washing-house. I was thinking upon the engine at the time, and had gone as far
as the herd's house, when the idea came into my mind that as steam was an elastic body it would rush into a vacuum,
and if a communication were made between the cylinder and an exhausted vessel it would rush into it, and might be
there condensed without cooling the cylinder. I then saw that I must get rid of the condensed steam and injection-water
if I used a jet as in Newcomen's engine. Two ways of doing this occurred to me. First, the water might be run off by a
descending pipe, if an offlet could be got at the depth of thirty-five or thirty-six feet, and any air might be extracted by a
small pump. The second was to make the pump large enough to extract both water and air. . . . I had not walked farther
than the golf-house when the whole thing was arranged in my mind.“ Taken from:
http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/wattbio.html
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Watt added a separate condenser to his steam engine to preserve heat.
This innovation dramatically reduced the amount of coal required to power the steam engine.
For a brief clip about how Watt’s steam engine worked, see:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/34865-massive-engines-watt-steam-engine-demo-video.htm
Image Source: http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele/newcomen.htm
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Watt patented his invention in 1769.
Like the others, Watt’s steam engine was first applied to the draining of mines, making it possible to dig
deeper shafts, but others quickly realized that Watt’s invention had far greater appeal.
Due to its safety and efficiency, Watt’s engine could also be used in industry and many investors were
eager to make the leap from using the steam engine in mining to installing it in factories.
By the 1780s, Watt’s engines were driving cotton looms in textile factories and powering clay mixers.
Image: Encyclopedia Britannica
The Steam Engine Goes Mobile:
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Watt’s engine would also play an important role in powering locomotives. One of the earliest steam
locomotives was invented in France in 1769 by a man named Cugnot. It was designed to run on normal
roads.
Here’s how it worked (from a nineteenth century publication):
“His first carriage was put in motion by the impulsion of two single-acting cylinders, the piston of which acted alternately
on the single front wheels. It traveled about three or four miles an hour, and carried four persons; but, from the
smallness of the boiler, it would not continue to work more than twelve or fifteen minutes without stopping to get up
steam. Cugnot's locomotive presented a simple and ingenious form of a high-pressure engine, and, though of rude
construction, was a creditable piece of work, considering the time. An accident, however, put an end to his experiments.
Turning the corner of the street one day, near the Madeleine, when the machine was running at a speed of about three
miles an hour, it upset with a crash, and, being considered dangerous, was locked up in the Arsenal."
Image Source:
http://himedo.net/TheHopkinThomasProject/TimeLine/Wales/Steam/URochesterCollection/Brown/chpt5.htm
l
 These machines quickly became more advanced and more popular.
Image Source: http://railroads.unl.edu/documents/view_document.php?id=rail.str.0254
Other Applications of the Steam Engine
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Steam engines could also be used to power ships. Here is a diagram of the engine room of the Atlantic,
an early steam ship:
Image Source: http://ns1763.ca/ponyexpress/ponyex13.html
The Steam Engine in Context
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Because of its widespread application, the steam engine played an important role in several emerging
industries.
Because the steam engine devoured coal as fuel, the invention of the steam engine dramatically
increased the demand for coal. It also increased the demand for iron since many steam engines were
made of iron.
People started pouring huge amounts of money and labour into digging mines, extracting coal, and
forging iron.
There was also an increase in the development of roads, canals, and railroads necessary for
transporting coal and industrial goods to customers.
At the same time that Newcomen and Watt were perfecting the steam engine, Eli Whitney was
inventing the cotton gin (we will discuss this next week), Josiah Wedgwood was transforming the
production of porcelain (for dishes), Samuel Crompton was patenting the spinning mule, and Richard
Arkwright was inventing the water frame.
These inventions together were ushering in a new era known as the Industrial Revolution. The impact
of the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution will be discussed in greater detail below.
The Impact of the Steam Engine
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The steam engine had many wide-ranging impacts, but one of the most important of these was the role
it played in stimulating the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution refers to a period of intense social and economic change in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries that resulted from the mechanization of factories and the introduction of
new technology to both agriculture and industry.
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began in England and was stimulated by three significant and inter-related
developments:
1. The invention and use of machines to do the work of hand tools.
2. The use of steam, and later on other kinds of power, in place of the muscles of human beings
and animals.
3. The adoption of the factory system.
Image Source: http://stpaulscollege.ie/history/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Urbanisation.jpg
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The Industrial Revolution ushered in a period of relative prosperity where industrial and agricultural
production increased.
The introduction of technology to the workplace improved efficiency in the factories allowing for the
mass production of goods.
Real wages also increased, which means that people were earning more money than they ever had
before.
During the Industrial era, people began to live, work, and relate to each other in a different way.
The following image contains a flowchart depicting the far-reaching impacts of the revolution:
Source: http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/17/FC111
The Industrial Era:
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During the Industrial Revolution, Europe’s population ballooned from 175 million in 1780 to 266 million
in 1850. During this same period, Britain’s population more than doubled.
In general, people made more money than they had before. In Britain, for example, per capita income
increased 75% between 1800 and 1850.
As people flocked to the cities from the countryside, cities grew rapidly in size:
 Ex. In 1772, Manchester had 25,000 people; by 1851, it had 455,000.
Image Source:
http://bashwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/9468566/Social%20Effects%20of%20the%20Industrial%20Revolution
In industrialized societies, three classes emerged:
1) Upper Classes – inherited wealth, factory owners, big business tycoons, wealthy financiers
2) Middle Classes – management and supervisors, educated, white-collar workers – lawyers, teachers,
engineers
3) Lower Classes – lowly paid manual and blue-collar labourers
These classes interacted in the new factory system that was sweeping across England.
The Rise of the Factory System:
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Reliable power from steam engines made it possible for entrepreneurs to locate factories away from
water power sites and build larger textile, iron, and other factories.
In huge buildings, entrepreneurs hoped to guard their industrial secrets and mould a new labour force.
Hundreds of workers, who produced goods in a repetitive series of steps and specialized tasks, tended
rows of machines.
This marked the emergence of the factory system.
In 1835, Andrew Ure, a professor of applied science, wrote:
“The principle of the factory system … is to substitute mechanical science for hand skill, and the
partition of a process into its essential constituents, for the division or graduation of labour.”
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The factory system dramatically changed the way that people worked.
Factories generated unprecedented wealth for their owners and investors, but brought new hardships
for the people who worked in them.
The hours were long and the factories tended to be noisy, hot, and poorly ventilated.
Accidents at work were not uncommon and there was little job security or compensation for injury.
Image Source: http://history10c.wikispaces.com/Slums+%26Tenements
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The factory system was also very hierarchical.
While men worked in managerial and skilled positions, women were left with the menial and lowly paid
work. Employers could justify paying women less than men, in part, because it was believed that
women’s work was supplementary, rather than necessary for the family income.
Child labour was also quite common in the nineteenth century and children worked long hours, for very
little money, in dangerous conditions (see picture here).
Children were considered especially useful in factories because of their small size and dexterity.
Image Source:
http://bashwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/9468566/Social%20Effects%20of%20the%20Industrial%20Revolution
The Growing Disparity Between the Classes
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As a result of the shifts in the factory system, there seemed to be a growing disparity between the
wealthy (the owners of the means of production) and the poor (the workers).
This picture depicts the difference. What do you think it is trying to suggest?
Image Source: http://www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/factmine/cruik.htm
The Railroad
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The invention of the modern railway system played an important role in stimulating and then
maintaining the momentum of the Industrial Revolution.
Edward Stanley, a nineteenth century British politician once said: “Of all the promoters of civilization,
the Railway System of communication will be amongst the foremost in its effects, for it cannot fail to
produce many and mighty changes in manufactures, in commerce, in trade, and in science.”
During the 1820s, British inventor, George Stephenson developed the first practical modern railroad.
When his new train, “the Rocket,” initiated the Liverpool-to-Manchester railway line, people lined up
to watch its passing.
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The Rocket travelled at a speed of about 16 miles per hour (considered very fast at the time) and was
considered a very reliable form of transportation.
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News of the railroad travelled quickly and people began eagerly investing in railway companies.
People in England also started riding the lines for fun and curiosity.
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The railroad had enormous economic value and could carry heavy freight with unprecedented ease
and speed. By 1850, trains were travelling over 2,000 miles of track in Britain and reaching speeds of
about 50 miles per hour.
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As they steamed across bridges and through tunnels, the train seemed to represent the new power
and promise that characterized the Industrial Age.
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This map offers a view of the rail and canal lines in England in the nineteenth century. The following
slide demonstrates the proliferation of railway lines in Europe.
Railroads in Europe
This flowchart depicts some of the wide-ranging impacts of the popularization of railroads.
Source:
http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/17/FC112
The Steam Engine
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The Steam Engine played an important role in stimulating the Industrial Revolution.
By providing a reliable source of power for various industries, the steam engine revolutionized the
placement and powering of factories.
Its use in transportation modes such as locomotives and ships expanded available markets for these
new emerging industries.
While the importance of the steam engine cannot be overestimated, its legacy should be critically
examined.
As a whole, the Industrial Revolution ushered in a series of social changes, not all of which were positive.
Benefits:
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Increase in literacy and education
The rise in leisure time and activities
Improvements in health and sanitation
Growth of a politically-conscious middle class
Problems:
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Poverty
Overcrowding in cities
Poor working conditions in factories
The worker became increasingly more divorced from the products of his labour
Increase in prostitution
Child labour
Rise in crime rates as well as alcohol and drug abuse
Questions to Consider:
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What factors contributed to the development of the steam engine?
Who were Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen, and James Watt and what role did they play in the
invention of the steam engine?
What was the impact of the steam engine?
How did it change transportation systems in Europe and North America?
What is the legacy of the Industrial Revolution?