steam engine
steam engine Engine powered by steam. Steam, generated by heating water, is used to produce movement. In some engines, the steam forces pistons to move along cylinders. This results in a reciprocating (back-and-forth) motion. A mechanism usually changes this into rotary motion. Steam locomotives use reciprocating engines. Steam turbines are engines that produce rotary motion directly by using the steam to turn sets of fan-like wheels. In any steam engine, some of the heat used to turn water into steam in a boiler converts into energy of motion. The heat may be produced by burning fuel in a furnace, or may come from a nuclear reactor. The first steam engine, invented by Thomas Savery in 1689, was a form of pump, used to remove water from mines. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented a steam-operated pump with pistons. From the 1760s, James Watt improved on Newcomen's ideas and produced more efficient steam engines. This led to the use of steam engines to power machinery in factories. In 1884, English engineer Charles Parsons invented the first practical steam turbine. His machines were so efficient that turbines soon started to replace reciprocating steam engines in power stations.
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steam engine