The steam engine

A steam engine uses heat and steam to create mechanical power. There have been many
different types of steam engines throughout history; some using wood and others coal to
generate the necessary steam. Most steam engines (1) work by heating water in a chamber,
which creates steam. The pressure of the steam can then be directed through pipes and valves
to generate mechanical power. Steam engines have been applied to a wide range of uses.
The first steam engines were simple pumps (2) used to remove water from mineshafts. After
some improvements, more efficient and powerful steam engines were being used to power
trains, ships, and entire factories.
The invention and refinement of steam engines played a central role in the development of the
Industrial Revolution during the late 1700s and early 1800s in England, Europe, and North
America. The Industrial Revolution was a period of rapid innovation in industry,
transportation, and technology that was fueled largely through coal and steam power. Many of
the advances made during the Industrial Revolution were thanks to the steam engine. But how
did steam engines first come into use?
The earliest versions of steam engines were used to pump water from coalmines in England. A
pump driven by a steam engine sat atop a mineshaft and burned the readily available coal to
generate the power needed to remove water from deep in the shaft. Thomas Newcomen (3)
invented the first successful engine in 1712 in England, thus greatly increasing mining
production. However, Newcomen's engine was inefficient and could only be used near
coalmines, where coal was abundant and cheap enough to run the engine. If steam engines
were to have wider uses, they needed to be (4) improved.
The next major advancement in steam engines came in 1765 when James Watt introduced a
refined steam engine that was more powerful and more (5) efficient than the earlier engines
used for pumping. The most important innovation introduced by Watt was that his engine used
a piston to drive a wheel rather than a pump. Such a design opened the door for the Industrial
Revolution as steam engines could now be used in a wide range of applications.
By the early 1800s, steam engines had been further refined by other inventors and were small
enough and efficient enough to power trains, boats, and entire factories.