Steam power has been used for centuries. “Greek engineer, Hero of Alexandria (circa 100 AD), experimented with steam and invented the aeolipile, the first (very) crude steam engine” (Bellis, “Steam Engines: The Birth of Mechanical Power”).
In 1769, James Watt patented an improved version of Thomas Newcomen's steam engine. “Watt's engine soon became the dominant design for all modern steam engines and helped bring about the Industrial Revolution” (Bellis, “The History of Steam Engines”).
“In the summer of 1805, the Philadelphia Board of Health ordered [Oliver Evans\ to build a dredger which could clean docks and rid the Schuylkill River of sandbars and other obstacles. Evans designed a steam dredger on wheels which became a boat in the water. . . . He drove it through the streets of Philadelphia, exhibited it to the populace, and then floated it in the river, where it successfully completed its mission.” This proved steam could propel large objects (“This Week in History...”).
In 1769, James Watt patented an improved version of Thomas Newcomen's steam engine. “Watt's engine soon became the dominant design for all modern steam engines and helped bring about the Industrial Revolution” (Bellis, “The History of Steam Engines”).
“In the summer of 1805, the Philadelphia Board of Health ordered [Oliver Evans\ to build a dredger which could clean docks and rid the Schuylkill River of sandbars and other obstacles. Evans designed a steam dredger on wheels which became a boat in the water. . . . He drove it through the streets of Philadelphia, exhibited it to the populace, and then floated it in the river, where it successfully completed its mission.” This proved steam could propel large objects (“This Week in History...”).
How the steam engine works
(Source: "How a Steam Engine Works"; YouTube)
