If you were asked to picture one of the earliest examples of steam power, you might imagine a steamboat or steam locomotive. But humans harnessed the energy potential of steam much earlier than you’d think.
Let’s take a brief look at the history of steam power, from early experimentation to how steam is used today.
Early Steam Power
The earliest recorded examples of steam power were often experimental or just for show. But some uses were also practical.
For example, in the late 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci described a steam-powered cannon called the Architonnerre, which he said was created by Archimedes in the 3rd century B.C. In 1551, Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma’ruf described a device that was similar to a steam turbine being used to rotate a spit.
Steam Power in Mining & Industry
Later, steam power was often used in a range of industrial applications, including mining.
In 1606, Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont received a patent for a device that used steam power to pump water out of mines. That idea was improved upon over the next century until Thomas Savery developed a steam pump he named “The Miner’s Friend” in 1698.
A more practical steam engine was introduced in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen. Though it was inefficient by today’s standards, it was used to drain deep mines in Britain and other countries across Europe.
James Watt improved steam engine design even more, drastically increasing their efficiency with his 1778 model. One of the biggest changes he made was enabling the steam engines to power rotary devices for factories and mills.
Steam Power in Transportation
The steamboat played an important role in the United States’ economic growth in the early 1800s. They enabled products and people to be transported more easily along water routes, even upstream which had previously been almost impossible. The rise in the popularity of steamboats led to the creation of dams and canals to optimize new routes, which also led to an increase in construction jobs.
Steam locomotives first appeared at around the same time. The first full-scale steam locomotive was created by Richard Trevithick in the U.K. in 1804.
Steam engines for cars were also being developed in the early 19th century until laws prohibited steam-powered vehicles from using public roads. Though these steam engines were still developed and improved for a while, the reciprocating engine (also known as the internal combustion engine) soon replaced steam engines and became the standard for cars.
Steam Power to Generate Electricity
Today, steam is used to generate electricity for populations all around the world. Many power plants use steam turbines to produce electricity by heating water.
For example, coal and combined-cycle natural gas power plants burn fossil fuels to create steam. Nuclear plants rely on nuclear fission to generate heat to create steam. The power in your home is probably generated by a power plant’s steam turbines when they convert heat into steam and then electricity.
Steam power might sound old-fashioned if you picture the steam engines of bygone eras. But even today, power that is generated by steam helps make our modern standard of living possible.
