The invention of steam engines was a turning point in human history. Somewhere at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, inefficient manual labor, water wheels and windmills began to be replaced with completely new and unique mechanisms - steam engines. It was thanks to them that the technical and industrial revolutions, and the entire progress of mankind, became possible.
But who invented the steam engine? To whom does humanity owe this? And when was it? We will try to find answers to all these questions.
Even before our era
The history of the creation of a steam engine begins in the first centuries BC. Hero of Alexandria described a mechanism that only started working when it was exposed to steam. The device was a ball on which nozzles were fixed. Steam came out tangentially from the nozzles, thereby causing the engine to rotate. It was the first device to be powered by a couple.
The creator of the steam engine (more precisely, the turbine) is Tagi al-Dinome (Arab philosopher, engineer and astronomer). His invention became widely known inEgypt in the 16th century. The mechanism was arranged as follows: streams of steam were directed directly to the mechanism with blades, and when the smoke fell, the blades rotated. Something similar was proposed in 1629 by the Italian engineer Giovanni Branca. The main disadvantage of all these inventions was too much steam consumption, which in turn required a huge amount of energy and was not advisable. Development was suspended, as the then scientific and technical knowledge of mankind was not enough. In addition, there was no need for such inventions at all.
Developments
Until the 17th century, the creation of a steam engine was impossible. But as soon as the bar for the level of human development soared, the first copies and inventions immediately appeared. Although no one took them seriously at that time. So, for example, in 1663, an English scientist published in the press a draft of his invention, which he installed in Raglan Castle. His device served to raise water on the walls of the towers. However, like everything new and unknown, this project was accepted with doubt, and there were no sponsors for its further development.
The history of the creation of a steam engine begins with the invention of a vapor-atmospheric engine. In 1681, French scientist Denis Papin invented a device that pumped water out of mines. At first, gunpowder was used as a driving force, and then it was replaced with water vapor. This is how the steam engine was born. A huge contribution to its improvement was made by scientists from England, Thomas Newcomen and Thomas Severen. Ivan Polzunov, a Russian self-taught inventor, also provided invaluable assistance.
Papin's failed attempt
The steam-atmospheric machine, far from being perfect at that time, attracted special attention in the shipbuilding industry. D. Papin spent his last savings on the purchase of a small vessel, on which he began to install a water-lifting steam-atmospheric machine of his own production. The mechanism of action was that, falling from a height, the water began to rotate the wheels.
The inventor conducted his tests in 1707 on the Fulda River. Many people gathered to look at a miracle: a ship moving along the river without sails and oars. However, during the tests, a disaster occurred: the engine exploded and several people died. The authorities got angry at the unfortunate inventor and banned him from any work and projects. The ship was confiscated and destroyed, and Papen himself died a few years later.
Error
Papen's steamer had the following operating principle. At the bottom of the cylinder it was necessary to pour a small amount of water. A brazier was located under the cylinder itself, which served to heat the liquid. When the water began to boil, the resulting steam, expanding, raised the piston. Air was expelled from the space above the piston through a specially equipped valve. After the water boiled and steam began to fall, it was necessary to remove the brazier, close the valve to remove air, and cool the walls of the cylinder with cool water. Thanks to such actions, the steam that was in the cylinder condensed, formed under the pistonrarefaction, and due to the force of atmospheric pressure, the piston again returned to its original place. During its downward movement, useful work was done. However, the efficiency of Papen's steam engine was negative. The steamer's engine was extremely uneconomical. And most importantly, it was too complicated and inconvenient to use. Therefore, Papen's invention had no future from the very beginning.
Followers
However, the history of the creation of the steam engine did not end there. The next, already much more successful than Papen, was the English scientist Thomas Newcomen. He studied the work of his predecessors for a long time, focusing on weaknesses. And taking the best of their work, he created his own apparatus in 1712. The new steam engine (photo shown) was designed as follows: a cylinder was used, which was in a vertical position, as well as a piston. This Newcomen took from the works of Papin. However, steam was already formed in another boiler. Whole skin was fixed around the piston, which significantly increased the tightness inside the steam cylinder. This machine was also steam-atmospheric (water rose from the mine using atmospheric pressure). The main disadvantages of the invention were its bulkiness and inefficiency: the machine "ate" a huge amount of coal. However, it brought much more benefits than the invention of Papen. Therefore, it has been used in dungeons and mines for almost fifty years. It was used to pump out groundwater, as well as to dry ships. Thomas Newcomen tried to convert his carso that it can be used for traffic. However, all his attempts failed.
The next scientist to announce himself was D. Hull from England. In 1736, he presented his invention to the world: a steam-atmospheric machine, which had paddle wheels as a mover. His development was more successful than that of Papin. Immediately, several such vessels were released. They were mainly used to tow barges, ships and other vessels. However, the reliability of the steam-atmospheric machine did not inspire confidence, and the ships were equipped with sails as the main mover.
And although Hull was more fortunate than Papin, his inventions gradually lost relevance and were abandoned. Still, the steam-atmospheric machines of that time had many specific shortcomings.
The history of the steam engine in Russia
The next breakthrough happened in the Russian Empire. In 1766, the first steam engine was created at a metallurgical plant in Barnaul, which supplied air to the melting furnaces using special blower bellows. Its creator was Ivan Ivanovich Polzunov, who was even given an officer rank for services to his homeland. The inventor presented his superiors with blueprints and plans for a "fire engine" capable of powering bellows.
However, fate played a cruel joke with Polzunov: seven years after his project was accepted and the car was assembled, he fell ill and died of consumption - just a week before his tests beganengine. However, his instructions were enough to start the engine.
So, on August 7, 1766, Polzunov's steam engine was launched and put under load. However, in November of the same year, it broke down. The reason turned out to be too thin walls of the boiler, not intended for loading. Moreover, the inventor wrote in his instructions that this boiler can only be used during testing. The manufacture of a new boiler would easily pay off, because the efficiency of Polzunov's steam engine was positive. For 1023 hours of work, more than 14 pounds of silver was smelted with its help!
But despite this, no one began to repair the mechanism. Polzunov's steam engine was gathering dust for more than 15 years in a warehouse, while the world of industry did not stand still and developed. And then it was completely dismantled for parts. Apparently, at that moment, Russia had not yet grown up to steam engines.
The demands of the times
Meanwhile, life did not stand still. And humanity constantly thought about creating a mechanism that would allow not to depend on the capricious nature, but to control fate itself. Everyone wanted to abandon the sail as soon as possible. Therefore, the question of creating a steam mechanism was constantly hanging in the air. In 1753, a competition among craftsmen, scientists and inventors was put forward in Paris. The Academy of Sciences announced an award to those who can create a mechanism that can replace the power of the wind. But despite the fact that such minds as L. Euler, D. Bernoulli, Canton de Lacroix and others participated in the competition, no one made a sensible proposal.
The years went by. And the industrial revolutioncovered more and more countries. Superiority and leadership among other powers invariably went to England. By the end of the eighteenth century, it was Great Britain that became the creator of large-scale industry, thanks to which it won the title of world monopoly in this industry. The question of a mechanical engine every day became more and more relevant. And such an engine was created.
The world's first steam engine
1784 marked a turning point in the Industrial Revolution for England and the world. And the person responsible for this was the English mechanic James Watt. The steam engine he created was the biggest discovery of the century.
James Watt has been studying the drawings, structure and principles of operation of steam-atmospheric machines for several years. And on the basis of all this, he concluded that for the efficiency of the engine, it is necessary to equalize the temperatures of the water in the cylinder and the steam that enters the mechanism. The main disadvantage of steam-atmospheric machines was the constant need to cool the cylinder with water. It was costly and inconvenient.
The new steam engine was designed differently. So, the cylinder was enclosed in a special steam jacket. Thus Watt achieved his constant heated state. The inventor created a special vessel immersed in cold water (condenser). A cylinder was attached to it with a pipe. When the steam was exhausted in the cylinder, it entered the condenser through a pipe and turned back into water there. While working on improving his machine, Wattcreated a vacuum in the capacitor. Thus, all the steam coming from the cylinder condensed in it. Thanks to this innovation, the steam expansion process was greatly increased, which in turn made it possible to extract much more energy from the same amount of steam. It was the crowning achievement.
The creator of the steam engine also changed the principle of air supply. Now the steam first fell under the piston, thereby raising it, and then collected above the piston, lowering it. Thus, both strokes of the piston in the mechanism became working, which was not even possible before. And the consumption of coal per horsepower was four times less than, respectively, for steam-atmospheric machines, which was what James Watt was trying to achieve. The steam engine very quickly conquered first Great Britain, and then the whole world.
Charlotte Dundas
After the whole world was amazed by the invention of James Watt, the widespread use of steam engines began. So, in 1802, the first ship for a couple appeared in England - the Charlotte Dundas boat. Its creator is William Symington. The boat was used as towing barges along the canal. The role of the mover on the ship was played by a paddle wheel mounted on the stern. The boat successfully passed the tests the first time: it towed two huge barges 18 miles in six hours. At the same time, the headwind greatly interfered with him. But he did it.
And yet it was put on hold, because they feared that due to the strong waves that were created under the paddle wheel, the banks of the canal would be washed out. By the way, onCharlotte was tested by a man whom the whole world today considers the creator of the first steamship.
The first steamship in the world
English shipbuilder Robert Fulton dreamed of a steam-powered ship from his youth. And now his dream has come true. After all, the invention of steam engines was a new impetus in shipbuilding. Together with the envoy from America, R. Livingston, who took over the material side of the issue, Fulton took up the project of a ship with a steam engine. It was a complex invention based on the idea of an oar mover. Along the sides of the ship stretched in a row plates imitating a lot of oars. At the same time, the plates now and then interfered with each other and broke. Today we can easily say that the same effect could be achieved with just three or four tiles. But from the standpoint of science and technology of that time, it was unrealistic to see this. Therefore, shipbuilders had a much harder time.
In 1803, Fulton's invention was introduced to the world. The steamer moved slowly and evenly along the Seine, striking the minds and imagination of many scientists and figures in Paris. However, the Napoleonic government rejected the project, and the disgruntled shipbuilders were forced to seek their fortune in America.
And in August 1807, the world's first steamboat called Claremont, in which the most powerful steam engine was involved (photo is presented), went along the Hudson Bay. Many then simply did not believe in success.
The Clermont set off on its maiden voyage without cargo and without passengers. Nobody wanted to go totravel aboard a fire-breathing ship. But already on the way back, the first passenger appeared - a local farmer who paid six dollars for a ticket. He became the first passenger in the history of the shipping company. Fulton was so moved that he gave the daredevil a lifetime free ride on all of his inventions.
