Thomas Newcomen, creator of the first practical steam engine, is born in Devon, England.
Flooding was a major problem in the local mines, and water often had to be pumped out by human or animal power. It was for this task that Newcomen created the first practical steam engine, the prototype that made the Industrial Revolution possible (see here).
Newcomen’s engine used a vertical brass cylinder with a piston connected to a rocking beam. A copper boiler below the cylinder heated the water to boiling. When the piston was at the top of its range of motion, water was sprayed into the cylinder. That cooled the insides, condensing the steam within. This formed a vacuum, pulling the piston down. The boiler, still on, then reheated the steam, driving the piston up again. Repeating this process caused the rocker beam to move up and down like a seesaw. Newcomen’s design attached the working end of the beam (opposite the piston) to chains that descended to pumps located deep in the mine.
The first one was installed in 1712. Simplicity and effectiveness made the Newcomen engine popular. More than 110 were in operation by 1773.
Newcomen wasn’t the only one to stumble on the basic principle. Thomas Savery had invented a device in 1698 that used a vacuum and atmospheric pressure to suck water, but it didn’t work well in practice. After Savery’s death, a joint stock company was set up to issue licenses for both designs. The Newcomen design eventually faded away, mainly because the machine was expensive to operate. The James Watt design that replaced it in the 1770s added a condenser cylinder to reduce heat loss and increase fuel efficiency.
Newcomen himself finally ran out of steam and died at home in 1729.—PG