The history of the invention of steam engines says that they were first built by T. Severi, D. Papen, T. Newcomen, I. Polzunov. Their machines had different designs, but they had something in common - the movement of the piston was carried out by alternately heating and cooling the existing cylinder. This technology did not contribute to the rapid operation of the machines, and fuel consumption exceeded reasonable limits. But let's start from the beginning and tell everything in order.
People used water engines in production until the second half of the 18th century. But since at that time it was not possible to transfer the force of mechanical movements of water wheels over considerable distances, factories in need of this were built on the banks of water bodies. This was not always convenient, and besides, the efficiency of such engines was provided by expensive preparatory processes. Also, their capacity was low, and work was carried out depending on the time of year and was difficult to control. Then there was an urgent need for a completely new device with power, inexpensive to operate, easily manageable and autonomous. The invention of the steam engine overnight solved all these issues.
The history of the invention of steam engines goes back a long way. Back in antiquity, a piston water pump was designed , the technology of which became the basis for the idea of a steam engine. In the XVII - XVIII centuries, mankind found a way to produce mechanical energy using steam, having come up with a steam pump that supplies water to a special tank from which it fell onto the wheel, setting it in motion. It made production machines and mechanisms work. So it turns out that the engine was still a water wheel. Much more time was needed to create a reliable steam engine - more than two centuries.
In 1698, a military engineer, Thomas Saveri, invented steam-based technology for pumping water and draining mines, but the story of the invention of steam engines did not end there. Denis Papen in 1674 for the first time managed to build a successful steam engine. At first he tried to use a powder engine, but this experiment was not very successful. Then he came up with the idea to replace gunpowder with water. His steam engine was published in 1698 (at the same time as the invention of Savery). The principle of operation was to heat the water to form steam inside a vertically fixed cylinder in which a piston moved, which was pushed up. Then the steam was cooled and condensed, and the piston fell under the influence of atmospheric pressure. This technology set in motion various mechanisms.
Having familiarized himself with Papen's design, who worked as a blacksmith in West Country mines and understood the importance of inventing good pumps for mines, Thomas Newcomen joined forces with John Callie, a glazier and plumber, and together they began to improve the model. Their first car was installed in Staffordshire at a coal mine in 1712. This technology turned out to be so successful that it has been used throughout Europe for more than 50 years.
In 1775, the history of the invention of steam engines was replenished with a new discovery - John Smeaton created a new improved model that drained the Kronstadt dock in just two weeks. Prior to this, it took a year to complete such work.
I.I. Polzunov, inventor-mechanic from Russia, in the spring of 1763 developed a project for a steam engine, which for the first time could operate any mechanisms and soon gained recognition.
It should be said that there is another inventor of the steam engine - James Watt. He perfected the Newcomen machine from 1763 and finally patented his brainchild in 1768. Despite this, for a long time he could not build the car according to his design, but in 1776 she was ready and successfully passed the test. Its efficiency was twice the capacity of the Newcomen device. The first universal double-acting steam engine was created by James Watt in 1782. Since the Watt engine could be used on any machine, the creators of self-propelled mechanisms immediately took advantage of this idea.
The history of steam engines is captured in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, where Watt is one of the first inventions.