About This Quiz
From the Industrial Revolution to today's distribution of electricity using steam turbines, the use of steam revolutionized the world. How much do you know about steam power?Steam and steam engines powered the world for about 200 years. Steam fell out of use on a large scale after the invention of the internal combustion engine.
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Gasoline engines are internal combustion engines. However, steam engines are external combustion engines because the fuel that powers the engine is burned outside the engine.
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Actually, Greek mathematician Hero toyed with steam engines nearly 2,000 years ago. These experiments weren't turned into anything practical, however, until more than 1,600 years later.
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Newcomen and Savery definitely had roles in the development of the practical use of steam. But it was Watt who parlayed steam into engine power.
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Steam power is not the most popular form of power today. But it is still used to power submarine torpedoes, by electric companies to generate electricity and for other Navy propulsion systems.
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All three of these are types of steam engine. Stationary engines are used in factories, locomotive engines are use in trains and cars and marine engines are used on ships.
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Safety was a huge issue in the use of steam engines. Steam engines were prone to exploding without warning.
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The lead plug was designed to melt and release built-up steam within an engine so it wouldn't explode. This feature greatly increased the safety of steam engines.
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Although in Europe they used coke to power steam engines, U.S. railways used wood. As the wood burned, sparks flew from the smokestacks and often ignited the surrounding areas, the train itself and sometimes even the passengers.
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After sparks burned up more than $60,000 on a train in 1832, the new stack was invented. The bonnet stack included a screen at the top that prevented sparks from escaping.
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There is evidence that steam was in use in Ancient Egypt. Simple steam engines were used to open and close temple doors in 280 B.C.
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Advances during the Industrial Revolution were made possible by the invention of the steam engine. Practical use increased manufacturing dramatically.
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Machines were powered by wind or water. Muscle power was provided by people and animals.
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The Industrial Revolution is known as the Age of Steam. This is because steam power enabled the advancement of many technologies during that time period.
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England was the first nation to put steam power to the test on a large scale. The nation's abundance of coal forced them to find inventive ways to mine it.
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The biggest impact of the Age of Steam may have been social. People moved from farms to cities as economic opportunities in cities increased.
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Dennis Papin designed an engine that was very much like a pressure cooker. Fortunately, he also invented a relief apparatus.
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Thomas Newcomen's invention enabled England to free up trapped coal resources below the surface. This 1712 invention is known as the first true steam engine.
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John Smeaton's invention made the steam engine even more efficient. Smeaton has also been credited with inventing the term "civil engineer."
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Richard Trevithick built the first practical locomotive to meet the need for transporting goods throughout industrial England. This 1801 invention first carried only passengers.
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It was originally thought that locomotives would need gear wheels and a cogged/toothed track for traction. Inventor Richard Trevithick proved that locomotives could haul goods on smooth rails.
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Richard Trevithick's steam-propelled locomotive traveled nine miles in four hours. His later inventions enabled locomotives to pull wagons loaded with iron.
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Peter Cooper is credited with inventing the first U.S. steam-powered locomotive. He is also credited with inventing the first washing machine.
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The Tom Thumb was made with musket barrels as boiler tubes. It was built by inventor Peter Cooper.
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Although railways existed before steam engines, the invention of engines powered by steam made traveling farther, faster a reality. Early railways used people and/or animals to pull wagons along rails.
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Not entirely successful, the first passenger railways left passengers exposed to sparks from the wood-burning engines. The initial jerk from the engine starting was also said to knock passengers onto the floor.
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Horses provided the power for the first railways. They were expensive to operate, though, which is why steam engines became so popular.
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The York replaced Tom Thumb because it was more efficient and could travel faster and farther. The York could reach a top speed of 35 mph.
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The Stanley Steamer was invented by twin brothers, Francis Edgar and Freelan Oscar Stanley. The brothers eventually formed the Stanley Motor Carriage Company.
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Robert Fulton developed his inventions in France. France wasn't interested, though, so he came to the United States where there was interest in his inventions.
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The Sirius crossed the Atlantic in 1838. The ship traveled from Britain to New York.
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Roughly 90% of the nation's electricity is generated by steam. The steam turbines are powered mostly by fossil fuels.
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Gustave de Ponton d’Amecourt invented the first steam-powered helicopter. He also is credited with inventing the term "helicopter."
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The Stanley Steamer was clocked at 127 miles per hour at its fastest. It was the first car to go faster than a train.
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The velocipedes were the first steam-powered bicycles. They were in use in France in 1867.
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