The following animation illustrates how a Newcomen steam engine works.
Functionality
Developed by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, the atmospheric steam engine was the first practical device to convert thermal energy into continuous mechanical work and marked the beginning of the industrial use of steam power. It was mainly employed to pump water out of deep mines, a task that had previously limited the depth and profitability of coal and tin mining.
The engine consists of a vertical cylinder and a piston connected to one end of a large rocking beam. The cylinder is filled with low-pressure steam from a boiler, allowing the counterweight on the opposite end of the beam to pull the piston upwards.
Once the piston reaches the top dead center, an operator opens a valve to inject cold water into the cylinder. The steam condenses almost instantly, creating a partial vacuum beneath the piston. Atmospheric pressure then pushes the piston downwards, transmitting the working stroke through the beam to a pump rod in the mine shaft. The resulting oscillating motion provided a steady, if inefficient, source of mechanical power.
Requirements
| Platform | PC/Mac or Tablet |
| Resolution (min) | 1280 x 720 |
Sources
- Technical drawing: http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/70007631
- Background: https://www.photoshopsupply.com/patterns-textures/vintage-paper-textures
Note
Although the drawing looks amateurish compared to modern technical drawings, it is geometrically coherent. The spatial arrangement and all the distances were obviously important.