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Article: Harnessing the void: how the industrial revolution began in a vacuum--or, a pull is as good as a push.(history of the development of the steam engine)
- Article from:
- Mechanical Engineering-CIME
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It frequently happens that the individual getting the credit for an invention is not the real innovator, but rather the person who was most successful in reducing an idea to practice. Thus, we never hear about the designers of sailing ships who had made an extensive study of aerodynamics before the Wright brothers, or the number of engineers who had speculated on jet propulsion before Whittle.
This is true of steam power. The conventional wisdom is that James Watt invented the steam engine. The contribution of Thomas Newcomen, who died a few years before Watt was born, is usually overlooked.
The extent to which Watt's reputation has eclipsed Newcomen's ...