The Invention of the Steam Engine B. J .G. van der Kooij This case study is part of the research work in preparation for a doctorate-dissertation to be obtained from the University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands (www.tudelft.nl). It is one of a series of case studies about “Innovation” under the title “The Invention Series.” About the text: This is a scholarly case study describing the historic developments that resulted in the steam engine. It is based on a large number of historic and contemporary sources. As we did not conduct any research into primary sources, we made use of the efforts of numerous others by citing them quite extensively to preserve the original character of their contributions. Where possible we identified the individual authors of the citations. As some are not identifiable, we identified the source of the text. Facts that are considered to be of a general character in the public domain are not cited. About the pictures: Many of the pictures used in this case study were found at websites accessed through the Internet. Where possible they were traced to their origins, which, when found, were indicated as the source. As most are out of copyright, we feel that the fair use we make of the pictures to illustrate the scholarly case is not an infringement of any possible copyright that sometimes (still) is claimed. Copyright © 2015 B. J. G. van der Kooij Cover art is line drawing of Savery’s “Miner’s Friend” (Wikimedia Commons) Version 1.1 (January 2015) All rights reserved. ISBN-10: 1502809095 ISBN-13: 978-1502809094 The Invention of the Steam Engine Contents Contents .......................................................................................... iii Preface ............................................................................................. v Context for the Discoveries ............................................................... 3 The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries .............................................. 4 Turmoil in Europe ............................................................................. 4 England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ............................. 7 The Spirit of Time ............................................................................. 7 Living and working ............................................................................ 9 Land and water transportation ......................................................... 11 Poor plebs and rich gentry ............................................................... 12 Mining and water ............................................................................. 13 Science discovers and applies steam ..................................................... 19 Steam as a phenomenon: power of fire ............................................ 19 Steam explored by engineering ......................................................... 26 Applying the power of fire ................................................................... 33 Savery’s “Miner’s Friend” (1698)...................................................... 33 Improvement of Savery’s pump ....................................................... 36 The power of fire understood .......................................................... 37 First-Generation Steam Engines (1700-1775) ................................... 39 Aristocracy: the gentlemen of science .................................................. 39 Robert Boyle .................................................................................... 40 European influences ........................................................................ 41 Atmospheric engines ........................................................................... 42 Newcomen’s atmospheric steam engine (1712) ............................... 43 Improvements of the Newcomen steam engine ............................... 48 A cluster of innovations ................................................................... 49 iii Second-Generation steam engines (1775-1800) ................................ 51 The discovery of external cooling ........................................................ 53 James Watt’s steam engine (1769) .................................................... 54 James Watt and his partners in business ........................................... 57 Perfecting the engine ....................................................................... 62 Contemporary developments ............................................................... 65 Bull’s steam engine .......................................................................... 66 Hornblower’s compound steam engine ............................................ 66 Patent war ........................................................................................... 68 Boulton & Watt: the end of a partnership ........................................ 72 Applications of the steam engine ......................................................... 73 William Symington’s steam engine ................................................... 73 A cluster of innovations ................................................................... 75 Third-Generation Steam Engines (1800+) ....................................... 77 High pressure eliminates the external condenser .................................. 77 Trevethick’s steam engine (c. 1802) .................................................. 80 Trevithick’s other activities .............................................................. 86 A cluster of innovations ................................................................... 91 Contemporary developments ............................................................... 92 Steam engines built in the eighteenth century ................................... 92 Stationary applications for steam engines ......................................... 93 Mobile applications for steam engines.............................................. 94 Rainhill Trials ................................................................................ 103 Mobility infrastructures ...................................................................... 106 From wagonway to railroad ........................................................... 107 From freight to passengers ............................................................ 108 Conclusion .................................................................................... 109 References .................................................................................... 113 About the Author .......................................................................... 117 iv The Invention of the Steam Engine Preface When everything is said and done, and all our breath is gone. The only thing that stays, Is history, to guide our future ways. My lifelong intellectual fascination with technical innovation within the context of society started in Delft, the Netherlands, in the 1970s at the University of Technology, both the Electrical Engineering School and the Business School1. Having been educated as a technical student with vacuum tubes, followed by transistors, I found the change and novelty caused by the new technology of microelectronics to be mind- boggling, not so much from a technical point of view but with all those opportunities for new products, new markets, and new organizations, with a potent technology as the driving force. During my studies at both the School of Electric Engineering and the School of Business Administration,2 I was lucky enough to spend some time in Japan and California, noticing how cultures influence the context for technical-induced change and novelty. In Japan I touched on the research environment; in the Silicon Valley, it was the business environment—from the nuances of the human interaction of the Japanese, to the stimulating and raw capitalism of America. The technology forecast of my engineering thesis made the coming technology push a little clearer: the personal computer was on the horizon. The implementation of innovation in small and medium enterprises, the subject of my management thesis, left a lot to question. Could something like a Digital Delta be created in the Netherlands? 1 In the present time it is the Electrical Engineering School at the Delft University of Technology, and the School of International Business Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. 2 The actual names were Afdeling Electro-techniek, Vakgroep Mikro-Electronica, and Interfaculteit Bedrijfskunde. v B.J.G. van der Kooij During the journey of my life, innovation was the theme. For example, on the level of the firm, when in the mid-1970s I joined a mature electric company manufacturing electric motors, transformers, and switching equipment, business development was a major responsibility. How could we change an aging corporation by picking up new business opportunities? Japan and California were again on the agenda, but now from a business point of view: acquisition, cooperation, and subcontracting. Could we create business activity in personal computers? The answer was no. Innovation on the national level became the theme as I entered politics (a quite innovative move for an engineer) and became a member of the Dutch Parliament. How could we prepare a society for the new challenges that were coming, threating the existing industrial base and creating new firms and industries? What innovation policies could be applied? Introducing in the early 1980s the first personal computer in Parliament made me