The Industrial Revolution: Steam Drives the Dream
How the Steam Engine Fueled the Rise of Industry, Innovation, and Global Power in 19th Century Britain
Since the birth of humanity, the single factor that has controlled human progress is the ability to harness energy. Energy powers machines and machines amplify manual productivity hundreds of times over. During the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution transformed humanity through mechanical innovation, but machines cannot function without a power source, and for this, Britain looked to coal. Coal is widely believed to be one of the central forces that drove the Industrial Revolution, but humans had access to coal as early as 100 AD. It was only with the advent of the steam engine that the enormous amounts of chemical energy contained in coal could be harnessed into useful mechanical energy, powering the various inventions that characterized the Industrial Revolution.
Coal was the densest energy source available at the time, but its energy was mostly wasted as a simple heat source until the invention of steam engines. In Energy and the English Industrial Revolution, E. A. Wrigley writes, "Mechanical energy and heat energy had long been regarded as distinct categories… Mechanical energy was needed in all agricultural, manufacturing and transport activities and had always been provided dominantly by the muscle power of men and draught animals" (Wrigley). Coal cannot produce mechanical energy without an apparatus, so prior to the steam engine, it was simply burned for heat. The first steam engine was made in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen, but it was relatively inefficient and was primarily used for pumping water out of mines. It burned coal to heat a cylinder containing water to produce steam, which pushed a piston back and forth. That piston could then be used to pump water, turn wheels, or power machines. In 1776, James Watt introduced an improved version of the steam engine with three times the efficiency of the previous model. It was enhanced with a separate condenser, which minimized latent heat loss and wasted less energy. In 1827, Reverend Dionysius Lardner wrote in his handbook, The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated, "The great pyramid of Egypt [weighs 13 billion] lbs. To construct it cost the labour of 100,000 men for 20 years. [Today it could] be raised ... by the combustion of 479 tons of coals" (Lardner). Steam power was orders of magnitude better at generating mechanical energy than its alternatives, so it quickly established itself as an essential technology of the Industrial Revolution. Not only was it extremely energy dense, but it was relatively convenient and cost-effective to acquire. The coal used to power the steam engine was transportable, long-lasting, and most importantly, dependable, as its competitors all had underlying flaws. With water power, factories run by it were constrained by proximity to a river. Factories and mills powered by wind were rendered useless if the wind did not blow, and horsepower was not ideal because horses got fatigued, got sick, and needed to be fed. With the implementation of the steam engine, factories could run 24 hours a day, were not dependent on the weather, and could be located anywhere.
With the newfound availability of mechanical energy, the steam engine inspired an explosion of creativity across countless industries. Bruce Robinson wrote in All Change in the Victorian Age, "Traction engines saw fields ploughed twenty times faster than before, and factories could be anywhere… Gone were the days when work was dictated by natural forces: steam engines were servant to neither season nor sunshine" (Robinson). The traction engine, along with many of the other trailblazing inventions of the Industrial Revolution, was powered by steam, which was the primary reason behind its success. Contributing to this success was the steam engine’s use of water because water is readily available, inexpensive, and safe. Plus, water has a unique property in that when it turns into steam, it expands rapidly, making it very efficient at converting heat energy into mechanical energy. Inspirational author Samuel Smiles wrote in his book Self Help, "Many skilful inventors have from time to time added new power to the steam-engine; and, by numerous modifications, rendered it capable… of performing every description of mechanical labour where power is required" (Smiles). The innovations of the 1800s, like the high-speed printing press, steamboats, steam locomotives, steam-powered cars, the traction engine, and the power loom, were facilitated by the steam engine, and their transformative influence is what marked the Industrial Revolution as a turning point in history. In communication, the steam-powered printing press was cheaper and required fewer man-hours to print text. In transportation, the steam locomotive and steamboat expedited the distribution of goods more reliably. Not only did the steam engine change life in the 1800s through its ingenuity but also through the significance of ancillary technologies.
Without a doubt, the event that changed life the most during the 1800s was the Industrial Revolution, and it would not have been possible without the steam engine. The steam engine was able to harness the immense amounts of chemical energy in coal and convert it into functional mechanical energy, impacting areas of life such as business and society. This groundbreaking innovation not only set off the Industrial Revolution but perpetuated it through the resulting technological advancements. Without industrialization, Britain would not have been able to rise to the level of prominence it attained. After Britain industrialized, other countries quickly followed suit, and one thing they all had in common was the use of steam power to do so. Although we no longer see steam-powered trains, steam power still exists at the core of modern power generation. Coal power plants, nuclear power plants, and even solar thermal power plants all require steam to operate, and it is estimated that steam power accounts for 80% of global electricity production. Throughout history, steam has remained relevant, and it is safe to say that the world would look very different without the transformative technology that is the steam engine.
Works Cited
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Kingsford, Peter W. “James Watt.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 4 May 1999, www.britannica.com/biography/James-Watt. Accessed on 14 November 2022.
Lardner, Rev. Dionysius. The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated 1827. In Engines of Our Ingenuity. uh.edu/engines/epi13.htm. Accessed on 14 November 2022.
Robinson, Bruce. “History - British History in Depth: All Change in the Victorian Age.” BBC, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/speed_01.shtml. Accessed on 04 November 2022.
Smiles, Samuel. Self-Help. 1859. In The Victorian Web. victorianweb.org/technology/inventors/watt.html. Accessed on 08 November 2022.
“Steam.” Energy Education, University of Calgary, 12 Aug. 2015, energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Steam. Accessed on 19 November 2022.
Wrigley, E. A. “Energy and the English Industrial Revolution.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 13 Mar. 2013, royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2011.0568#d3e245. Accessed on 10 November 2022.