Welcome to my weekly newsletter, Age of Invention, on the causes of the British Industrial Revolution and the history of innovation. You can subscribe here: A couple of weeks ago, when I shared my post about the invention of the steam engine, I noticed a few people on social media responding that the steam engine had, in fact, been invented in Spain — almost a hundred years before Newcomen was tinkering with his engines in Cornwall in the 1700s. I had not heard this claim before, so decided to look into it.
Is there evidence that Savery interacted with the Royal Society before he invented his engine? Would make the argument even stronger that the scientific understanding was a necessary condition for a practical steam engine.
A most lucid, fair-minded and sympathetic comparison of the the steam apparatuses of Ayanz and Savery (my pedantic mind refuses to call either an 'engine' due to to the lack of moving parts)! Your explanation confirmed my suspicions elegantly (that Ayanz used steam only to push water whereas Savery used it both to push and suck). Thank you for writing this! :)
Is there evidence that Savery interacted with the Royal Society before he invented his engine? Would make the argument even stronger that the scientific understanding was a necessary condition for a practical steam engine.
A most lucid, fair-minded and sympathetic comparison of the the steam apparatuses of Ayanz and Savery (my pedantic mind refuses to call either an 'engine' due to to the lack of moving parts)! Your explanation confirmed my suspicions elegantly (that Ayanz used steam only to push water whereas Savery used it both to push and suck). Thank you for writing this! :)
Was Beaumont's work known to the English of the 16th and 17th centuries?