Production of the engine (also known as the
atmospheric engine) in the 18th century ran into hundreds and its principal use was to pump water out of coal mines.
Though Thomas Newcomen's '
atmospheric engine' invented in 1712 was the progenitor of this source of power, historians agree that the partnering of Matthew Boulton and James Watt at Soho near what was then the town of Birmingham was absolutely crucial.
The Bombe is certainly interesting, but my personal favourite is the Newcomen
atmospheric engine on display--and often in steam--at the Black Country Living Museum.
It builds power linearly and progressively, just like a proper
atmospheric engine. Working the PDK lever's firm motion, you really feel like a race car driver piloting his machine to victory.
Experts will be on hand in the
atmospheric Engine Rooms to highlight the wonders of 19th century engineering and reveal what goes on behind the scenes when the two bascules lift to allow ships to pass along the River Thames.
The
atmospheric engine used steam to produce vacuum, a pressure lower than that of the atmosphere, which then developed the force pushing the piston through the downwards stroke.
Thompson's
atmospheric engine V2 rocket engine Cooke & Wheatstone's five-needle telegraph Stephenson's Rocket Reynolds' X-ray set Model T Ford motor car Penicillin Pilot ACE (automatic computing engine) Crick & Watson's DNA model Apollo 10 command module
Garden visitors were able to step back in time and see the rare and ingenious "
Atmospheric Engine" at work.
In fact, he has gone back beyond the steam engine, to Newcomen's
atmospheric engine, to develop an engine that runs on solar power.
The formidable Newcomen
Atmospheric Engine, which once pumped water out of Caprington Colliery near Kilmarnock, dominates the gallery as a donjon dominates a medieval castle, encapsulating in one perfect metaphor the power which drove the forces of industrialisation.
The
atmospheric engine was superseded by steam engines with separate condensers developed by James Watt.