What is the First Engine Ever?

How does water, fire, steam, and metalworking ignite a revolution? Here we explore exactly how the first steam engine, The Newcomen Atmospheric Engine works, and why it was revolutionary!

This video series is the winning project of the Europeana STEM challenge 2019 and was awarded funding for its production.  I’m grateful to the Europeana team for support in creating this series and providing invaluable educational resources.
 

Table of Contents:
1:16 Components and Function of the Newcomen Engine
3:55 How a vacuum can generate power
6:17 How much does water expand when evaporated?
7:37 Igniting a revolution in technology

Background Understanding:
Steam, Boiling Water, Air/ Steam Particles

Branches to:
Traction Engines. Understanding Air.

Animation built using Blender 2.79b
Post with Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects
Sound editing with Reaper

Twitter: @teddytablante
Made by Teddy Tablante

Work Cited:

Wikipedia contributors. "Beam Engine." "History of the Steam Engine." "James Watt." "Newcomen Atmospheric Engine." "Thomas Newcomen." "Steam." "Steam Engine." "Thomas Savery."  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Visited September 2019

Map of England and Wales and surrounding seas

Mine from "Popular Lectures on Geology, treated in a comprehensive manner ... Translated
by ... J. G. Morris, and edited by Professor F. Hall"

Engineering: a Newcomen steam-engine. Engraving, 174

James Watt from "The first century of the Republic. A review of American progress. By ... T. D. W., ... F. A. P. Barnard [and others]"

(fi) valokuva kuvasta, jossa höyrymoottori konehallissa; taulussa teksti: 3400 I.H.P. steam engine built by Engineering Works "Nederland" at Ysselmonde

Elektriska maskiner. The complete turbine generators ready -

Lokomotiv No 95, tillverkat vid Pittsburgh Locomotive Works."The heaviest and most powerful locomotive in the world", oktober 1898

Utställningen Bygga & Bo i Uddevalla år 1936

traction engine from "The Traveller's Album and Hotel Guide: containing views of places and buildings of historical and general interest, with descriptive letterpress; an account of the principal railways out of London, etc" -

Skærbækværket, Turbiner

(nl) Vliegtuig van de gebroeders Wright in vlucht; Aéroplane Wright -

Norra Droskstationen.Två automobiler och fyra hästdrosker.I bil nr.2 från vänster sitter Carl Johan Johansson (född 1885) -

Locomotivă cu aburi tip 50065 -

(de) Flugzeug Arado (Ar) 79 B

Adler Trumpf

An express locomotive in a railway line. Colour lithograph

Lokomotiv No 95, tillverkat vid Pittsburgh Locomotive Works."The heaviest and most powerful locomotive in the world", oktober 1898

#Steam #Engine #FirstEver

[ouishi]

Also shoutout to the guy who discovered fire 💯💯

[atcjoe]

How did the valves work? Were they timed with the stroke of the piston mechanically ?

[shoam]

The attention to detail is amazing! I can notice where one fact smoothly flows to the next, and each piece of information is clearly segmented. You deserve more subs!

[MrAlexander]

Man. Your work is amazing, and sooo underrated. Even though i am an engineer and i already knew the concepts, i loved the way you break down and explain the phenomena in such a simple way so that anyone can understand them.

[seasong]

Very interesting how it works on compression instead of expansion like the modern engines. It wasn't the first engine though, since in ancient greece they already had a spinning steam thingy.

[GhostPants.]

but you didn't explain how the valves are workimg?how fo they know when to open and close????

[ProlificPianist]

Did a paper on steam power last semester. Really mind-opening stuff and is the perfect way to understand where much of the world comes from. And what's fun is that many people think that the steam engine is gone, but the reality is that it just evolved to be much more efficient as a turbine than as direct kinetic power. Most of the world runs on steam power via electricity generation rather than it's earlier locomotive usage.

[HyungnamGu]

The first commercial steam-powered device was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery. It used condensing steam to create a vacuum which raised water from below and then used steam pressure to raise it higher. Small engines were effective though larger models were problematic. They had a very limited lift height and were prone to boiler explosions. Savery's engine was used in mines, pumping stations and supplying water to water wheels powering textile machinery.

[Kungfujoe]

I showed up here after watching the Technology Connection series about lanterns (and, essentially, pre-electricity light), in which he shocked me by mentioning that the (now) basic concepts of combustion weren't understood until the 1770s...That really sparked my interest (no pun intended). I wanted to understand the origins of a piston-driven engine, and this video was a lovely explanation.

Now to find a small-scale Newcomen engine to set up in my back yard. I'm sure the wife won't mind XD

[ScienceOfTeaching]

Every once in a while there comes along a video that just blows everything else out of the water. This is that video.

[avi]

4:21 My biggest "aha" moment this year

[thiagoaugusto]

I would love to see a video in this level of detail about Watt's innovations too. Hell, I would love to see a video in this level of detail about pretty much anything! Congrats! I can only imagine how many hours were spent to achieve such a quality.

[michaniki]

Underappreciated video. Thanks for the detailed effort!

[ikehsamuelifeanyi]

Very educative. I learn a lot from you. In Africa, teaching is not detailed and no teaching aid for instruction. Your animation simplified the concept. Now I know the myth behind steam engine.
Thank you

[differentgamer]

Everyone knows that this channel deserves much more attention, subscriptions and views, and missing all of that on the channel can be a reason to leave YouTube, but you are still going and we, the little part of YouTube who watches your videos respect your work and wish you had as many views and subscribers as you really deserve...

[boredgrass]

I considered myself reasonably informed about the subject, but 1710? I never thought that it started so early! Thank you! ❤️

[monicanagaraj]

Thank you very nowadays nobody takes time to teach even
minute concepts like you're that was great🥰🥰🥰

[TheIceGryphon]

ARGH, Real question becomes how are the valves working and how are they piped. Intake manifold and exhaust manifolds are always something I have a hard time picturing in my mind in 3-D models.

[s.mcchristy]

I would like to see more detail of the valves which made this engine possible. Also it looks like this engine would use a lot of water..?

[rocketskids]

If you want to talk about "the first engine *ever*" then you're wrong on at least two counts:

1. Thomas Savery built the first steam-powered mine pump in 1698.

2. Hero built the first steam turbine in the first century AD.

The Newcomen Engine was merely the first *practical* engine.