Steam engines early

Wood was the easiest fuel to use in early steam locomotives, but it was soon realized that the logistics of wood fuel were limiting. Steam engines were developed that could burn coal, peat, or (later) oil where those fuels were more abundant. For intercity railroads (especially in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa), coal remained the fuel of choice for one hundred years. Despite impressive technology development, steam locomotives never could achieve thermal efficiencies greater than about 6 to 8 percent. 

In the early days of the industrial revolution, steam engine explosions were a real problem. Metal fatigue... 

An early concept of the cycle of thermodynamic processes as relating to steam engine heat-energy performance. 

Steam jets have been around for a long time. They have just as ancient an origin as do steam-driven reciprocating pumps. They were used on early steam engines to pull a vacuum on the now-archaic barometric condenser. More recently, they were used to develop vacuums in such services as... 

FIGURE 16.8 These three artifacts represent the progress that has been made in the extraction of d-metals. (a) An ancient bronze chariot axle cap from China made from an alloy of metals that are easy to extract, (b) An early iron steam engine made from a metal that was moderately easy to extract once high temperatures could be achieved, (c) A twentieth-century airplane engine with titanium components that had to await high temperatures and advanced technology before the element became widely available. 

Who directing the force of an original genius Early exercised in philosophic research To the improvement of The Steam Engine... 

---