4. The Steam Engine

Date: 1712
Nationality: English
Inventor: Thomas Newcomen
Medium: Invention

England was perfectly prepared for the industrial revolution.  They had the natural resources, the capital, and the creativity for it.  One of the most creative inventions of the industrial revolution was the steam engine.  First created in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen, it was later improved upon by James Watt.  These men were faced with problems in their society, as they faced a need for more power.  Animal power, which had been used for several millennium, wasn't enough.  England had a ravishing hunger for coal, so they had to dig deeper and deeper.  As the mines filled with water, they needed some way to pump it all out.  Thomas Newcomen saw the need and found a solution.  Through empiricism and reasoning, he was able to develop the steam engine.  Although it was inefficient, it did the job. The concept behind the steam engine is till utilized today, over three hundred years later.  Though we have had many improvements, the basic concepts of a steam powered turbine are at the basis of our power production.  This is perhaps one of the most tangible displays of learning yet.  In our civilization, the steam engine will show the need for innovation and creativity in the application of our knowledge.  Merely discovering that steam has energy to be harnessed wouldn't have been enough, but Newcomen found a need for such technology and put it to use.  Every good civilization should be founded on principles of problem solving, intelligent application, and the acquisition of knowledge.