One key to the Industrial Revolution was a set of machines that could convert linear motion to rotatory motion, and at need, convert it back again.
Water wheels may be either overshot or undershot, depending on whether most of the water passes over or under the wheel, converting linear motion to rotation.
A water wheel can only work when water drops and does work as it does so. This means that there is a limit to the number of water mills on any one stream.
Two common ways to get a drop for a water mill are a channel which diverts water away from the valley floor on a gentle slope, and a dam, which backs water up.
In 1690 Denis Papin proposed the use of steam power with a two-foot bore and a four-foot stroke to raise 8000 pounds of water four feet in one minute.
In 1698 Thomas Savery built a steam-powered water pump to pump water out of mines. It was the first practical steam engine of any sort, replacing manual pumps.
In 1707 Denis Papin developed a modified form of Thomas Savery's steam pump, using steam pressure, not atmospheric pressure, to increase efficiency.
In 1712 Thomas Newcomen and Thomas Savery built a piston-and-cylinder steam-powered water pump for pumping water out of mines. It produced about 5.5 horsepower.
In 1765, James Watt worked out how to build a better steam engine while walking, not sitting watching a kettle boil, as the old familiar legend has it.
In 1769 in France, Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot built a steam carriage which travelled at 3.6 km/hr for twenty minutes, but which was too heavy to be practical.
In 1769 James Watt patented his first improved steam engine after teaming up with Matthew Boulton, who brought business sense to their partnership.
In 1772 John Smeaton built a more efficient steam engine by using better machined cylinder walls, providing a better seal against steam leakage.
Between 1774 and 1779, Samuel Crompton invented a mule, a spinning machine combining features of the Hargreaves and Richard Arkwright machines.
In 1782 James Watt invented a more efficient double-acting steam engine, using steam to push the piston first from one side and then from the other.
By 1789, English mills could import cotton from India, spin and weave it, and export it to India where they could undersell Indian hand-weavers.
Effective electrical measurement of current delivered to the user was the main essential for selling electrical energy in the late nineteenth century.
Steam and water turbines produce rotatory motion from the linear motion of a steam flow, making them simpler and more efficient than reciprocating engines.
A gas turbine is an efficient and powerful engine providing a large energy output from a small volume, converting linear motion to rotational motion.
In 1807 Isaac de Rivaz made a hydrogen gas powered vehicle using internal combustion, sparked by a 'voltaic pistol' worked by the operator and driver.
In 1862, Jean Lenoir displayed a double-acting single-cylinder engine with an electric spark ignition and no compression, at the International Exhibition.
In 1863 Jean Lenoir built the first-ever horseless carriage, using an internal combustion engine. It was capable of reaching a speed of 5 kilometres an hour.
This file is http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/scifun/splatsindustpower.htm, first created on February 19, 2008. Last recorded revision (well I get lazy and forget sometimes!) was on February 19, 2008.