Steam Engine

machines · history · inventions

Powered by steam. A steam engine boils water to make steam, and the pressure of that steam pushes a piston back and forth inside a cylinder.

Push becomes spin. A connecting rod and crank turn the piston's back-and-forth pushing into spinning motion, which can drive wheels or machines.

Fire on the outside. It's an external combustion engine, meaning the fuel burns separately from the steam that actually does the work.

Trains and more. Steam engines powered railway locomotives, factories, and ships, helping kick off the Industrial Revolution.