Greek engineer Hero of Alexandria designs the first steam engine; it has a pedestal, an altar, and a rotating ball—but no practical use. French inventor Denis Papin builds a cooker that traps steam ...

Steam engines, believe it or not, have been around for over 300 years. In England in 1698, Thomas Savery patented the first working steam engine—this was a simple machine that utilized the vacuum ...

Three hundred and fifteen years ago today Thomas Savery’s patented the steam engine. His patent included no pictures, simply the following description: ”A new invention for raising of water and ...

When your steam engine build requires multiple microscopes, including those of the scanning electron variety, you know you’re building something really, really tiny. All of the usual tiny superlatives ...

The evolution of automobiles over the past century, from steam engines to smart cabins, is not only a history of technological innovation but also an epic of human struggle to surpass itself and ...

Steam engines and diesel engines have a lot in common. First off, they share the same blood, or to put it differently, they both use heat to make mechanical power. Secondly, these combustion brothers ...

If you’re looking for a way to let the kids get hand-ons with science this is a perfect example of how to do it. [Erich] wanted to help out with his 7-year-old’s science project. They decided to build ...