TABLE OF CONTENTS Steam Engine 4 Rotary Drill 6 Gasoline Engine 8 Power Station 10 Hydroelectric Power 12 Nuclear Power 14 Geothermal Power 16 Solar Power 18 Wind Turbine 20 Plant Fuel 22 Hybrid Engine 24 Hydrogen Fuel Cell 26 Fact Sheet 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32
1 THE STEAM ENGINE POWERS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Humans have always needed sources of power For most of history people burned wood straw or waste These were simple sources for heat and light The first machines also used these fuels Even early trains burned wood Early industries were powered by waterwheels Flowing water would turn a wheel to create power In the 1600s inventors started experimenting with steam power A steam engine burns coal or wood to heat water The steam created by the boiling water moves parts in an This steam engine made in 1879 was used in a sugar mill in Hawaii 4
engine Thomas Savery patented the first steam-powered pump in 1698 Thomas Newcomen made a more efficient steam-powered pump in 1712 These early pumps were used to remove water from mines In 1765 James Watt created a steam-powered engine that needed much less fuel By the 1800s steam engines were used to power trains and boats Boats and trains started carrying passengers as well as goods People were able to travel great distances more easily Some factories that had used waterwheels switched 1 Number of steam locomotives operating on a major railroad in the United States as of 2012 Patented by James Watt in 1769 Increased demand for coal as fuel Allowed easy travel Drove the Industrial Revolution to steam engines Factories no longer needed to be built next to water The new power source helped them produce more goods Steam power helped set off the Industrial Revolution This period was marked by rapid growth in industries and cities Before inventing a new steam engine James Watt made math instruments 5
