CHAPTER II.
THE STEAM-ENGINE AS A TRAIN OF MECHANISM.
"THE introduction of new Inventions seemeth to be the very chief of all human Actions. The Benefits of new Inventions may extend to all Mankind universally; but the Good of political Achievements can respect but some particular Cantons of Men; these latter do not endure above a few Ages, the former forever. Inventions make all Men happy, without either Injury or Damage to any one single Person. Furthermore, new Inventions are, as it were, new Erections and Imitations of God's own Works." BACON,
THE MODERN TYPE, AS DEVELOPED BY NEWCOMEN, BEIGHTON, AND SMEATON.
Ar the beginning of the eighteenth century every ele- ment of the modern type of steam-engine had been sepa- rately invented and practically applied. The character of atmospheric pressure, and of the pressure of gases, had be- come understood. The nature of a vacuum was known, and the method of obtaining it by the displacement of the air by steam, and by the condensation of the vapor, was understood. The importance of utilizing the power of steam, and the application of condensation in the removal of at- mospheric pressure, was not only recognized, but had been actually and successfully attempted by Morland, Papin, and Savery.
Mechanicians had succeeded in making steam-boilers capable of sustaining any desired or any useful pressure, and Papin had shown how to make them comparatively safe
