What crucial mechanical concept, previously associated with Denis Papin, did Newcomen incorporate into his atmospheric engine?
Answer
The piston working inside a separate cylinder
Thomas Newcomen's fundamental advancement involved substituting Savery's receiving vessel with a mechanism involving a piston moving within a cylinder, an idea derived from concepts proposed earlier by Denis Papin. In Savery's design, the vacuum acted directly on the water column via the receiving vessel. Newcomen utilized the vacuum created within the cylinder to exert force upon the piston head. This substitution provided a far more robust and scalable way to harness the atmospheric pressure differential, allowing for greater mechanical power generation compared to the direct suction method.
Related Questions
What was the relentless problem plaguing British extraction industries in the early 18th century?What scientific principle motivated Thomas Savery's 1698 'fire engine' patent for raising mine water?What engineering constraint severely limited the lift height achieved by Savery's fire engine?What crucial mechanical concept, previously associated with Denis Papin, did Newcomen incorporate into his atmospheric engine?What was the mechanical source of power that drove the piston down during the working stroke of Newcomen's engine?What structural element allowed the Newcomen engine to separate the steam cylinder location from the mine pump operation?What key feature allowed Newcomen's system to run continuously without constant manual intervention for valve control?How did better iron casting techniques, pioneered by the Coalbrookdale Company, benefit the Newcomen engine?What specific operational feature resulted in the marked fuel inefficiency of the Newcomen atmospheric engine?What economic factor allowed the Newcomen engine to be widely adopted in coal mines despite its high fuel consumption?