What economic pressure drove the wave of steam engine invention in the late 17th century?
Answer
The increasing difficulty and expense of draining deep coal and tin mines
Rising water tables made draining deep mines increasingly difficult and costly, creating an urgent practical need that mechanical solutions were sought to meet.
Related Questions
What fundamental shift did steam power represent in energy harnessing?What was the primary function of Hero of Alexandria's ancient device, the aeolipile?What economic pressure drove the wave of steam engine invention in the late 17th century?How did Thomas Savery's 1698 engine primarily lift water?What significant inefficiency plagued Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric engine?What was James Watt's fundamental efficiency improvement patented in 1769?What mechanism did James Watt develop to convert linear pumping motion into circular motion for factories?How did efficient rotative steam power change the geography of manufacturing?What key features in George Stephenson's *Rocket* proved the viability of smooth-railed railways?What is the modern successor to the reciprocating steam engine that generates most of the world's electricity?