What structural element allowed the Newcomen engine to separate the steam cylinder location from the mine pump operation?
Answer
A large wooden beam engine rocking upon a central fulcrum
The introduction of the large wooden beam engine, which operated like a seesaw pivoted on a central fulcrum, was an architectural masterpiece that provided crucial mechanical separation. Savery's device required proximity to the water being pumped. Newcomen's beam, however, allowed the steam cylinder and piston assembly to remain relatively stationary above ground, housed often in a dedicated brick engine-house. The rocking motion of the beam translated the piston's up-and-down movement via a chain or rod to operate the reciprocating pump apparatus situated deep within the mine shaft below ground level, a flexibility impossible with earlier suction-based designs.
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