9 ms·
Watt needed to get a set of technologies developed to make a workable efficient steam engine. E.g. how to bore a straight cylinder in a material that withstands
by dboreham 4y ago
Watt needed to get a set of technologies developed to make a workable efficient steam engine. E.g. how to bore a straight cylinder in a material that withstands high pressure and temperature.
Another aspect is that solutions tend to occupy a niche within the existing environment. E.g. an iPhone is no use to a Babylonian because they have no 5G infrastructure. A Lamborghini is no use to a Roman because a) no gas stations, although they could probably run it on alcohol, and b) it'd get stuck behind all the ox carts already on the road.
- marktangotango 4y ago> it'd get stuck behind all the ox carts already on the road. Lol, that's pretty much the case today, as anyone who's driven a sports car in traffic, on public streets can attest! In my public education the steam engine received zero coverage which is a pity because it's development and application spurred so much science and understanding. I've often thought a science curriculum based on the study of steam and work would be particularly enlightening.
- bobbylarrybobby 4y agoIn the US, I believe that’s AP physics B, whose topic is thermodynamics and “integration without integration” (i.e., the work done is the area under a PV graph)