> Factories used to have bands and axels taking power from one central steam engine to all corners of the building. And then they got redesigned once electricit

> Factories used to have bands and axels taking power from one central steam engine to all corners of the building. And then they got redesigned once electricity came in. Fascinating fact you might enjoy: many modern industrial facilities use compressed air to power many of the devices inside. At a lot of Amazon facilities, a main compressor is somewhere on site keeping a large tank full. The compressed air is piped throughout the facility[0], and used to power a lot of moving parts in an open loop, making a distinctive 'hiss' sound[1] as the device moves and releases air. Not everything, certainly, but a lot of simple devices that need to move quickly and with some force. It's all computer controlled and yes, electricity is a major part- but the driving force is coming from compressed air. And that's pretty neat. [0] (Or so it was explained to me by the controls tech guys there) [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Hf08XrI_A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Hf08XrI_A (the first 30 seconds or so it's really noticeable).