Re:Why wasn't the steam engine invented earlier? Part II
by cfmcdonald on Friday July 15, 2022 @08:42AM
(#32107504)
Actually a Savery engine (the type of engine the OP's post starts off with) doesn't have a piston at all. And the Newcomen atmospheric engine didn't require a very precise fit to function either. It wasn't until Watt started the drive for more efficient engines that accurately boring the cylinder became important.
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Re:Why wasn't the steam engine invented earlier? Part II
by antonhowes on Friday July 15, 2022 @12:37PM
(#32109962)
Exactly! Part III or IV will end up talking about boring techniques of the 1650s (long before the famous John Wilkinson methods), but that is precisely the thing with Savery engines - and indeed with Newcomen engines, which worked with pistons long before Wilkinson too!