The introduction of an efficient steam engine in 1769 by Scottish engineer James Watt was one of the starting points of the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine allowed heat energy to be converted into mechanical work, and eventually, electric current. Steam engines propelled ships and trains, and provided energy for factory machinery. With the development of the steam engine, transportation took less time, and goods could be produced more quickly and efficiently.

Although the ancient Greeks are credited with the first use of steam-powered machines, the steam engine as it existed before 1769 was primitive. Prior to Watt's innovations, Englishmen Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen built a working steam engine that could be used for demonstrations, however, this engine was inefficient and could not be used for long periods of time. In the Savery-Newcomen engine, a piston in an open cylinder containing water was alternatively heated and cooled...