ABSTRACT
Thomas Newcomen in little longer than a decade developed the atmospheric engine; it fell into the hands of millwrights, fifty years passed almost without change and stagnation seemed to have set in. Then James Watt came upon the scene and, in the space of a quarter of a century, not only improved the engine as a pumping apparatus but vastly extended its field of operations by making of it an engine to turn millwork. After that ensued a century of progress magnificent in its total achievement, but far from uniform in tempo; at first development seemed almost bewildering, for it took so many different directions; it rose to great heights and then slowed down, with an occasional spurt, to a steady jog-trot. Once more a brilliant period dawned with the advent of the steam turbines of Parsons and his coadjutors—this was half a century ago.
