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Who invented the steam engine?

The first person to harness the power of steam was the Greek scientist Heron of Alexandria in the first century A.D. He developed several devices that were operated by water, steam, or compressed air, including a fountain, a fire engine, and the steam engine. The steam engine was significantly improved in 1711 by Englishman Thomas Newcomen (1663–1729), who created a machine that used steam to pump water. The Scottish inventor James Watt (1736–1819) substantially improved on Newcomen's model and patented (received exclusive rights to make, use, and sell) his own steam engine in 1769. Steam engines had previously depended on atmospheric pressure to push a piston (a sliding piece of metal moved by pressure) into a cylinder (a hollow tube) and create a vacuum by the cooling steam. Watt's invention was the first to employ a separate device, called a condenser, which performed this function....

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