A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.
Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be used. Water turns to steam in a boiler and reaches a high pressure. When expanded through pistons or turbines, mechanical work is done. The reduced-pressure steam is then released into the atmosphere or condensed and pumped back into the boiler. The ideal thermodynamic cycle used to analyze this process is called the Rankine cycle. Most mobile steam engines and some smaller stationary engines discard the low-pressure steam instead of condensing it for reuse.
The idea of using boiling water to produce mechanical motion has a very long history, going back about 2,000 years. Early devices were not practical power producers, but more advanced designs producing usable power have become a major source of mechanical power over the last 300 years, beginning with applications for removing water from mines using vacuum engines. Subsequent developments used pressurized steam and converted linear to rotational motion which enabled the powering of a wide range of manufacturing machinery. These engines could be sited anywhere that water and coal or wood fuel could be obtained, whereas previous installations were limited to locations where water wheels or windmills could be used. Significantly, this power source would later be applied to vehicles such as steam tractors and railway locomotives. The steam engine was a critical component of the Industrial Revolution, providing the prime mover for modern mass-production manufacturing methods. Modern steam turbines generate about 90% of the electric power in the United States using a variety of heat sources.
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.
From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.
James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer.
James Watt, FRS, FRSE (19 January 1736 – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.
While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and re-heating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water.
Watt attempted to commercialize his invention, but experienced great financial difficulties until 1775 he entered a partnership with Matthew Boulton. The new firm of Boulton and Watt was eventually highly successful and Watt became a wealthy man. In his retirement, Watt continued to develop new inventions though none were as significant as his steam engine work. He died in 1819 at the age of 83. Watt has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history.
by Chip Douglas
Mr. Engineer,
Slow the engine down some more,
You're moving just a little too fast,
I've got my foot down clear to the floor.
Steam engine,
Engine ninety-nine,
Steel drivers,
Rolling right on by.
Mr. Engineer,
You see I've got a little problem here,
My baby, she's aboard your train,
She says she's never coming back again.
Aw, steam engine,
Engine ninety-nine,
Steel drivers,
Rolling right on by.
She told me goodbye,
She said, "I'm leaving you behind,"
I think I'm gonna die
If I hear that whistle whine.
Mr. Engineer,
Slow the engine down some more,
You're moving, moving just a little too fast,
I've got my foot down clear to the floor.
SOLO
Steam engine,
Engine ninety-nine,
Steel drivers,
Rolling right on by.
Gonna keep a', keep a'rolling,
She's gonna leave me, leave me behind,
I might, I might as well go home, my home,
She's gonna leave me behind,
So, I do believe
None of this is physical, at least not to me
So, I do believe
That anywhere it goes, it's always with me
It's not the dream that makes you weak
It's not the night that makes you sleep
But it's a voice and it's a choice
To call you out or stay at home
So, I do believe
None of this is physical, least not to me
So, I do believe
That anywhere it goes, it's always with me
It's not the beast, it's not the sheets
So soft and warm all over me
But it's a touch you need so much
To move around on this green earth, ahh
Take your money and your drugs
Take your money and your drugs
To anyone who wondered
What old Jebus meant to me
Take him out to go diving
In Red Patoka sea
The brain melts in the twilight
With the boar and moving trees
Your skin looks good in moonlight
And goddamn those shaky knees
The fact that my heart's beating
Is all the proof you need
I believe
I believe
I believe