How Steam Engines Powered the Industrial Revolution

Steam engines turned heat from burning coal into powerful mechanical motion.
They pumped water out of mines, solving flooding problems that limited coal production.
James Watt’s improvements in the 1770s made steam engines more efficient and widely useful.
Factories used steam to drive machines, moving industry beyond waterwheels and manual labor.
Steam power enabled textile mills to scale up, fueling the growth of mass production.
Locomotives and steamships revolutionized transport, shrinking travel times dramatically.
Steam engines concentrated work in cities, sparking rapid urbanization.
They powered presses, forges, and mills, expanding everything from newspapers to steel.
The global trade network expanded as steamships crossed oceans faster than sailing vessels.
Steam power became the beating heart of the Industrial Revolution, driving industry, transport, and modern life.