Why wasn’t the Steam Engine Invented in China?
The Chinese invented gunpowder, the compass, paper money, oil refining and many other amazing things, so why not a steam engine?
Both steam engines and cannons involve making a metal cylinder strong enough to manage high-pressure gases pushing an object through the cylinder. A cannon push a cannonball through the barrel, while a steam engine push a piston through the cylinder. However, both deal with the same set of problems:
- How do you make a straight smooth bore to allow a ball, bullet, or piston to move through with minimal friction and tight fit?
- How do you make sure the cylinder or barrel is strong enough to not burst from the high pressure?
In a steam engine, the piston is moved using hot high-pressure steam, while a gun or cannon moves the projectile through the barrel using the hot gases produced when gunpowder is ignited. It may surprise you that the first engines made were in fact gunpowder driven and not gasoline or steam driven.
Why am I bringing up this point in a story about why China did not invent the steam engine? Because mastery of cannon making was very much a prerequisite technology for the development of the steam engine. One of the hardest problems James…
