The Steam Engine

The Steam Engine. Written by David L. Dreier.

蒸汽机 大卫·L·德雷尔 著

An invention that changed the world. For thousands of years, people used their muscles for work. They also used animals to help them. In the 1700s, the invention of the steam engine changed everything. People began to make fewer goods by hand. Instead, they used machines. Many of those machines were powered by steam.

一项改变世界的发明 几千年来，人们都靠自己的体力干活 他们也会让动物帮忙干活 18世纪，蒸汽机的发明改变了一切 手工制作的物品越来越少 人们转而使用机器 这些机器很多都靠蒸汽驱动

What is steam? Have you ever watched someone boil water in a pot on the stove? Sometimes you can see a little cloud above the pot. That's steam. It can only be seen when it hits cooler air. Steam is a gas. People make steam do work by boiling water. They heat up the water in a gigantic pot called a boiler. They make the boiler hot by burning fuel, such as coal. Burning coal becomes hotter than the top of a stove. A lot hotter. The heat boils the water and makes steam. Steam takes up more room than liquid water. As the steam expands, it pushes the movable parts of a machine. The movement of those parts creates power.

什么是蒸汽？ 你见过人们在炉子上烧开水吗？ 有时候你会看到壶口上方飘着一小团白雾 那就是蒸汽 只有蒸汽碰到更冷的空气时，我们才能看到它 蒸汽是一种气体 人们把水烧开，让蒸汽帮忙干活 他们把水放在一口叫锅炉的大锅里加热 他们燃烧煤炭这类燃料给锅炉升温 烧煤的温度比炉顶还要热得多 要热得多哦 热量把水烧开，产生了蒸汽 蒸汽比液态水占据更大的空间 蒸汽膨胀时，会推动机器的活动部件 这些部件的运动就产生了动力

The first real steam engines. Almost 300 years ago, in 1712, Thomas Newcomen built a steam engine. Others had built steam engines, but Newcomen's was the first to work really well. He used his steam engine to run a water pump, which pumped water out of coal mines. Miners could then reach more coal. The engine had one problem. It needed a large amount of coal to do a small amount of work.

最早真正实用的蒸汽机 近300年前的1712年，托马斯·纽科门造出了蒸汽机 之前也有人造过蒸汽机，但纽科门的是第一台真正好用的 他用这台蒸汽机驱动水泵，把煤矿里的水抽出来 这样矿工就能挖到更多煤炭了 这台蒸汽机有一个缺点 它需要烧很多煤，却只能做很少的活

Steam engine improvements. In the 1760s, Scotsman James Watt improved Newcomen's engine. He made the machine work with less coal. Watt also made other kinds of steam engines. He made one called the rotary, circular steam engine. It could run all kinds of machines. This invention was one event that led to the Industrial Revolution, also known as the Age of STEAM. The Age of STEAM brought new ways to do work and new ways for people and goods to travel.

蒸汽机的改进 18世纪60年代，苏格兰人詹姆斯·瓦特改良了纽科门的蒸汽机 他让机器烧更少的煤就能工作 瓦特还造出了其他类型的蒸汽机 他造出了一款叫做旋转式的圆形蒸汽机 它可以驱动各种各样的机器 这项发明推动了工业革命，工业革命也被称为蒸汽时代 蒸汽时代带来了新的工作方式，也带来了人和货物出行的新方式

High -pressure steam engines At the beginning of the age of steam, Watt's steam engines used low -pressure steam. His steam engines were big, and they operated, or worked, slowly. Watt knew he could make smaller and faster steam engines. But he would have to use higher -pressure steam. He was against that idea. Higher pressure could cause a boiler to explode. An explosion could injure or kill people.

高压蒸汽机 蒸汽时代初期，瓦特的蒸汽机使用的是低压蒸汽 他的蒸汽机体积很大，运转也就是工作的速度很慢 瓦特知道自己可以造出更小更快的蒸汽机 但那就必须使用压强更高的蒸汽 他反对这个想法 更高的压强可能会让锅炉爆炸 爆炸会使人受伤甚至丧命