Page 138 - DK Children's Encyclopedia

The story of...

Inventions Steam engine

The first steam engines
Inventions are new ideas that solve problems were used to pump water
or prove useful to us. Thousands of years of out of mines. Later, engines
were used to power
brilliant brainpower have resulted in things factories and trains. George
and ideas that have transformed people’s Stephenson’s Rocket train
was built in 1829.
lives. Even in the modern world, people keep
coming up with new ideas and inventions.

Reaching 30 mph
Hard flint was
broken down (48 kph), the Rocket was
to make sharp Hand axe the first vehicle to
tools. travel faster than
The hand axe was a horse.
the first stone tool in
prehistoric times. People dug
for flint, which they shaped into
handcrafted axes to cut meat,
chop wood, scrape skins, and
protect themselves. Hand axes
were used for more than a
million years.

A tall chimney
released
A rod, or axle, links the steam from
wheels together— the engine.
turning the axle uses
much less energy than
turning the wheel.

Wheel
The wheel was
invented more than
5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia
(part of modern-day Iraq). Wooden
discs were attached to animal carts to
carry heavy loads. Later, wheels
became lighter, which made them
faster and smoother. The front
wheels were
pushed around
by the engine.

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