I spoke about the invention of the steam engine as a means for pumping water out of mines. The Greeks never tried to use it for that purpose.
True, but you and two other people pointed out that the Greeks had invented the steam engine as if that somehow invalidated something that I had said.
Most of thermodynamics developed after there were already commercial steam engines.
This is not really true. Scientific work in the area of thermodynamics had been done in the 17th century by Denis Papin, Otto von Guericke , Robert Boyle, Thomas Savery and others. Some of this work was directly applicable to steam engines.
I don’t think that Thomas Newcomen had much scientific knowledge of thermodynamics.
I think it is likely that Newcomen was familiar with Savery’s earlier work on steam engines, at a minimum. And, whereas you are focused on the invention (or reinvention, in Newcomen’s case) of the steam engine, I think that the ongoing development of the steam engine is at least as relevant. The development of the steam engine continued well past then end of Newcomen’s life—the late 18th century engines and the 19th century steam engines used on trains, ships and in industry were much improved over the versions produced by Newcomen—and many of these improvements came about from scientific knowledge in the areas of gas laws, thermodynamics, etc.
I think knowledge about metallurgy at the time wasn’t mainly scientific but based on trades.
This is largely true, particularly in the 18th century. But as noted above, the steam engine continued to be developed and improved throughout the 19th century. Some of these improvements were possible by improved materials (metals), and by the latter half of the 19th century, metallurgy was becoming more scientific, particularly with regard to improvements in steel production.
19th century steel manufacturing also gave a big boost to the steam engine industry in an indirect manner—quality steel greatly improved the strength and longevity of railroad tracks and trestles, leading to increased use of rail and increased demands for more powerful and more efficient steam engines. Since the quote that started this conversation was about the “technical accomplishment of our civilization” and “the ingenuity of the inventions, the range and density of technical mediation, the multiplicity of artifactual interfaces in a global technoscientific economy”, I think that it is useful to look at how various industries (such as the steel and railroad industry) affected the later development of the steam engine rather than focusing exclusively on its early commercialization by Newcomen.
True, but you and two other people pointed out that the Greeks had invented the steam engine as if that somehow invalidated something that I had said.
This is not really true. Scientific work in the area of thermodynamics had been done in the 17th century by Denis Papin, Otto von Guericke , Robert Boyle, Thomas Savery and others. Some of this work was directly applicable to steam engines.
I think it is likely that Newcomen was familiar with Savery’s earlier work on steam engines, at a minimum. And, whereas you are focused on the invention (or reinvention, in Newcomen’s case) of the steam engine, I think that the ongoing development of the steam engine is at least as relevant. The development of the steam engine continued well past then end of Newcomen’s life—the late 18th century engines and the 19th century steam engines used on trains, ships and in industry were much improved over the versions produced by Newcomen—and many of these improvements came about from scientific knowledge in the areas of gas laws, thermodynamics, etc.
This is largely true, particularly in the 18th century. But as noted above, the steam engine continued to be developed and improved throughout the 19th century. Some of these improvements were possible by improved materials (metals), and by the latter half of the 19th century, metallurgy was becoming more scientific, particularly with regard to improvements in steel production.
19th century steel manufacturing also gave a big boost to the steam engine industry in an indirect manner—quality steel greatly improved the strength and longevity of railroad tracks and trestles, leading to increased use of rail and increased demands for more powerful and more efficient steam engines. Since the quote that started this conversation was about the “technical accomplishment of our civilization” and “the ingenuity of the inventions, the range and density of technical mediation, the multiplicity of artifactual interfaces in a global technoscientific economy”, I think that it is useful to look at how various industries (such as the steel and railroad industry) affected the later development of the steam engine rather than focusing exclusively on its early commercialization by Newcomen.