• ikidd
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    4 months ago

    Steam turbines.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      4 months ago

      I mean, that’s 20th century, or (IIRC) just before depending on the level of tech maturity you require. The 19th century ran on pistons.

      • ikidd
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        4 months ago

        Steam engines? Plenty of those ran the Industrial Revolution factories.

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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          4 months ago

          You said turbines specifically. Parsons invented those around the turn of the 20th century.

          Before that, it was the chugga-chugga kind of steam engine. They’re a lot simpler to design and machine, and don’t require the really high RPMs to operate, but then again can break in many different ways a turbine can’t.