Steam Engine

The Steam Engine changed the future in 1712

What links this massive machine with today's changing climate?

The future then...

By pumping flood water from deep mines, steam engines like this set the Industrial Revolution in motion. They gave access to massive amounts of coal, helping the first factories to flourish. But using fossil fuels such as coal has created a new problem... climate change.

The future now...

What could be the carbon-free energy source of our future? Wind, waves and solar power are important. But if scientists could really crack nuclear fusion – the power source of the Sun and stars – we’d have an almost unlimited supply of clean energy.

'Every day I'm talking about the amazing things we have on display, but this massive machine still takes my breath away! Without the steam engine our modern world just wouldn't exist.'

Alan Worman, Explainer

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