Steam: The Mechanical Powerhouse

Steam power was a technology born out of the Industrial Revolution, one step ahead of the water wheel. Many of the mechanizations of the steam engine were derived from the cogs and wheels of the water wheel. There are two major reasons why the steam engine became the important technology that it did in history: 1) It did not require a river or exuberant amounts of water to complete its job and 2) it was mobile. The latter of the two was the spring board the steam engine used to become so widely popular. From the implementation into boats and factories to the brand new invention of locomotives, the steam engine was widely adopted throughout the entire world. Steam power became the first cobblestone on the road of technological development as many power-producing ideas are modeled after its basic mechanization.

Relevance to Steampunk

"'Steampunk' is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery...often set in an alternate history of the 19th century's British Victorian era or American "Wild West" (Steampunk)." The study of steam engines and their affect on goods draws from the initial focus on the mechanization in Steampunk novels. Also, the historical time period during which the steam engine was taking hold is described as the "Victorian Era". The submersion of an entire genre of fiction into the dirty, grimy, sooty world of steam power is interesting and clearly ties in with a historical perspective of the engine used to move and produce goods.