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PAPIN'S STEAM ENGINE.
BY PROFESSOR CHARLES A. JOY.
It is a matter of history that, as early as 1688, Denis Papin,
Professor of Physics and Mathematics at the University of Marburg,
proposed to substitute steam for powder in the engine invented by
Huyghens, and that in 1695 he published a description of several new
inventions, in which steam played an important part. The Elector Carl,
of Hesse-Cassel, was anxious to be free from the annoyances and
impositions practised upon his boatmen by the authorities at Muenden,
and he proposed to avoid that city by constructing a canal connecting
the Weser with the river that flowed through Cassel. Much of the work
was accomplished, and the half finished line of the canal can be
traced even at the present day. Papin was authorized to build a
powerful steam pump by which the supply of water was to be regulated.
A working model of this pump was completed; and the Elector was on the
point of visiting the laboratory to witness its operation, when a
fearful explosion frightened the workmen, and afforded an opportunity
for enemies to intrigue for the expulsion of Papin from the country.
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