Steam is powerful stuff. I first figured that out when I burned my face trying to find out where all of those bubbles were coming from in a boiling pot. But steam isn't just an evil spirit protecting the secret of the bubbles, steam can be harnessed to do great things. From the steam engine to nuclear reactors, steam directed toward a worthwhile goal is a fairly recent application considering the history of steam.
The first recorded steam engine was way back in the first century A.D. in Greece.
An aeolipile, a.k.a. spinning ball face-burner.
This thing was only for fun and to show off the properties of steam. Whee! But finally, after 1600 years this novelty became useful in the invention of the steam engine in 1690. Wow. That is a really long time. Fascinating compared to the principle of human flight. Think of it. The first recorded instance of human "flight" was a parachute-assisted fall from an observatory in 1783. Less than 200 hundred years later, we
landed on the moon! Do you realize how awesome that is?
So the question I have is what do we have now that is not living up to its potential? What area of science or technology is going to change the world next? We have a few candidates, from new medicines or telecommunication. What do you think? I think anything is better than getting your face melted off by vaporized water.
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