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beam engine

British  

noun

  1. an early type of steam engine, in which a pivoted beam is vibrated by a vertical steam cylinder at one end, so that it transmits motion to the workload, such as a pump, at the other end

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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In fifth place, with 10% of the votes, was the Crossness Engine House, and the James Watt rotative beam engine.

From BBC • Oct. 6, 2014

Under these circumstances the best form, in the vast majority of cases where machinery must be driven, is undoubtedly the horizontal engine, and the worst the beam engine.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 360, November 25, 1882 by Various

It is a standard American beam engine, with a cylinder 75 inches in diameter and 12 feet stroke of piston, and develops 3,850 horse power.

From The Hudson Three Centuries of History, Romance and Invention by Bruce, Wallace

The only type of steam engine then in existence was the Newcomen beam engine, which had been introduced in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen, also an Englishman.

From Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt by Ferguson, Eugene S.

The contrast between the two steamers was most noticeable, the Rothesay with high walking beam engine and broad skimming dish appearance, with the sea-going ability, and double red funnels of the Chicora.

From A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River by Cumberland, Barlow

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