The first device that may be classified as a reaction steam turbine was little more than a toy, the classic Aeolipile, described in the 1st century by Hero of Alexandria in Roman Egypt.More than a thousand years later, the first impact steam turbine with practical applications was invented in 1551 by Taqi al-Din in Ottoman Egypt, who described it as a prime mover for rotating a spit. Similar smoke jacks were later described by John Wilkins in 1648 and Samuel Pepys in 1660. Another steam turbine device was created by Italian Giovanni Branca in 1629.
The modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by the Englishman Sir Charles Parsons, whose first model was connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kW of electricity.After the invention of Parson's steam turbine, which made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionised marine transport and naval warfare, the world would never be the same again.His patent was licensed and the turbine scaled-up shortly after by an American, George Westinghouse. A number of other variations of turbines have been developed that work effectively with steam. The de Laval turbine (invented by Gustaf de Laval) accelerated the steam to full speed before running it against a turbine blade. This was good, because the turbine is simpler, less expensive and does not need to be pressure-proof. It can operate with any pressure of steam. It is also, however, considerably less efficient. The Parson's turbine also turned out to be relatively easy to scale-up. Parsons had the satisfaction of seeing his invention adopted for all major world power stations. The size of his generators had increased from his first 7.5 kW set up to units of 50,000 kW capacity. He knew that the total output from turbo-generators constructed by his firm C. A. Parsons and Company and by their licensees, for land purposes alone, had exceeded thirty million horse-power.Within Parson's lifetime the generating capacity of a unit was scaled-up by about 10,000 times.
The modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by the Englishman Sir Charles Parsons, whose first model was connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kW of electricity.After the invention of Parson's steam turbine, which made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionised marine transport and naval warfare, the world would never be the same again.His patent was licensed and the turbine scaled-up shortly after by an American, George Westinghouse. A number of other variations of turbines have been developed that work effectively with steam. The de Laval turbine (invented by Gustaf de Laval) accelerated the steam to full speed before running it against a turbine blade. This was good, because the turbine is simpler, less expensive and does not need to be pressure-proof. It can operate with any pressure of steam. It is also, however, considerably less efficient. The Parson's turbine also turned out to be relatively easy to scale-up. Parsons had the satisfaction of seeing his invention adopted for all major world power stations. The size of his generators had increased from his first 7.5 kW set up to units of 50,000 kW capacity. He knew that the total output from turbo-generators constructed by his firm C. A. Parsons and Company and by their licensees, for land purposes alone, had exceeded thirty million horse-power.Within Parson's lifetime the generating capacity of a unit was scaled-up by about 10,000 times.
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