‘Hydrogen is used in fuel cells, to refine petroleum, to treat metals, to make fertiliser, and in food processing.’ ‘Steam at very high temperatures is reacted along with methane, from natural gas, landfill gas, or biogas, and a catalyst to make hydrogen. ‘Steam is used in one of the ways of making hydrogen, in a very common and decades old technology called steam reforming,’ says Matilda. More than this, steam can also be used to produce other fuels. ![]() ‘A turbine uses steam that moves over the blades and directly turns a shaft which rotates magnets to create electricity,’ explains Matilda. Wind and solar power are quickly picking up steam but on a global scale, these sources of renewable energy still only make up about a third of sources of power generation.Įven in the 21st century most of the world’s power is generated using steam, whether the fuel is coal, gas, geothermal, nuclear, or futuristic fusion reactors.Īt their core, even the world’s most advanced power plants still use a boiler-a place to heat water and make high pressure steam. Steam turbines are one of the most widely used ways of transferring thermal energy into electricity. ‘As it exits that hole the pressurised water is released back to atmospheric pressure and puffs the dough.’īut what is generating the electricity that enables us to make these delicious snacks? Powering up ‘The mixture is heated with a steam jacket around that cylinder and it is pressurised as it moves along the length of the cylinder. ‘Puffed snacks, my favourite, are made in an extruder-a long cylinder with a twin screw that pushes the cereal and water mixture towards a small outlet hole,’ says Matilda. ‘The cans are bathed in steam for enough time to make sure that any spoilage bacteria within are destroyed.’Īnd steam is not just involved in preservation. ‘Canned food products, like baked beans and peaches, are processed in big pressure cookers called retorts,’ explains Matilda. These are just the low-hanging fruit, as it were, of modern steam use-what about on the industrial scale? The simple act of heating water to steam vegetables might seem mundane but here too is another, often overlooked, use. We Melburnians are known for our love of coffee and it wouldn’t be the same without steam to froth up the milk. ![]() It is true that steam no longer has a such an obvious place in our everyday lives the museum’s collection includes significant historical examples of steam cars, pumps, and what Matilda calls the ‘Steam-powered workhorses of Australia’s agricultural industrialisation’.īut while these uses of steam are no longer with us, the way we use steam has evolved-and continues to do so. In the latter half of the 19th century, steam was the predominant power for transport on rail, road, and sea.Įven at the turn of the 20th century steam power was fighting for supremacy against petrol, diesel, and electric cars (but we all know who won that battle). ‘The industrial use of steam-power really took off after the 1760s with many developments and improvements that created steam engines that were increasingly more efficient, reliable and profitable,’ explains Matilda. ‘It’s used to power our homes, build our manufactured goods, make our pharmaceuticals and foods, and a whole lot more,’ she says.ģ00 years ago, steam was the driving force behind technical innovation. ‘Steam is very much in use in our present, but maybe not as overtly celebrated as the new and powerful technology it once was,’ says Museums Victoria’s curator of engineering, Matilda Vaughan.Ī small part of Matilda’s day job involves looking after the big hulking steam-driven machinery in the museum’s collection, but her fascination with steam extends well beyond its past. It is easy to think of steam as a long-outdated technology-a relic of the Industrial Revolution-but the reality is steam is still a big part of powering our modern world. Henry Thomas Alken's 1828 illustrated prophecy of a steam-filled future may not have come to pass in such an obvious way, but steam is still very much part of our everyday lives.
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