To solve the problem, England turned to its rich deposits of coal. Unfortunately, the mining of coal created its own set of problems, primarily the tendency of water to seep into the lowest reaches of coal mines, making it difficult if not impossible to extract the coal. Some attempts were made to remove the water by using hand-pumps to create vacuums in tubes: the water would then be sucked up the vacuum. Hand-pumping, however, was slow and ultimately ineffectual against the volume of water in the mineshafts.
Inventor and merchant Thomas Savery, of Devonshire, England, aware of experiments with steam and pressure, turned his technical abilities to the creation of a mechanical device for using those properties to raise water. Savery's device involved heating water in a boiler; the boiling water produced steam, which was routed through pipes to a receptacle, which was in turn connected to a suction pipe that extended down into the water to be raised. Once the receiving vessel was filled with steam, it was sprayed with cold water. The sudden cooling of the vessel quickly condensed the steam, creating a vacuum that resulted in a change in atmospheric pressure within the suction tube, forcing water up its length.
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