After a brief meeting with the Duke, Phillip went to his study room in the palace.
Inside, he walked over to the desk and sat at the chair behind it.
The agenda for today is to design a steam engine, the backbone of the industrial revolution.
Prior to the advent of steam engines, people relied on natural forces and physics such as wind, water current, and the mechanical advantage. However, those things could only take civilization far.
Wind and water were unreliable. Mills slowed or stopped depending on weather and season. When rivers froze in winter or winds died down in summer, production suffered. Mechanical advantage—gears, levers, and pulleys—helped, but it only multiplied effort. It could not generate power on its own.
Currently, the world's era is in the pre-industrial period. People in this world had already learned that steam could be harnessed to power machines. But due to it being new and novel, people didn't yet have a keen grasp of its technicalities.
The steam engine worked on the principle of what Phillip knew as the Rankine Cycle. In the simplest terms, water was heated in a boiler until it became steam. That steam, under pressure, was directed into a cylinder, where it pushed a piston. The piston moved up and down, and through rods, cranks, and wheels, its motion could be converted into work—turning gears, pumping water, or spinning shafts.
Phillip leaned over his parchment and began to draw. First, the boiler—a steel shell riveted tight, designed to withstand high pressure. Beside it, he sketched a cylinder and piston, labeling the inlet and outlet valves. Finally, he added a flywheel, a great disk that would smooth the jerking motion of the piston into steady rotation.
He wrote notes in the margin to keep the design clear:
Water in boiler → heated by coal → steam generated.
Steam enters cylinder → pushes piston.
Exhaust steam released → cycle repeats.
Motion transferred to flywheel → continuous rotation.
Unlike the crude engines of Newcomen or Watt, Phillip's advantage lay in his steel. The pistons would not crack after months of use. The boiler could withstand higher pressures without leaking. Valves could be machined tighter, wasting less steam. The whole machine would be stronger, safer, and more efficient.
And once he introduced it, there would be many applications. The first and most immediate was pumping water out of mines. Coal pits and iron mines often flooded, and hundreds of men wasted their days hauling buckets or running crude hand-pumps. A proper steam pump would clear a shaft in hours rather than days, allowing miners to dig deeper and faster.
Then there were machines in workshops. A lathe, for example, was usually powered by a man turning a wheel, or by a horse walking in circles outside. With steam, a single engine could drive multiple lathes, drills, and hammers all at once through belts and shafts. Production of tools, gears, and fittings would rise beyond what muscle alone could achieve.
Mills were another natural customer. Waterwheels had served well, but every dry season brought idle looms and lost profit. With steam, the looms would not rest. Cotton and wool could be spun year-round, rain or shine.
Phillip paused, his quill hovering. He allowed himself a faint smile. Even transport was within reach. Though roads were poor and wagons slow, he knew that engines coupled with steel rails could change everything.
"Okay, let's design the parts step by step," Phillip muttered to himself.
He sketched a rectangle for the boiler, labeling it as the heart of the engine. Around it, he added riveted steel plates and cross-braces for strength. In the corner of the parchment, he wrote:
Boiler size: 5 feet long, 3 feet wide. Capacity: 200 gallons water.
Next, he drew the cylinder—a hollow chamber where steam would push the piston. He carefully measured it out.
Cylinder diameter: 20 inches. Stroke: 3 feet. Material: steel-lined, bolted to base plate.
Above it, he added arrows for valves—one for steam inlet, one for exhaust. He wrote:
Slide valve mechanism → regulates flow of steam in and out. Must be machined tight.
Then came the piston rod, extending out of the cylinder, connected to a crankshaft. From there, he sketched a flywheel about six feet in diameter.
Flywheel → smooths motion, stores energy. Cast from steel, with spokes for weight reduction.
He added a final note at the bottom:
Estimated power output: 20 horsepower.
Enough to replace dozens of men or several teams of horses.
June, 5th, 1778.
Phillip returned to his workshop in Shropshire where he found his men already constructing the second and third Bessemer converters. He had told them to construct another two to increase the production of steel since they anticipated a huge demand from it in the future.
Standing near the yard was Henry Carter, his appointed technical assistant. Henry had been a foreman in Birmingham before Phillip hired him. He was practical, sharp-eyed, and good at managing men when Phillip was away.
"Welcome back, my lord," Henry said, wiping his hands on his apron. "We've set the bases for both converters. Masonry will take another week, but the scaffolds are ready. The first converter is still running smoothly. Yesterday we tapped five tons without trouble."
Phillip nodded, pleased.
Henry followed him inside the shed where the ledgers and sketches lay. Phillip spread out his steam engine designs.
"This," Phillip said, pointing to the parchment, "is our next venture. A machine powered not by water or horses, but by steam itself. Stronger and steadier than any wheel. We will construct a prototype."
"Construct a prototype?" Henry repeated. "You mean now?"
"Do you have a problem with it?" Phillip asked and added. "Our men can handle it."
Henry rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "We can definitely make one prototype if you say so, my Lord. But we are still working on the converter."
Phillip looked at the converter that was still under construction and being worked on by dozen of men.
"I understand this steam engine, I need to know if my design works so that I can adjust accordingly if there are faults. It won't take many men to build this, I just need someone who knows how to work their way on metals."
Henry sighed. "You know I can't refuse you my lord. Very well, let's work on it."