Wobbler Engine
The initial discovery of steam power dates back to the First Age, but for a long time, it remained a neat quirk, used only for parlor tricks and the likes, but a few centuries ago, true steam power, which could be used at an industrial scale, became widespread, thanks to the invention and subsequent mass adoption of the wobbler engine.
Discovery
The first wobbler engine was invented in the province of Lorasia, of the Esnian empire, in the year 319 bc. The goal was to create a machine capable of pumping water out of a flooded mine-shaft. This used to be done manually with mages or with a manually powered pump, which was expensive and/or time consuming. The mine in question was a tin mine that was very important to the Empire, and so the Emperor at the time contracted and sponsored a bunch of people to come up with a mechanical solution that wouldn't require costly manual labour. The first engine was created 3 months later.Access/Availability
Wobbler engines are somewhat common, as they are found in numerous locations throughout Hysal, especially concentrated in larger cities, where they power various things, such as draw-bridges, water pumps and aqueducts, and of course Winged ships. However, as they are expensive and time consuming to make, one cannot just buy one one from the nearest blacksmith. They have to be pre-ordered with specific specs to fit whatever role the client wants it to fulfill.Complexity
Unlike other steam engines patents which have seen little to no use, the wobbler engine is compact, easier to manufacture and to operate. The engine's main components are the piston, the crankwheel and the crank shaft connected to the wheel and the piston rod.Operation
These engines function by timing the injection of steam into the cylinder, which pushes the piston inside outwards, turns the wheel it is connected to by the crank shaft, and forces the cylinder to oscilate in the opposite direction, releasing the steam into a condenser, allowing the piston to reenter the cylinder. Then, the cycle repeats.Utility
Because of its small size and fuel efficiency (it requires much less water than other, larger steam engine models), the wobbler engine is used extensively inside Winged ships, mainly to power their propellers. They are also used as pumps in mines, quarries, and also in some cities, especialy in regions that used to be under the Essanian empire's control, to pump water into their aqueducts, or to lift draw-bridges, or even @funicfuniculars, like in the City of Sargassin, of course with the help of gears and chains.
Manufacturing
These machine are somewhat hard to make, especialy by non-Metalmage individuals, but even they need experience and time to master their craft. One metal mage working alone can make about one engine per week, provinded they have all the available material, and work full days.
Social Impact
Wobbler engines, and all of the technology that came out their invention, or that were improved by them, brought the world out of the technological stagnation that was prevalent in the Second Age and into the steam power age. Although the changes are slow, largely localised and concentrated in largest and richest cities, and not always strictly positive, they also aren't reversable. The world is slowly but surely marching towards industrialisation.
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