The
Watt steam engine (alternatively known as the
Boulton and Watt steam engine) was the first type of
steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above
atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a
partial vacuum. Improving on the design of the 1712
Newcomen engine, the Watt steam engine, developed sporadically from 1763 to 1775, was the next great step in the development of the steam engine. Watt's invention was a key point in the Industrial Revolution.