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What was the primary purpose of Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric engine, the first practical fuel-burning engine?

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Correct answer: Draining water from deep coal mines

Introduced in 1712, Newcomen's engine was specifically designed to pump water out of flooded coal mines. Before this invention, miners relied on expensive teams of horses to haul water buckets up. Surprisingly, these early engines were incredibly inefficient, consuming massive amounts of coal, but because they were situated directly at coal mines, fuel was cheap and readily available. Photo: Emoscopes, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5.

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Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

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