Steam Power

Overview

Steam has been a power source for the Corsian Empire since its beginning. Irongate was founded nearby a geothermally active location, which bubbled with natural hot springs and geysers. A major step forward in the history of the Corsian Empire came in the construction of a Geyser Control Building. This building was built over the largest geyser in Irongate, and allowed the people of the city access to regular supplies of hot water and steam. In time, enterprising individuals made use of this source of energy to construct simple technologies; such as heaters, whistles and signals. Nothing of groundbreaking importance was developed however until the advent of steam-powered machinery during the era commonly referred to as the Age of Discovery. By the time pistons and regulators had been invented, bringing the industrial revolution to Corsia, citizens had begun to make steam part of everyday life. This heavy dependence on steam was too great in comparison to the amount produced and piped by the old dying geysers of Irongate and to this end, the Great Central Boiler (GCB) was constructed in the Gatla district near the centre of the capital city by the Corsian Government to give the people of Irongate a plentiful source of steam power. The GCB consumes very little fuel-burning mostly Thermium - however, coal is kept in plentiful supply as a backup source of combustion in case of emergency. The boiler provides a constant source of pressurised steam for the citizens of Irongate which is piped throughout the city. Three huge boilers work day and night, with water sourced from mountain streams, table pumps, and run-off from condensation points.

Nowadays, most industries and stand-alone areas tend to have a local industrial-sized flash boilers, but city blocks and fixtures rely on steam piped underground. A mere decade ago the predominant use of the steam was to power the large machinery of the various industries lining the shores of the industrial sectors of the city, this changed as urban development projects increased the value of properties throughout the city and subsequently local taxation rates for infrastructure. Many manufacturing industries have since re-established themselves in locations such as Fenton. Nowadays steam is mostly used in a domestic sense for cooking, hot water, powering modest Clockwork contraptions, and for general heating of rooms. Examples of steam-powered machinery include most doors which open and close by a piston with a regulator operating the system and an elevator. For heating, a simple radiator has hot steam flowing through it to heat the air.

Steam has become so common now to the lives of Corsians, other sources of power are rarely even thought about. Some forward-thinking individuals have thought of utilising more exotic Advanced technologies for powering transportation and even communication, but not much effort has been made in either field.

History of Steam Power

The history of steam power began in the town of Tatunea (now Irongate) around the year 900BU. While it's possible that the earlier settlers and visitors to the island made use of the geothermal activity there, archaeological evidence only begins in this period. Living amongst the natural flows of steam and water, the [[proto-corsia | proto-corsians]] became accustomed to their usefulness. The earliest use of steam known to history took place in a small stream near the town of Vinhurst, where a archeological excavation revealed a medicinal or hygienic steam bathhouse constructed above an ancient geyser vent.

One of the oldest surviving buildings in Irongate is the old Geyser Control Building. Surviving records and archaeological efforts date this building’s foundations to early 300BU, although much of the remaining building was constructed during the Age of Kings under Gregory the Great’s command. This building was built over the largest geyser in Irongate, which has since weakened to a hot spring. The building originally worked by a series of counterweights, wooden valves, and pipes that would restrict the geysers flow when it was active and conserve it otherwise. Later on, this system was replaced with a deep borehole and pipe that directly vented the steam upward. The building was Irongate's first source of regular steam, and it helped solidify the use of the vapour in Corsian life. It is believed ‘The Pillar’ was the first building to utilise a steam-powered mechanism in its construction due to the proximity to the geyser control building.

During the Rythian Occupation, steam power began to take on a more important role. Writing in 438AU, visiting Rythia | Rythian botanist Archwent Niles wrote:

I have found that the people of Irongate take a keen interest in the natural phenomenons of their earth. The townsfolk can be spied collecting waters from the hot springs that well up there for use in their homes. More interestingly some of the larger natural vents have pipes I deem to be of copper or some similar metal placed within their depths for collecting the evaporated waters there. Curious as to their purpose I was informed that the people use the vapours for heating their homes and for anointing their temples."

During this period steam took on a religious role as described above. While this connotation has almost entirely disappeared, some historians have posited that it slowed the use of steam as a source of work due to the sacred ties. While steam was used extensively for heating and other domestic roles, it would soon take on a much larger role in the lives of Corsians.

It was during [[Hartford V]]'s reign that Corsia underwent its [[industrial revolution]]. From 1231-1304 the sudden and relentless rise of steam technology basted through the land, accelerating Corsia above all it's neighbours. During this period, steam became the power of the time. The creation of the first steam engine by [[Nicole Chambers]] in 1229 began this revolution, and it was only a few years before Hartford V ordered the construction of the [[Great Central Boiler|GCB]] to provide abundant steam to Corsia. Although the building took many decades to complete and many further years to become operational, the advance of steam power could not be slowed. In 1284 the first steam-powered ship left Irongate, followed closely by the first airship in 1286. [[Waylength Grastus]] constructed [[Sunset (airship) | his first airship]] in 1297, and the [[The Corsian Armed Forces | CAF]] began equipping soldiers with [[steam powered weaponry]] in 1302.

The most important revolution to occur in the history of steam power since has been the adoption of [[Thermium]] as a fuel source. Imperial Industrial Company | IIC engineers first presented the mineral to the [[Irongate University]] in 1259, and it was immediately put to use, with great effect, in the GCB. Thermium was an extremely fortunate break for the Empire, as it solved many problems associated with steam power: the fuel, time required to heat boilers, and the size of the equipment. Using only a small amount of the mineral a powerful and portable boiler could easily be rigged, and all who could afford it replaced coal with the substance. However, after the [[Corsian Industries act of 1291]] the government placed large taxes on thermium and banned export, ensuring that only the largest Corsian companies can buy industrial quantities of the mineral and other neighbouring nations would be limited.

Modern Applications

Domestic

Modern Corsian homes, whether they be stand-alone houses or apartment buildings, will almost all have a steam heater in at least the lounge and bedrooms. Older Irongate homes may feature the older style steam radiators. In addition, many doors to homes of shops contain steam opening mechanisms, that can be shut off from inside for security from thieves. Again, this is technology based on tradition.

Industrial

Industrial use of steam power is incredibly widespread. Any sort of machinery present in any Corsian factory will undoubtedly run on steam. Crushers, rollers, anything with moving parts will be driven by an engine run on Steam. Most factories will have their boilers and independent steam lines, and many run-on thermium rather than coal. Industry was the sector of life most affected by steam technology, with craft shops and other smaller workshops being almost entirely replaced by mechanised, efficient factories.

Transport

The use of steam engines allows faster and cheaper transport around the Empire. While many people still make use of horses and other animal transportation, it is increasingly common to see newly invented [[Automobiles | automobiles]] around many city streets. However these vehicles are expensive and require [[Flashboilers | flash boilers]] to run, so many more people make use of train or tram transport to get around. The use of steam-powered trains has been an absolute boon for the Corsian Empire, allowing the quick exchange of goods and people from towns that used to take months to travel between. [[Airships]] go where trains cannot, and although they are slower they can often carry more. As airships get larger and larger, their propulsion methods remain mostly the same, steam engines driving propellers. Ships of the water also utilise steam engines to power through the treacherous waters of the world's oceans.

Military

The Corsian Armed Forces have made use of steam power as well. While the developments into steam-powered cannons as a replacement for [[explosive powder]] have been disappointing, the CAF still maintains a small force of steam mortars and cannon for experimental purposes. Steam power has been used to create and operate the [[Perthshire MKII Cannon]], as aiming and loading mechanisms. The CAF also contains some rudimentary steam powered vehicles however these lightly armored contraptions are unable to be deployed at this time as they cannot cross rough terrain and often bog down due to their weight. Infantry are sometimes equipped with [[steam powered weaponry]], namely the rifle which can shoot an enemy further away and more accurately than a crossbow. They are relatively quiet and cheap to produce and maintain. Oftentimes these weapons are used by peacekeeping forces facing weakly armed militia, or, when loaded with explosive bolts, as airship weaponry.

Foreign

Although the secrets of steam power quickly reached the ears of those in other nations, many of them did not have the required social or industrial situations to make much use of the emerging technology for a long time. The [[Ziran islands]] were the first to make use of steam engines in their invention of airships, but it wasn't until the 1320's that the other nations began picking up steam. Corsia maintains a technological advantage over its neighbours by its application of steam power, and especially by its use of Thermium, which is impossible to obtain in any other nation due to the tight control of the mineral and its refining process. To make matters worse for other nations, promising engineers most often migrate to Corsian lands to put their skills to use where they have access to the latest technology and techniques.