34. In 1712, $\qquad$ obtained the patent for the first steam engine. In the 18th century, Watt improved the steam engine, making it widely popular.
A. Hero
B. Newcomen
C. Thomas $\cdot$ Savery
D. Robert - Fulton
【Answer】B
【Analysis】Newcomen, Thomas was a British engineer and one of the inventors of the steam engine. The atmospheric steam engine he invented was the predecessor of Watt's steam engine. Newcomen received only elementary education in his childhood and worked as a blacksmith in his youth. In the 1780s, he partnered with Calley to operate an ironware business, and later they jointly developed the steam engine, obtaining a patent for "condensing steam below the piston and connecting the piston to the connecting rod to produce motion" in 1705. Thereafter, Newcomen continued to improve the steam engine and in 1712, he first produced a practical atmospheric steam engine, known as the Newcomen steam engine. This steam engine had a cylinder piston diameter of 30.48 cm, reciprocated 12 times per minute, and had a power output of 5.5 horsepower. However, it had low thermal efficiency and high fuel consumption, making it suitable only for places with abundant fuel, such as coal mines. The Newcomen steam engine was widely used for more than 60 years and was the first practical steam engine, laying the foundation for the subsequent development and improvement of steam engines.