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A steamboat uses a steam engine similar to those on a steam locomotive. An external wood or coal fire heats water in a boiler, and the pressure of its expansion into steam is used to turn a shaft that is connected to paddlewheels, or to a propeller blade.

Steamboats were the first alternative to sailing vessels, and replaced them as the major form of marine vessels. Modern steam turbines (invented in 1884) continue to be used for the generation of electricity worldwide.

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14y ago

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