What does the term steam powered mean?

Answer 1

Steam powered literally means powered by steam. In 1712 Thomas Newcomen developed the first steam engine in which steam is let into a cylinder, then condensed, the resulting vacuum pulling the piston into the cylinder. James Watt improved on the design by adding a separate condenser. Richard Trevithick pioneered high pressure steam, where steam under pressure forces the piston up the cylinder rather than relying on atmospheric pressure to push it into the cylinder as in Newcomen's engines. Sir Charles Parsons brought steam power into the modern era with his invention of the steam turbine in 1884.