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The prime problems of the early steam engine were threefold:

1) it was relatively inefficient, with a very poor energy conversion ratio (that is, the amount of potential energy stored in the fuel vs the amount of energy actually usable for work)

2) it needed to be quite large; and it used fuel that was of lower-energy density than later designs.

3) early steam engines could be rather dangerous, as they produced a large quantity of dense smoke and particulate matter, and were prone to explosions due to over-pressure flaws in their steam chambers.

However, modern-day steam engines (generally, a steam turbine) are some of the most efficient, compact, and safe forms of power generation available.

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