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| Separate steam condenser - world changing innovation |
Was Steve Jobs’ iPhone a more important innovation than James Watt’s steam engine? The answer to such an apparently flippant term paper question lies in the impact of these two innovations on long-term economic productivity. While Watt’s separate steam condenser allowed the same quantity of mechanical work to be performed with less than half the weight of coal, it can be argued that the iPhone gives us Angry Birds, Facebook on the go and the odd phone call, but as yet not much else.
