But when the tweakers took over the efficiency of the steam engine swiftly quadrupled.

NEWYORKER: The Tweaker

James Watt invented the modern steam engine, doubling the efficiency of the engines that had come before.

NEWYORKER: The Tweaker

The efficiency of his design is further improved by using the moving piston to drive water through a special steam nozzle, which increases the effectiveness of the heat transfer between the inside and outside of the reactor.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear power