THE STEAM TURBINE ON LAND AND AT SEA 
By Hon. CHARLES A. Parsons, C. B., M. A., D. Se, F. R. S., M. R. I. 
It was with some diffidence that I accepted the subject of steam 
turbines on land and at sea for this evening’s lecture, for since I had 
the privilege of dealing with this subject six years ago in this room, 
there seemed to me to be very little new to add, either from a scientific 
or a practical point of view, which had not then been to some extent 
considered. However, after consideration, there seemed to be a hope 
that an account of some further developments during the last six 
years on land and on sea, and a more extended description of the 
mechanics of the turbine and its applications, might prove of some 
interest, in view of the more general adoption of the turbine principle 
for the generation of electricity, for the propulsion of vessels, and 
for driving air-compressors, fans, and pumps. 
Six years ago there were 75,000 horsepower of turbines on land, 
and 25,000 on sea. At the present time there are more than 2,000,000 
horsepower at work on land and 800,000 horsepower at work or build- 
ing for use at sea. 
There are at present afloat, equipped with turbines, three pleasure 
steamers, nine cross-channel steamers, five ocean-going vessels, three 
Atlantic liners, six yachts, three destroyers, and two cruisers. 
Yet it can not be said that the turbine engine is superseding the 
reciprocating engine generally, although this is undoubtedly to some 
extent the case in certain fields of work. 
On land the chief application of the turbine is found in large elec- 
trical generating stations, and its adoption in preference to the piston 
engine, in its most perfect development of compound, triple, or 
quadruple expansion engine, is becoming general in this field of work. 
At sea, its use is commencing to extend for all the larger and 
faster class of ships; for cross-channel steamers it has found great 
favor, and for Atlantic liners and ships of war it is being used to a 
7Paper read before the Royal Institution of Great Britain at its weekly 
evening meeting, Friday, May 4, 1906. Reprinted, by permission, from the 
Transactions of the Royal Institution. 
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