Stages of Technological Development and Adoption

A quick outline on how new technologies emerge, slowly going from technically functional devices only really useful as proofs of concept and testbeds and gradually gaining utility as time went on until they become widespread. The rate at which they go through said stages varies. In the context of steam power it took about 1800 years to go from Hero's Aeolipile to widespread usage in the industrial revolution, when iron casting had reached the point to make it really practical. In the modern world this is usually a matter of a few decades.

The images come from the same universe as these guys. They would be from the year 1000 of the Imperial Era, 500 years before the age of steam dawned in this world.

The steam paddlewheel affair is based off the Aeolipile in a loose sense. Since i'm not an engineer I sort of cheated out and copy pasted the design of the Newcomen Engine in for Stage 2.