Steam digester

[1] The steam-release valve, which was invented for Papin's digester following various explosions of the earlier models, inspired the development of the piston-and-cylinder steam engine.

From this, through various experiments, they formulated what is called Boyle's law, which states that the volume of a body of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to its pressure.

Based on these concepts in 1679 Boyle's associate, Denis Papin, built a bone digester, which is a closed vessel with a tightly fitting lid that confines steam until a high pressure is generated.

By watching the valve rhythmically moving up and down, Papin conceived the idea of a piston and cylinder engine.

[4] Boyle speaks of Papin as having gone to England in the hope of finding a place in which he could satisfactorily pursue his favorite studies.