James Watt

Can you imagine a world without cars , trains , airplanes and especially engines? No we cannot just imagine our civilization without engines. No, we could never progress this far without the help of a engine . So, lets meet the father of the oldest mass produced and used engines also known as “Steam Engine” none other than Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist James Watt.

In the year 1776, James Watt introduced  Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine which led to the industrial revolution in Great Britain and the rest of the world .He took interest in the working of steam engines, when he was working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow.

He introduced the concept of horse power and the S.I. units of power which is watts is named after him.

Invention of Steam engine:

In his working days as an instrument maker in University of Glasgow , one day he was asked to repair the universities own model on Newcomen Steam engine . In his repairing work, he found out that the fault with the model was it was not so much rested in the details of its construction or in its malfunctioning as in its design. He found out that a volume of steam which is three or four times the volume of the piston cylinder was required to make the piston move to the end of the cylinder.The solution Watt provided was to keep the piston at the temperature of the steam (by means of a jacket heated by steam) and to condense the steam in a separate vessel rather than in the piston. Such a separate condenser avoided the large heat losses that resulted from repeatedly heating and cooling the body of the piston, and so engine efficiency was improved.

It took a decade for Watt to solve all the mechanical problems. Black lent him money and introduced him to John Roebuck of the Carron ironworks in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1765 Roebuck and Watt entered into a partnership. However, Watt still had to earn his own living, and his employment as surveyor of canal construction left little time for developing his invention. However, Watt did manage to prepare a patent application on his invention, and the patent was granted on Jan. 5, 1769.

By 1773 Roebuck's financial difficulties brought not only Watt's work on the engine to a standstill but also Roebuck's own business. Matthew Boulton, an industrialist of Birmingham, England, then became Watt's partner, and Watt moved to Birmingham. He was now able to work full time on his invention. In 1775 Boulton accepted two orders to erect Watt's steam engine; the two engines were set up in 1776 and their success led to many other order.

Early Life and Education:

James Watt was the eldest of five surviving children of Agnes Muirhead and James in Greenock , Renfrewshire in Scotland . James watt came from a wealthy and distinguished family , his grandfather,Thomas Watt , taught mathematics; his father , James , was a shipwright, ship owner and contractor and served as the Greenock's chief Baillie in 1751. His mother , Agnes ,came from a distinguished family, was well educated and said to be of forceful character. She taught him to read while his father taught him arithmetic and writing.

James, in his school days excelled at mathematics, science and engineering at high school , but his language skills were less impressive. He is said to have suffered prolonged bouts of ill-health as a child and from frequent headaches all his life.

Watt travelled to London and was able to obtain a period of training as an instrument maker for a year (1755/56), then returned to Scotland, settling in the major commercial city of Glasgow intend on setting up his own instrument-making business. He was still very young and having not had a full apprenticeship did not have the usual connections via a former master to establish himself as a journeyman instrument maker.

James watt made his way out of his financial problems because of the arrival of astronomical instruments from Jamaica, gifted by Alexander Macfarlane to the University of Glasgow, which required expert attention. Watt restored them into working order and was remunerated. These instruments were eventually installed in the Macfarlane Observatory. Subsequently three professors offered him the opportunity to set up a small workshop within the university. It was initiated in 1757 and two of the professors, the physicist and chemist Joseph Black as well as the famous Scottish economist,philosopher  Adam Smith, became Watt's friends.

In 1759 he formed a partnership with John Craig, an architect and businessman, to manufacture and sell a line of products including musical instruments and toys. This partnership lasted for the next six years, and employed up to sixteen workers. Craig died in 1765. One employee, Alex Gardner, eventually took over the business, which lasted into the twentieth century.

It is sometimes falsely stated that he struggled to establish himself in Glasgow due to opposition from the Trades House, but this myth has been thoroughly debunked by the historian, Lumsden. The records from this period are lost but it is known that he was able to work and trade completely normally as a skilled metal worker so the Incorporation of Hammermen must have been satisfied that he met their requirements for membership. It is also known that other people in the metal trades were pursued for working without being members of the Incorporation well into the 19th century, so the rules were definitely being enforced when Watt was trading freely throughout the city.

Discoveries and Inventions:

It has been believed and proved the Industrial revolution was started due to inventions and discoveries made by James Watt.Some of them are:

1. Steam engine

2. Copy press

3. James Watt did not invent the steam engine, he only improved it. When he registered a patent for his invention, the document stated that he created the steam engine.

4. In 1782, the mechanic created a dual-action machine that allowed the steam machine to increase its productivity up to four times.

5. Watt patented his steam hammer in 1784. This invention consisted of a flywheel and a conventional lever hammer.

6. A patent for a copy press was filed in 1780. It was a box with compartments for pens and pencils, as well as a ruler, paper, and a special compartment for transfer paper. Stock material was enough for 24 copies.

7. Watt invented copy ink.

8. He was the first person to propose that water was made of hydrogen combined with oxygen.

Achievement :

1. Some of the achievement made by the father of Industrial revolution James Watt are:

2. Watt invented copy ink.

3. He was the first person to propose that water was made of hydrogen combined with oxygen.

4. Watt was elected to the honorary members of the following communities – the Royal Society in Edinburgh, the Philosophical Society in Rotterdam, the Lunar Society in Birmingham, and the Community of the French Academy.

5. Watt Refused the Title of ‘Baron’

Death:

James Watt died in 1819, aged 83. His mental power had not declined. His mind was razor sharp to the end.There are statues of him in Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, and Birmingham. He also had several streets named after him in Greenock.