The Watt Steam Engine

The Watt Steam Engine

One of the greatest inventions of the industrial revolution was the Watt steam engine. James Watt improved the steam engine and the steam engine he created impacts my life.

James Watt lived from January 19, 1736 to August 25, 1819. He lived in Greenock, Scotland for a while and then he moved to an area near Birmingham England. One day in Scotland, Watt was repairing a Newcomen steam engine. He found a way to improve it by adding a separate condenser to avoid energy loss. Here is a cool link that shows the steam engine and how it works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/steam-technology3.htm

The main improvement he made included adding a separate condenser to maximize the power output.

James Watt's life was highly impacted by this tool but it has also been highly important for many other people and in many different areas of the industrial revolution, especially in rotary form. Watt's steam engine mainly affected factories, transportation and other steam powered technologies. James watts actions were so powerful that they named the watt after him. A watt is a unit of power. It is measured in one joule per second. A good way to think about it is 750 watts is equal to 1 horsepower.

 This was a major stepping stone on the way to modern engines. By creating this steam engine it allowed different areas of manufacturing to be improved and streamlined the process of many kinds of production. If it weren't for this highly efficient steam engine our modern technologies would not be as advanced and efficient.

James Watt has affected my life in many different ways. He single-handedly changed my transportation options. Transportation plays a huge role in my life because If I did not have a car I could not live the lifestyle I do. James Watt has also impacted the way people think about engine power including the one in the car that my family drives today.

Sites:

http://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Watt

      

http://science.howstuffworks.com/steam-technology3.htm

    

https://prezi.com/1ucecz9gpl_n/james-watt-the-invention-that-changed-the-world/

https://www.google.com/search?q=watt+steam+engine&espv=2&biw=1093&bih=485&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3wp7NgerKAhVU2mMKHe_EDSkQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=DSEgjVE6aD0VqM%3A

Coal and Steam Engines

coal mine

Before 1712, people had to use wood for fuel. The outburst of coal mining started the Industrial Revolution, and men driven by the idea of making profits started to invent steam engines. The first ever steam engine, designed by the Spanish inventor Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont, was patented in 1606. This started a series of non-practical attempts to create steam engines.

Newcomen atmospheric engine

In 1712, the first commercially successful steam engine, Thomas Newcomen’s atmospheric engine, was invented. It was used mainly for pumping water out of mines, and did the work of 20 horses. Operating the Newcomen atmospheric engine was expensive, so James Watt improved on Newcomen’s engine. The Watt steam engine came to be more efficient, and is better known then the Newcomen atmospheric engine today.

Watt steam engine

sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20979973

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coal_mines_industrial_revolution.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcomen_atmospheric_engine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt_steam_engine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine

The Steam Engine

The Steam Engine

Will Harmon

The steam engine was a very important invention. The steam engine powered many things that were important to the people at that time, such as the train, the mill, and the boat. The steam engine came before the combustion engine, which used the some of the same basic principles. The steam powered idea is actually still used in nuclear power plants today. The steam engine was an invention important to the evolution of engines.

Some people recognize inventions by how they looked and what they did, not what they were made of. The train, a very significant invention, is an invention most people look upon as one of the greatest inventions of its time. What most people don't realize, however, is that the train is powered by the steam engine, which is definitely an invention that greatly surpasses the train in importance. The steam engine used in the train and the boat helped people travel much easier and much faster. Without the steam engine, none of these inventions would have ever been invented.

The steam engine was an advanced piece of machinery at its time. It consisted of two main parts: the steam-making device (the boiler) and the machinery. The boiler works by heating up the water so it turns into pressurized steam. The machinery is usually a piston or a turbine that uses the pressure of the steam to turn a shaft. Then, the turning motion of the shaft powers whatever it is connected to.

Here is a very simple diagram of how a steam engine in a train works.

Before the useful version(s) of the steam engine, various people had done experiments with the idea of steam powering something. One of these was the aeophile, a device described by the Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria, which used a ball filled with steam where the steam shot out of angled tubes, rotating the ball. One of the first commercial steam engines was the water pump, first used in the late 1600's. The main era of the steam engine, however, was between the 1800's and the 1900's, when they were mostly used in trains and boats. The steam engine had many important uses back then and even now, when efficient high-tech nuclear-heated engines are in use.

A more complex diagram of how a nuclear reactor uses steam power today.

The steam engine changed how the world got around, used energy, and used resources. It was one giant step toward the way we are today. The steam engine sped up travel extremely fast, and it was a major convenience in many ways. Variations of the steam engine are even still in use today. Without the invention of the steam engine, the world would not be how it is today.

Works Cited

"External Combustion Engines." External Combustion Engine Lesson & Worksheet. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.myschoolhouse.com/courses/O/1/142.asp>.

Gore, Albert. Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2009. Print.

"How Nuclear Power Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power2.htm>.

"Steam Engine." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine>.