Exploring the Life and Times of James Watt

James Watt FRS FRSE (19January 1736) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist. Watt improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, resulting in a new engine which was fundamental to the Industrial Revolution.

Watt first became interested in the technology of steam engines while working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy through repeatedly cooling and reheating the main cylinder. To resolve this issue, Watt introduced a new design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines.

Watt entered a partnership with Matthew Boulton in 1775 and the new firm of Boulton and Watt was highly successful. In his retirement, Watt continued to develop new inventions though none was as significant as his steam engine work. Perhaps most famously, he developed the concept of horsepower, and the SI unit of power, the watt, is named after him.

In this James Watt documentary we're exploring the life and times of James Watt

Some images sourced from Wikicommons (commons.wikimedia.org).

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