British one watt information

James watt (173665438+1October19-1865438+August 25th, 2009) was a British inventor and an important figure in the first industrial revolution.

1776 made the first practical steam engine. After a series of major improvements, it has become a "universal prime Mover" and has been widely used in industry. He opened up a new era of energy utilization for mankind and made mankind enter the "age of steam". In memory of this great inventor, later generations set the unit of power as "Watt" (abbreviated as "Watt", symbol W).

family background

James watt's studio at the London Science Museum.

James watt was born in greenock, a port town in Clyde Bay near Glasgow.

Watt's father is a skilled shipbuilding worker who owns his own boat and shipbuilding workshop. He is also an official in the town. Watt's mother Agnes Muerhead was born in a noble family and received a good education. They all belong to the Presbyterian church and are firm vows. Although Watt came from a religious family, he later became a deist.

When Watt was a child, he didn't have much time to go to school because of his weak body. The main education is carried out by his mother at home. Watt has shown exquisite practical ability and mathematical talent since he was a child, and has accepted many Scottish folklore and stories.

Early experience

When Watt 17 years old, his mother died and his father's business began to decline. Watt spent a year as an apprentice in an instrument repair shop in London, and then returned to Glasgow, Scotland to open his own repair shop. Although there was no similar repair shop in Scotland at that time, his application for opening a shop was rejected by the Hammer Association in Glasgow (which manages all craftsmen who use hammers) because he did not make the required 7-year apprenticeship.

Watt left Scotland on 1755 and went to London to seek training as an instrument maker. John morgan of Conseil accepted him.

learning experience

1757, Professor of Glasgow University provided Watt with an opportunity to open a small repair shop in the university, which helped Watt out of the predicament. One of the professors, physicist and chemist Joseph Black, became Watt's friend and mentor.

1757, the University of Glasgow appointed Watt as its official "manufacturer of mathematical instruments" and arranged a workshop on campus.

Improved steam engine

Steam engine invented by Watt (model)

Five years after the opening of Watt's shop, under the guidance of his friend Professor Robinson, Watt began to experiment with steam engines. Up to now, Watt had never seen a working steam engine with his own eyes, but he began to build his own steam engine model. The initial experiment failed, but he insisted on continuing the experiment and read all the information he could find about the steam engine, and independently discovered the importance of latent heat (although this was discovered by Professor Black a few years ago, but Watt didn't know it at that time).

1763, Watt learned that there was a newcomen steam engine in Glasgow University, but it was being repaired in London. He asked the school to take it back and fix it himself. The repaired steam engine can barely work, but its efficiency is very low. Watt found through a lot of experiments that the reason of low efficiency is that every time the piston pushes, the steam in the cylinder should be condensed first, and then heated for the next push, so that 80% of the heat of the steam is spent on maintaining the cylinder temperature.

1763-1765w designed a condenser, which solved the problem of low efficiency in the maintenance of Newcomen pump. Roebuck used Watt's invention in business.

1765, Watt made key progress. He thought of separating the condenser from the cylinder, so that the temperature of the cylinder can be kept at the temperature of steam injection, and on this basis, he quickly built a model that can run continuously.

But there is still a long way to go to build a real steam engine. First of all, money. Professor Black offered some help, but more support came from John roebuck. Roebuck is a successful entrepreneur and the owner of the famous Kalun Steel Plant. Under the sponsorship of roebuck, Watt started the trial production of a new steam engine and became a partner of the new company. The main difficulty in trial production lies in the processing and manufacturing technology of piston and cylinder. At that time, steel workers were more like blacksmiths than mechanics, so the manufacturing results were not ideal. In addition, because the relevant patent applications at that time required the approval of Congress, most of the funds were spent on relevant procedures. Due to the shortage of funds, Watt had to find another job and worked as a canal surveyor for eight years. Later, roebuck went bankrupt, and the related patents were taken over by matthew boulton, the owner of a foundry in Birmingham. Watt and Bolton started their successful cooperation for 25 years.

Through the cooperation with Bolton, Watt got better equipment funds and technical support, especially in processing and manufacturing technology. One of the main difficulties in manufacturing a new steam engine is the close cooperation between the piston and the big cylinder, which was finally solved by John Wilkinson. When he improved the manufacture of artillery, he put forward a new precision drilling technology, which can be used in the manufacture of steam engines.

1774 watt put his steam engine into production. 1776, Bolden-watt steam engine first showed its working state to the public in Boromfield Coal Mine.

1776, the first batch of new steam engines were successfully manufactured and applied to actual production. These steam engines are mainly used for water pumps because they can only provide reciprocating linear motion. In the next five years, Watt won a large number of orders and was busy running between mines to install pumps driven by this new steam engine.

At Bolton's request, Watt began to study how to convert the linear reciprocating motion of the steam engine into circular motion, so that the steam engine can provide power for most machines. An obvious solution is crank drive, but the patent owner, John Steed, asked to share the patent of the separation condenser before Watt at the same time, which Watt firmly refused.

178 1 year, William Murdoch, an employee of Watt Company, invented the crank gear transmission system named "Sun and Planet" and successfully applied for a patent in the name of Watt. The invention avoids the limitation of crank patent and greatly expands the application of steam engine.

In the following six years, Watt made a series of improvements to the steam engine and obtained a series of patents: he invented a two-way cylinder, which enabled steam to enter and exit from both ends, thus pushing the piston to move in two directions, instead of just pushing it in one direction as before; Using throttle valve and centrifugal throttle valve to control the air pressure and the operation of steam engine; An air pressure indicator was invented to indicate the steam condition; A three-link mechanism was invented to ensure the linear motion of the cylinder push rod and the air pump. Worried about the danger of explosion and leakage, Watt's early steam engines used low-pressure steam, and later introduced high-pressure steam. All these innovations combine to make Watt's new steam engine five times more efficient than that of newcomen in the past.

1782 watt bidirectional steam engine was patented, and in the same year he invented a standard unit: horsepower.

After 1785, Watt's improved steam engine was first put into use in the textile sector and was widely welcomed.

1794, Watt and Bolton set up a company specializing in manufacturing steam engines. Under the successful management of Bolton, 1 165 steam engine was produced by 1824. Watt and Bolton both made a lot of money. [ 1]

Step into old age

Watt had many other inventions before he semi-retired. For example, he invented a new method of telescope ranging, a new printing method, an improved oil lamp, a steam drum and a mechanical drawing coloring method that continues to this day.

The cooperation between Watt and Bolton expired in 1800 and retired in the same year. However, their cooperation continued to the next generation. Matthew boulton and George W. james watt continued to cooperate, and at the same time, William Murdoch was hired as a partner, which ensured the continued success of the company. After retirement, Watt and his second wife went to France and Germany and bought a house in Wales.

On August 25th, 2009, 83-year-old Watt died at his home in Huntsworth, Staffordshire, England. [ 1]