James Watt Inventions

If you are a science enthusiast and love to learn about inventions and discoveries, you must have known or even heard of the name ‘James Watt’. James Watt was an inventor, engineer, and scientist from the 18th century. Born on January 19th, 1736, in Greenock, Scotland, James Watt was a Scottish instrument maker whose contribution to the invention of the steam engine was a great highlight of the Industrial Revolution. 

In this article, we will go through James Watt’s fun facts and learn about the life of this great and revolutionary inventor.

James Watt Biography

James came from a well-educated and successful family. His father used to build ships and his mother used to teach him arithmetics and writing. In high school, James excelled in the subjects of mathematics and science. At the age of 17, James Watt decided to be a mathematical-instrument maker. He went to London where he found a master to train him. 

A Portrait of James Watt

But his health broke down within a year, and he returned to Glasgow in 1757, where he opened a shop. Here, he made mathematical instruments like scales, quadrants, and compasses. During the course of the coming years, he met many scientists, physicists, and inventors. 

James Watt’s Inventions, Contributions, and Discoveries

Being one of the most popular names of the Industrial Revolution, James Watt contributed a lot of ideas that led to the inventions of the modern age. The ‘James Watt steam engine’, was his most highlighted work in the history of the Industrial Revolution. James Watt’s invention list is a long one as he contributed to varied fields. 

While making improvements on the Newcomen steam engine, he studied the current inefficient design of the engine. He studied the properties of the steam and worked on ways to save energy from the steam that was being lost in the old process. During this time, his first patent on the new design was awarded in 1769.

James Watt also had other noteworthy inventions to his name. He developed the rotary engine which had many different applications. He also invented the double action engine that helped in injecting steam into both ends of the cylinder, making it more efficient. His inventions in the field of science earned him 5 patents. 

James Watt Inventions List

Following is the list of James Watt inventions:

• Steam engine

• Flexible water main

• Letter-copying press – an early kind of photocopier

• Machine for copying sculpture

• 'Micrometre' for measuring distances

• Perspective drawing machine

Fun Facts About James Watt

• Improvements in the Steam Engine

Many people think that James Watt invented the steam engine. In fact, it wasn’t him who invented the steam engine from scratch. In 1764, while he was repairing a model Newcomen steam engine, he noticed its waste of steam. While solving this problem, he came up with a solution of a separate condenser. In the following few years, he improved it to its high capacity. 

Steam Engine

• Inspired by a Boiling Kettle

It is said that by seeing a kettle boiling, James Watt was inspired to invent the steam engine. He observed the steam pressure forcing the lid to rise. When James was trying to understand the concepts of thermodynamics of heat and steam, he carried out a bunch of laboratory experiments. While conducting the experiments, he used a kettle as a boiler to generate the steam.   

• One of the Earliest Civil Engineers

James Watt was also a noted civil engineer. As a civil engineer, he contributed to making several surveys of canal routes. 

• Unit of Measuring Power

You must have come across the unit Watt. It is a common unit of measurement of electrical and mechanical power. It was named in honour of James Watt in 1960. The capacity of most of the electrical devices that we see around us is measured in watts. He also gave the concept of horsepower. In physics, one horsepower is numerically equal to 746 watts.

Summary

In this article, we learned a lot about James Watt’s life. While going through James Watt’s biography, we read about his early life and his interests and curiosities in the fields of mathematics and science. His inventions and contributions to many noteworthy discoveries made him renowned as the Father of the Industrial Revolution. We came across James Watt’s fun facts, interesting stories, and noteworthy dedication in his life as an inventor, engineer as well as a scientist. We learned about James watt’s inventions and biography as well. We hope you enjoyed reading this article, in case of any queries, feel free to ask in the comments.