|
|
| Scottish
engineer who developed the steam engine in the 1760s. He made Thomas Newcomen's steam engine vastly more efficient by cooling the used steam in a condenser separate from the main cylinder. Steam engines incorporating governors, sun-and-planet gears, and other devices of his invention were successfully built by him in partnership with Matthew Boulton and were vital to the Industrial Revolution. Watt also devised the horsepower as a description of an engine's rate of working. Watt was born in Greenock (now in Strathclyde) and trained as an instrumentmaker. Between 1767 and 1774, he made his living as a canal surveyor. In 1775 Boulton and Watt went into partnership and manufactured Watt's engines at the Soho Foundry, near Birmingham. In 1782 Watt improved his machine by making it drive on both the forward and backward strokes of the piston, and a sun-and-planet gear produced rotary motion. This highly adaptable engine was quickly adopted by cotton and woollen mills. Watt also invented artistic instruments and a chemical copying process for documents.0 |