The earliest windmill, a mechanical machine that uses wind to do work, requires a wind turbine. The earliest windmill was a simple wind generator invented by an ancient Persian slave named Abu Rohra. In 650 BC, Rolla swore to people that he had figured out a way to use wind as power to replace animal power. His oath aroused the interest of slave owners. The slave owner decided to let Laura give it a try. So this clever slave finally built the world's first windmill. Rolla's windmill was a tower-like structure made of bricks with two large vents in its walls. There is a large rotating shaft inside, with wind blades woven from reeds mounted on the shaft. The wind comes in from one vent, pushes the blades to rotate, and then goes out from the other vent. This kind of windmill is suitable for places where wind and snow are relatively constant all year round. Later, windmills were widely used in Persia. In 950 AD, two Islamic geographers traveled to Persia. They were amazed by this pioneering work of harnessing wind power and recorded these experiences in the annals of history.
One day in the early 17th century, Hans Lippershey, the owner of an optical shop in a small Dutch town, lined up a convex lens and a concave lens in order to check the quality of the ground lenses. , looking through the lens, I found that the church spire in the distance seemed to become larger and closer, so I accidentally discovered the secret of the telescope. In 1608, he applied for a patent for the telescope he made and complied with the authorities' request to build a pair of binoculars. It is said that dozens of opticians in the town claimed to have invented the telescope, but Liebersch is generally believed to be the inventor of the telescope.
James Watt (1736～1819) was a British inventor and engineer. Born on January 19, 1736 in Greenock, a small town in Scotland. He was frail and sickly since he was a child, and was educated by his parents. His father was a craftsman with a variety of skills. Influenced by his father, Wattett had the interest and talent for experimentation since he was a child. Legend has it that when he was a child, he blocked the spout of a pot with a cloth and saw that the power of steam pushed the lid open. This phenomenon inspired his spirit of exploration. Later, he studied at Greenock Grammar School. Due to poor health, he dropped out and studied at home. He often went to factories with his father to learn the techniques of making mechanical models and instruments, and to conduct chemical and electrical experiments. Relying on the spirit of humbly studying and studying hard, he completed the "Principles of Physics" at the age of 15 and acquired rich craft skills such as woodworking, metal smelting and processing. In 1753 he learned the trade in his family's clock shop. In 1753, he became an apprentice with the famous mechanic Morgan. After hard study and hard practice, he has been able to make more difficult quadrants, compasses, theodolite, etc. In 1756, he became an instrument repairman at the University of Glasgow, which was a turning point in his life. On the one hand, the school has relatively complete instruments and equipment and advanced technology, creating good technical conditions for his work. More importantly, he met famous scholars such as the British chemist and physicist J. Blake here. He could often discuss theoretical and technical issues of improving steam engines with them, and learned a lot of scientific theoretical knowledge from them. This had a great influence on his later invention work.
When Watt was repairing the Newcomen steam engine in 1764, he carefully studied the working principle of this heat engine and the crux of its high coal consumption and low efficiency. Inspired by J. Blake's latent heat theory, he found the reason for the large coal consumption and low efficiency of the Newcomen steam engine. That is, when the cylinder expands gas and condenses water, it heats up and cools down, losing a lot of heat. Watt invented the split condenser in 1765, which separated the condensation process from the cylinder. The invention of the condenser played a key role in the development of the steam engine. In 1768, he built a single-action steam engine (the piston pushes in one direction to produce work). This steam engine also adopted various new measures such as setting up an insulation layer outside the cylinder and lubricating the piston with oil, which greatly reduced steam consumption and coal consumption. The capacity is only 1/4 of the Newcomen machine, and the action is faster. In 1776, this kind of machine began to be used in factories and mines. In 1781, he invented the planetary gear, which changed the forward motion of the steam engine piston into rotational motion. In 1782, he invented and patented a high-power "double-action steam engine" and used a flywheel to solve the problem of stability in the operation of the steam engine. In 1784, he invented the parallel motion linkage mechanism, which solved the structural problem of double-action steam engines. In 1788, he invented the centrifugal governor and throttle valve to automatically control the operating speed of steam engines. In 1790, the pressure gauge for steam engines was invented.
At this point, Watt has completed the entire invention process of the steam engine. After his series of major inventions and improvements, the efficiency of the steam engine was increased to more than three times that of the original Newcomen engine. It was also fully equipped, excellent in performance, and practical. Watt thus won the title of inventor of the first modern steam engine, the high-efficiency Watt steam engine. Soon, Watt's steam engine was widely used in textiles, mining, smelting and transportation, greatly promoting the first industrial revolution in Britain and Europe, and ushering the world into the so-called "steam engine age". Watt's invention, improvement and widespread application of steam engines directly promoted the research and development of thermodynamic theory.
Watt also had several other accomplishments. For example, he introduced the first power unit: horsepower; he invented the pressure-volume diagram, which graphically showed how the steam pressure changes with the effective volume of the cylinder. Later, thanks to Clapeyron's work, he was able to study thermodynamics and heat engine efficiency. Widely used in research; he also invented carbon ink and some other instruments. Due to his contribution to science and technology, he was elected as a member of the Royal Society of London in 1785; in 1806, he was awarded the title of Doctor of Laws at the University of Glasgow; in 1814, he was elected as a foreign member of the French Academy of Sciences.
Watt died in Heathfield, near Birmingham, on August 19, 1819. In order to commemorate this great inventor, power is measured in watts in the International System of Units. In 1832, a bronze statue of Watt was built in George Square, Glasgow.