Watt was born in greenock, near Glasgow. Glasgow is the center of British shipbuilding. Watt's grandfather teaches mathematics. His father is an architect and a shipbuilder. He is a treasurer and an official in Greenock. He loves learning, is curious and smart, and has learned a lot about machine manufacturing from primary school. Watt went to Greenock Grammar School and dropped out of school because of illness. During his illness at home, he studied hard by himself and read a lot of books on astronomy, chemistry and physics. 1753, when his father went bankrupt in business, Watt was forced to go to Glasgow to learn his craft. He was less than 18 years old at that time. Two years later, he was transferred to a watch shop in London as an apprentice. Watt learned a lot of skills in making instruments and machines here. Because of his hard work, he quickly learned to make quadrant, compass, theodolite and other complex instruments.
At the age of 20, Watt suffered from severe rheumatism and had to go home to recuperate. When he was in better health, he wanted to set up an instrument repair industry in Glasgow, but there was still an exclusive guild at that time. Because he didn't start his apprenticeship, the local guild didn't allow him to start a business. But God won't close one door, he will open another. Introduced by a friend, he works as an instrument repairman at Glasgow University. Here, he met the famous chemist Professor joseph black and his student physicist john robinson. The university was one of the few institutions of higher learning in Britain at that time, with all kinds of instruments and equipment. Here, he eagerly studied scientific theory and practical knowledge. He studied French, Italian and German in order to understand the scientific and technological trends abroad. Together with scientists such as Blake, he improved the rain gauge and hygrometer. Black's latent heat theory had a great influence on Watt, and was later used by him in steam engines.
In the past, there was a popular story that Watt was inspired to invent the steam engine when he saw the teapot on the stove boil and the steam exploded the lid. This is too simplistic. In fact, people realized the role of steam long before Watt. /kloc-in the 0/7th century, due to the rapid development of capitalist production relations and the increasing demand for electricity, people have made some practical achievements in exploring the use of steam power. 1629, an Italian named Blanc invented a primitive steam turbine device. He used steam to push the impeller and drive the spring rod. 1698, an Englishman Zavelli made a steam pump, which can be used for mine drainage. 1705, newcomen, a Scottish blacksmith, made the first steam engine with great practical value, which was called a pneumatic machine, on the basis of Zavelli's invention. It was mainly used for mine drainage at that time. 172 1 year later, it was adopted by many mines in Britain and spread to the European continent.
65438+In the 1960s, due to the invention of the spinning machine and the technical progress in other fields, Britain began the industrial revolution. The invention and application of a series of working machines need a universal power machine that transcends natural forces. At this time, due to the invention and use of hydraulic turbines, clocks and other machinery, people have accumulated knowledge of mechanical manufacturing, mechanical transmission and metalworking. The extensive use of coke in iron smelting industry has made great progress in iron and steel smelting technology. The development of handicraft workshops has trained a large number of skilled workers and prepared technical conditions for the invention of steam engines.
Watt tried to absorb the achievements of predecessors and devoted himself to the development of steam engines. In 176 1 year and 1762, he conducted many experiments on steam pressure in Glasgow University to study the relationship among steam density, pressure and temperature. 1Winter Solstice of 7631Winter of 764, responsible for the maintenance of newcomen atmospheric pressure machine model. He repeatedly observed its operation and finally found the reason for its inefficiency. Newcon gantry crane generates vacuum by condensing the hot air in the cylinder, and pushes the connecting rod connected with the piston to move under the action of atmospheric pressure, thus generating electricity. The cylinder needs to be reheated after cooling, resulting in a lot of heat energy waste. Moreover, after the cylinder is condensed, the temperature is still very high and the vacuum degree is very low, which affects the efficiency of the machine. So Watt concentrated on solving this key problem.
It takes time and money to study a new steam engine. Watt soon ran out of his property and was heavily in debt. He was in hesitation and depression, and almost stopped his research work. In order to earn a living and support his family, he was forced to become a surveyor and engineer, responsible for drawing the road map of caledonian canal. At this time, two far-sighted entrepreneurs helped him. They are John roebuck and matthew boulton. 1765, introduced by Blake, Watt met roebuck, who had just opened a coal mine in Borrostones on the right bank of the Foss River, and needed a water pump for mine drainage urgently. Roebuck spoke highly of Watt's research work and was willing to contribute money to help him complete the development of the steam engine. So the two signed a contract, and roebuck promised to repay the debt of 65,438+0,000 pounds for Watt, and was responsible for providing the funds needed to complete the development and put it into industrial production. Watt promised to give roebuck two-thirds of the future profits. Roebuck's support enabled Watt to continue developing steam engines.
After a series of experiments, Watt invented the condenser separated from the cylinder, and introduced the steam in the cylinder into the condenser for cooling. He worked hard to improve the machining accuracy of cylinders and pistons and enhance the sealing performance. In newcomen's machine, steam is only an auxiliary force, and it actually works by atmospheric pressure. Watt's invention is to push the piston with steam. In addition, he also used lubricating oil to improve the flexibility of piston operation, and added a heat insulation layer outside the cylinder to keep the cylinder at the necessary working temperature. After this series of improvements, Watt manufactured the first steam engine in 1769 and obtained a patent. The efficiency of Watt steam engine is much higher than that of newcomb atmospheric pressure press, and the coal consumption is only a quarter of that of newcomb atmospheric pressure press, but the efficiency is increased by five times. But the machine invented by Watt has only one cylinder, which is very imperfect and prone to failure. It was put aside shortly after installation. Soon, the coal mines in roebuck stopped production due to water accumulation. 1733, roebuck declared bankruptcy. It never rains but it pours. Watt's wife died this year. Bolton helped him at this very difficult time.
Berton is the owner of manual workshops of metal products in Soho, northern Birmingham, with strong economic strength. Watt met him a few years ago and visited the Soho workshop at 1767. Burton's career is booming, and he needs an ideal power machine to equip his workshop. Roebuck happened to owe Bolton 1200 a debt, and the latter proposed that as long as roebuck transferred the partnership contract with Watt to him, he would be exempted from his debt. Thus began the cooperation between Bolton and Watt. 1774 in may, watt moved to soho with his first steam engine. He immediately set about improving his invention. Soon, the first steam engine was able to operate normally again.
Watt and Bolton put the steam engine into industrial production while continuing to improve its design. At that time, there was still more input, less output and high development cost. Bolton invested the profits from the workshop and the proceeds from the sale of his wife's property in improving the steam engine. Watt also benefited from the invention of others to improve the steam engine. For example, the boring machine invented by John Wilkinson in 1775 played a great role in improving the accuracy of the cylinder. After repeated experiments, Watt greatly improved his original design and invented the compound steam engine in 1882. In the past, a single steam engine could only do reciprocating motion, and it had many similarities with newcomen's machine. Mainly used for water extraction, with limited application scope. The compound steam engine uses steam to do work, alternately pushes the piston from both sides, and uses eccentric wheel and crank to change linear motion into rotary motion. He also invented a centrifugal governor to automatically control the running speed. After these improvements, Watt's steam engine not only improved the efficiency, but also became a universal universal power machine, which can become the power of various machines. Soho Factory was first equipped with a new type of steam engine to drive blowers, rolling mills and steam hammers. This new machine was quickly popularized. It is used for flour grinding in flour mills, blast in steel mills, malt grinding in breweries, flint crushing in ceramics factories and sugarcane crushing in sugar factories. 1785, the Schell cotton mill in Nottingham installed a steam engine, which has since become the main driving force of the textile industry. The application of steam engine in land and water transportation led to the invention of steam turbine and train, and profound revolution took place in transportation, entering the era of steamboat and railway.
Watt's invention was protected by patent, and Watt-Bolton Company became the only manufacturer supplying steam engines at that time, and steam engines became the company's main products. During the period of 1775- 1880, the company produced 173 steam engines, including 93 in textile industry, 52 in mining industry and 28 in metallurgical industry. Before the beginning of the19th century, Britain had produced 1200- 1330 steam engines, each with an average power of 15- 16 horsepower. This new type of power machine soon spread to continental Europe, North America and other regions.
At the early stage of steam engine manufacturing, it was mainly handicraft production mode, with slow production speed, poor reliability and high cost, and the quality of the machine was determined by the skill level of craftsmen, which was far from meeting the needs of society. In order to produce steam engines on a large scale, working machines for forging and metal cutting are needed, which promotes the development of machinery manufacturing.
Watt's steam engine provides an efficient and reliable power machine for modern factory industry taking the industrial revolution as an opportunity. It makes the industry get rid of the dependence on natural forces such as water power and wind power, so that the production is no longer affected by climate change. The factory can be built in areas with good raw material supply, market and traffic conditions, thus promoting the development of the city. Due to the proximity to relevant industrial departments, complete municipal facilities and the convergence of production, supply and marketing, the benefit of industrial investment has been improved and the all-round development of all walks of life has been promoted. Therefore, the invention of the steam engine is of epoch-making significance. It accelerated the completion of the British industrial revolution and the process of industrial revolution in other parts of the world, and achieved an unprecedented leap in the development of productive forces. Therefore, the19th century is called "the age of steam engines".
Watt not only invented the steam engine, but also invented the hydrometer and the letter copier. He first proposed to use propellers instead of paddles to propel ships, and for the first time adopted "horsepower" as the unit for calculating power.
Watt's outstanding achievements are highly appraised and praised at home and abroad. He was admitted as a member of the famous Birmingham Crescent Society, 1785 was elected as a member of the Royal Society, 1806 was awarded a doctorate in law from the University of Glasgow, and 18 14 was admitted as a foreign member by the French Academy of Sciences. Watt died in 18 19 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In order to commemorate him, later generations used his name "Watt" as the unit of measurement, and Watt's name will always be recorded in the history of world-famous inventors.