brief introduction

James watt was a famous British inventor and an important figure during the Industrial Revolution. Member of the Royal Society and foreign researcher of the French Academy of Sciences. He made a series of major improvements to the original prototype of the steam engine that had appeared at that time, and invented single-cylinder single-action and single-cylinder double-action steam engines, which improved the thermal efficiency and operational reliability of the steam engine and made outstanding contributions to the development of social productive forces at that time. He improved the steam engine and invented the barometer and power hammer. In memory of him, later generations called the unit of power Watt, which was often represented by the symbol "W". Watt is the unit of measurement of power and radiation flux in the international system of units, which is often represented by the symbol "W".

Watt 1736 65438+ 10/9 was born in Glasgow, England. When he was a child, Watt studied in a grammar school, but he didn't receive a systematic education. Watt learned a lot about mechanical manufacturing in the factory where his father worked, and later he became an apprentice in a watch shop in London. 1763, watt went to glass university to repair teaching instruments. In college, he often discussed theoretical and technical issues with professors. 178 1 year, watt made a double-acting steam engine that pushed the piston from both sides. 1785, he was also elected as a member of the Royal Society for his great contribution to the improvement of the steam engine. 1865438+On August 25th, 2009, Watt died in Heathfield near Birmingham.

In Watt's obituary, he praised the steam engine he invented:

"It has armed human beings, made weak hands powerful and infinite, and improved the human brain to deal with all problems. It has laid a solid foundation for mechanical power to create miracles in the future and will help and reward the labor of future generations. "

all one's life

First, children who like to ask questions.

Watt 1736 was born in a small town near Glasgow, England. His grandfather used to be a teacher, teaching mathematics, surveying and navigation, and his father used to be a shipbuilding technician. Later, I managed shipbuilding and construction, worked as an instrument manufacturer and businessman, and also served as a local administrator of a small town. It is said that Watt learned all kinds of crafts from his father. He is ingenious, he has been exposed to and learned a lot of technical knowledge since he was a child, and has developed the interest and habit of thinking and exploring mysteries independently. His family environment has played a certain role in climbing the technical peak in the future.

Watt was sickly since childhood, but he still couldn't go to school when he was old enough to go to school. A few years after school age, he came to study in the school in the town. At school, he doesn't like to play with children, but only likes to meditate alone. There is a well-known legend about his childhood: one day, Little Watt saw a pot of water boiling at home, and the steam made the lid jump. This common phenomenon aroused his great interest. He stared at the beating lid and the steam coming out, thinking hard about the mystery. I have been watching it for over an hour. Because Watt often observes many strange and unknown phenomena silently for a long time, people say that he is a "lazy boy". In fact, it is this curiosity and spirit that led him to explore the mysteries of the world and climb the peak of science.

/kloc-began to be interested in geometry at the age of 0/3, and/kloc-finished reading such a difficult book as Geometric Principles at the age of 0/5. Later, he entered the grammar school, and his math performance was particularly excellent. Due to poor health, he dropped out of school before graduation. But he insisted on teaching himself astronomy, chemistry, physics and anatomy at home and taught himself several foreign languages. Watt became an apprentice to a watch shop in Glasgow at the age of 17. He studied hard in his spare time and further mastered many scientific and technological principles. When he was an apprentice, he began to make compasses and theodolite with high technical requirements. 2 1 year-old, came to Glasgow University as a teaching aid experimenter, responsible for repairing and manufacturing instruments. At that time, he became more familiar with some advanced mechanical technologies. After work, he also immersed himself in reading, often humbly asking teachers and classmates for advice, and improved his scientific theory level.

Second, promote inventions all over the world.

Man's understanding and utilization of steam has gone through a long historical process. As early as the second century BC, the ancient Greeks used steam injection to make a reactive engine. 1690, the Frenchman Bobby first invented the first piston steam engine, but he failed to make it a practical steam engine. 1698, British technician Seles invented a practical piston-less steam engine. This machine is used in mines and is called "Friends of Mines". However, due to the limitations of materials and technology at that time, it could not be popularized. Later, after improvement, it was not until the 8th century A.D./KLOC-0 that newcomen, a British blacksmith, made the first primitive steam engine that could convert thermal energy into mechanical energy. This machine combines the advantages of Ba machine and Seles machine. It can drain water without high pressure steam, and its efficiency is greatly improved. However, this kind of steam engine has unreasonable structure, large coal consumption, and the piston can only do reciprocating motion, but not rotating motion, so the thermal efficiency is low.

With the development of industry, the demand for new power is increasingly prominent, which promotes the further improvement of steam engines. From 65438 to 1960s, British engineer Smeaton began to study and improve the steam engine in newcomen. He measured the components and efficiencies of more than one hundred steam engines at that time 100, and compared the obtained data. Smeaton himself didn't make any improvement on the structure of the steam engine, but the data he accumulated provided convenience for improving the steam engine. At the same time, Watt began to study and improve the steam engine.

When Watt was repairing instruments in the university, the school once repaired an old newcomen steam engine for him. According to the theory of latent heat and specific heat put forward by Professor Blake of Glasgow University, he deeply studied the old steam engine through a lot of experiments and analysis, and found out the main reason for the low efficiency of the old steam engine: besides the heat waste caused by steam leakage and heat dissipation, the main defect is that the cylinder is cooled with cold water once per stroke, which consumes a lot of heat and makes most of the steam not be effectively used. In view of this defect, Watt put forward two measures to reduce steam consumption and improve the efficiency of heat engine: First, in order to keep the necessary temperature of steam in the cylinder all the time, it is necessary to add a heat insulation sleeve to the cylinder or introduce steam or heat the cylinder by other methods; Second, the steam after work is cooled and liquefied into water as soon as possible, and this process should be carried out outside the cylinder. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a condenser independent of the cylinder and improve the mechanical transmission. He is determined to build a new steam engine himself to improve the shortcomings of the old machine.

Watt raised money by himself, rented the basement, bought the necessary equipment, experimented repeatedly and experienced numerous setbacks and failures. With the help of workers, he finally invented the condenser separated from the cylinder, which solved the technical problems of manufacturing precision cylinders and pistons. At the same time, he made a single-acting steam engine by lubricating the piston with oil and adding a thermal insulation layer outside the cylinder. After continuing the experiment, 1782 invented a double-acting steam engine with connecting rod, flywheel and centrifugal governor, and made a new practical steam engine. In this double-acting steam engine, the installation of the valve enables the piston to be pushed forward and backward by the pressure of steam. With the help of connecting rod and flywheel, the linear motion of piston is transformed into circular motion. In order to keep the steam engine running at a constant speed, he connected a centrifugal governor to the steam inlet valve to automatically adjust the steam inlet. This device is the earliest automatic controller used in technology. He designed a condenser separated from the cylinder to guide the high-temperature steam out of the cylinder and cool it to keep the main cylinder at a certain temperature. At the same time, he improved the accuracy of the cylinder and made the piston and valve smooth and tight. Thus greatly improving the thermal efficiency and reliability compared with the newcomen steam engine. Because this kind of steam engine changes reciprocating linear motion into continuous uniform circular motion, it can drive all machines to run through transmission devices, and it can be widely used in industry and transportation as a "universal power machine". This high-efficiency steam engine quickly replaced the old steam engine and was quickly adopted by various industrial departments. Since then, power machines, transmission machinery and working devices have become the core of machine production and industrial modernization.

By the 1930s, steam engines were widely used in textile, metallurgy, coal mine, transportation and other departments, which quickly triggered a technological revolution. Fulton, an American, invented a ship powered by Watt steam engine. Stephenson, an Englishman, invented a train powered by Watt steam engine. Watt's steam engine became a truly international invention, which effectively promoted the industrial revolution in Europe in the18th century and pushed the world industry to the "age of steam".

Third, a genius inventor who goes down in history.

1784 In April, the British government awarded Watt a patent certificate for manufacturing steam engines. Marx once commented: Watt's great genius is shown in the specification of the patent he obtained. He did not describe his steam engine as a special-purpose invention, but an engine widely used in large industries.

Watt enjoys a high position in the academic and scientific circles in Britain and continental Europe. He became a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1784 and the Royal Society of London in 1785. 1808 became an academician of French bachelor's college, and 18 14 was elected as one of the eight foreign academicians of French Academy of Sciences. It is recognized by scientific circles all over the world that Watt is one of the most famous.

Because of such an epoch-making great invention, Watt suddenly changed from a penniless nobody to a great man with both fame and fortune. He got a patent tax of 76,000 pounds in 1 1 year. In order to protect his patent, he looked a little academic in his later years. He often sued the court to stop and suppress other people's inventions, and even banned his assistant from experimenting with steam to start the four-wheeled vehicle. This is the tragedy of a scientist, and it is also the brand left by his time and society. Nevertheless, he is still a great inventor. For more than 20 years, he devoted himself to the invention of the steam engine. The people will never forget his great contribution to science and technology and social progress.

18 19, 84-year-old Watt died peacefully at home. He made outstanding contributions to the scientific cause of mankind before his death, and people all over the world miss him. 1824, on the fifth anniversary of his death, the public in London erected a monument for him in the famous Westminster Abbey. Watt studied hard all his life and devoted himself tirelessly to science. On the basis of predecessors' achievements, he invented the steam engine and made epoch-making contributions to the development of human science and technology. In memory of the great inventor Watt, the commonly used unit of power was named Watt, or simply Watt. His name will be etched in the history of mankind forever.

Watt and the steam engine

Watt's original idea of steam engine

1764, the school asked Watt to repair a Newgate steam engine. During the repair process, Watt became familiar with the structure and principle of the steam engine, and found two major shortcomings of this steam engine: the piston moves discontinuously and slowly; Low steam utilization rate and waste of raw materials. Later, Watt began to think about ways to improve it. Until the spring of 1765, during a walk, Watt thought that since the low thermal efficiency of newcomen steam engine was caused by steam condensation in the cylinder, why not let the steam condense outside the cylinder? Watt came up with the original idea of using an independent condenser.

After having this idea, Watt designed a steam engine with an independent condenser in the same year. According to the design, there is a regulating valve between the condenser and the cylinder, so that they can be connected and separated. In this way, the steam after work can be introduced into the condenser outside the cylinder to generate the same vacuum in the cylinder, thus avoiding the heat consumption of the cylinder during cooling and heating. According to Watt's theory, the thermal efficiency of this new steam engine will be three times that of newcomen's steam engine. Theoretically, Watt's steam engine with separator condenser is obviously superior to newcomen's steam engine. However, there is still a long way to go to turn theoretical things into practical things and the steam engine on the drawing into a real steam engine. Watt has worked hard to build several steam engines, but the effect is not as good as that of newcomen's steam engine, and even there is air leakage everywhere, so it can't be started. Although the expensive experiment made him heavily in debt, he didn't flinch in the face of difficulties and went on with the experiment. When Blake knew Watt's goal and difficult situation, he introduced Watt to a very rich friend-roebuck, a chemical technician. At that time, roebuck was a very rich entrepreneur. He opened the first large-scale ironmaking plant in Caron, Scotland. Although roebuck was nearly 50 years old at that time, he was still enthusiastic about new inventions in science and technology. He was very appreciative of Watt's new device, which was only in his thirties at that time, and immediately signed a contract with Watt to sponsor Watt to try out a new steam engine.

From 1766, in more than three years, Watt overcame the difficulties in materials and technology, and finally made the first prototype at 1769. In the same year, Watt won his first patent in the process of innovating newcomen steam engine for inventing condenser. Although the first steam engine with condenser was successfully trial-produced, compared with the newcomen steam engine, except the thermal efficiency was significantly improved, there was no substantial progress in the performance of driving other working machines as a power machine. In other words, Watt's steam engine still can't be used as a real power machine.

Sales of steam engines

Because Watt's steam engine is not ideal, the market is not wide. When Watt continued to explore, roebuck himself was on the verge of bankruptcy. He introduced Watt to his friend, engineer and entrepreneur Bolton, so that Watt could be sponsored to continue his research and development. Bolton was an able engineer and entrepreneur in his forties. He expressed his appreciation for Watt's innovative spirit and was willing to sponsor Watt. Bolton often participated in social activities, and he was one of the main members of the famous scientific society "Full Moon Society" in Birmingham at that time. Most of the participants in this society are local scientists, engineers, scholars and science lovers. After Bolton's introduction, Watt also joined the Full Moon Club. In the activities of the Full Moon Society, Watt learned more about gas chemistry and thermochemistry that people paid attention to at that time, which laid the foundation for his later participation in the debate on the chemical composition of water. More importantly, the activities of the Full Moon Society enabled Watt to further increase his scientific knowledge and enliven his scientific thoughts.

Watt has received great support in terms of funds, equipment and materials since he cooperated with Burton. Watt also produced two steam engines with independent condensers, but these two steam engines have not been paid attention to by the society because they have not been significantly improved. These two steam engines cost so much that Bolton was on the verge of bankruptcy, but he still generously funded Watt. With his support, Watt persevered in his research. Since 1769, when the prototype of a steam engine with a separate condenser was trial-produced, Watt saw that the low thermal efficiency was not the main shortcoming of his steam engine, but the fundamental limitation was that the piston could only do reciprocating linear motion. 178 1 year, watt is still participating in the activities of the full moon club. Perhaps at the party, the members mentioned that the circular motion of Uranus and planets around the sun discovered by astronomer Herschel inspired him. Perhaps the circular motion of the gears in the clock inspired him. It occurred to him that by converting the reciprocating linear motion of the piston into circular rotation motion, power can be transmitted to any working machine. In the same year, he developed a set of gear linkage device named "Sun and Planet", which finally transformed the reciprocating linear motion of the piston into the rotary motion of the gear. In order to increase the inertia of the axle rotating shaft and make the circular motion more uniform, Watt also installed a fire flywheel on the axle. Because of this great innovation in the traditional mechanism, Watt's steam engine has really become a power machine that can drive everything. 178 1 At the end of the year, Watt obtained the second patent for inventing the mechanical linkage device of gear pull rod.

Because this kind of steam engine is equipped with axle and flywheel, it consumes a lot of energy when converting the reciprocating linear motion of piston into the rotary motion of axle. The efficiency of this steam engine is not very high, and the power is not very high. In order to further improve the efficiency of the steam engine and increase the efficiency of the steam engine, Watt studied the cylinder itself after inventing the gear linkage device. He found that although he changed the internal condensation of newcomen steam engine to external condensation, the thermal efficiency of the steam engine was significantly improved, but the stroke process of the steam-driven piston in his steam engine was no different from that of newcomen steam engine. Both kinds of steam move in a single motion, entering from one end and coming out from the other. He thought that if steam could enter and exit from both ends, it could push the piston up and down. Then, his efficiency can be doubled. In 1782, Watt developed a new cylinder with a bidirectional device according to this idea. Thus, Watt obtained his third patent. The original single cylinder device was transformed into a two-way cylinder, and the steam introduced into the cylinder was changed from low pressure steam to high pressure steam for the first time. This is Watt's third leap in improving newcomen's steam engine. Through these three technological leaps, newcomen steam engine has completely evolved into Watt steam engine.

From the initial contact with steam technology to the successful development of Watt's steam engine, Watt has gone through a difficult course of more than 20 years. Although Watt was frustrated for many times, he still persevered and persevered, and finally completed the three major innovations of newcomen's steam engine. The steam engine has been widely used and has become the driving force to transform the world.

1784, Watt obtained his fourth patent in the process of reforming newcomen steam engine by assembling high-pressure steam engine with flywheel, gear connecting rod and bidirectional device. 1788, watt invented the centrifugal governor and throttle valve; 1790, he invented the cylinder indicator, and Watt completed the whole process of the invention of the steam engine.

anecdote

1. The story of Watt and the teapot when I was a child.

One night, Watt and a little girl were having tea at home. Watt kept fiddling with the lid of the teapot, opening and closing it. When he blocked the mouth of the teapot, the steam pushed the lid away. My grandmother was very dissatisfied with Watt's boring actions and scolded him. Watt didn't mind. He was absorbed in the power of steam, and that's when the idea of making a steam engine sprouted.

The story of Watt inventing the steam engine.

One summer morning, the weather was fine, and the thrush was singing a sweet song in the tree. On the campus of Glasgow University in England, there is a man walking. He walked slowly up and down on the green lawn. He sometimes looked at the vast sky, sometimes looked at the flat playground, and sometimes frowned ... Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face and his mood suddenly brightened. He came up with an effective solution to the steam engine. He ran happily, his feet flying fast. In an instant, he appeared on the operating platform that accompanied him for many years.

Enlightenment of water vapor

With the development of intellectual education, Watt became interested in some objective things, and he became curious and delved into them. This laid a good foundation for his later invention of the steam engine.

In Watt's hometown of Yushan, every family makes a fire to boil water and cook. Who cares about such a common thing? Watt left his heart. He watched his grandmother cooking in the kitchen. There is a pot of boiling water on the stove. The boiling water is boiling. The lid of the pot smacked and kept jumping up. After observing for a long time, Watt felt very strange. He couldn't figure out why, so he asked his grandmother, what made the lid jump?

Grandma replied, the water is boiling, that's all.

Watt was dissatisfied and asked, Why did the water jump when the lid was opened? Is something pushing it?

Maybe my grandmother was too busy to answer him correctly, so she said impatiently, I don't know. What's the point of children asking these questions?

Instead of finding the answer with grandma, Watt was unfairly criticized. He was very uncomfortable, but he didn't lose heart.

For several days in a row, whenever cooking, he squatted by the fire and observed carefully. At first, the lid was very stable. After a while, the water will boil and make a loud noise. On the ground, the steam in the pot came out and pushed the lid to jump. The steam kept rising, and the lid kept beating, as if a magician was hiding inside, doing tricks. Watt almost cried out for joy. He opened the lid, closed it again and again, and verified it again and again. He also covered the cup and spoon that sprayed steam. Watt finally figured out that steam pushed the lid to jump, and the power of this steam was not small.

Just as Watt was in high spirits and ecstatic, grandma spoke again: "You child, you are ungrateful. What's so funny about the kettle? Go away! " She said casually.

His grandmother is too impatient and subjective, and if she neglects it casually, it will almost dampen Watt's self-esteem and enthusiasm for exploring scientific knowledge. Old man, you don't understand Watt's heart at all, do you? What a revelation water vapor is to Watt! Isn't the physical phenomenon that water vapor pushes the lid of the kettle to jump off the water bottle the source of Watt's understanding of inventing the steam engine?

1769, watt changed the steam engine into a high-power single-acting engine. Later, after many studies, the trial production of the new steam engine was completed at 1782. With the linkage device on the machine, the simple motion turned into rotary motion, and the perfect steam engine was successfully invented.

Watt's life is full of hardships and struggles. What a bumpy road he has traveled. He created blessings for mankind in hardships and hardships and opened up a new milestone for human progress. Watt attaches great importance to learning and practice: learning enriches his wisdom; Practice has achieved fruitful results.

2. Steam Engine and Industrial Revolution

In Rolt's james watt, it was written that the huge and tireless power of Watt's steam engine made the mode of production embark on the road of mechanization on an unimaginable scale in the past. "

well-known saying

It is best to compare truth to flint-the harder it is beaten, the more brilliant it is.

..... Struggle! Only by struggling can we heal the wounds of the past; Only struggle is the hope and light of our nation.

The brilliance of youth, the key to ideal, the meaning of life, and even the survival and development of human beings are all contained in these two words … struggle! Only by struggling can we heal the wounds of the past; Only struggle is the hope and light of our nation.

If we choose a career that can best work for human welfare, then the burden can't overwhelm us, because it is dedicated to everyone; At that time, what we felt was not poverty, limitation and selfish pleasure. Our happiness will belong to millions of people, and our cause will be unknown but exist forever. In the face of our ashes, noble people will cry.

Those who strive for a common goal and become more noble, history recognizes them as great men; Those who bring happiness to most people, experience praises them as the happiest people.

If a person only works for himself, he may become a famous scholar, a great wise man and an outstanding poet, but he will never be a truly perfect and great person.

Science is by no means a selfish pleasure. Those who are fortunate enough to devote themselves to scientific research should first serve mankind with their own knowledge.

There is no royal road to science, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb along steep mountain roads can hope to reach its glorious summit.

Science is by no means a selfish enjoyment. Those who are fortunate enough to devote themselves to scientific research should first serve mankind with their own knowledge.

Think about everything.

In a democratic country, the law is king; In an authoritarian country, the king is the law.

It is better to decorate yourself with gorgeous clothes than to arm yourself with knowledge.

Books ... are my slaves and must obey my will.

Manual labor is a great disinfectant to prevent all social viruses.

The unity of the working class is the first prerequisite for workers to win.

We must thoroughly safeguard the party's discipline now, otherwise everything will get bogged down.

We know that individuals are weak, but we also know that the whole is strength.

Only by working hard for the perfection of contemporaries and their happiness can human beings achieve their own perfection.

A person should be lively and disciplined, naive but not naive, brave and reckless, stubborn and principled, enthusiastic but not impulsive, optimistic but not blind.

We must thoroughly safeguard the party's discipline now, otherwise everything will get bogged down.

Self-destruction, this is a poisonous snake that corrodes and devours the soul forever. It sucks the fresh blood of the soul and injects the poison of world-weariness and despair.

When we are understood, our wisdom is exhausted; When wisdom meets wisdom, there are countless sparks.

The early combination of productive labor and education is one of the most powerful means to transform modern society.

Social progress is the crystallization of human pursuit of beauty.

In fact, no social form can prevent the socially dominant working hours from regulating production in one way or another.

The less time the society needs to produce wheat and livestock, the more time it can gain for other production, whether it is material production or spiritual production.

Conscience is determined by people's knowledge and all lifestyles.

Of course, a writer must earn money for living and writing, but he should never live and write for making money.

Science is by no means a selfish pleasure. Those who are fortunate enough to devote themselves to scientific research should first serve mankind with their own knowledge.

Watt event chronology

1736 65438+ 10/0/9 James? Watt was born in greenock.

Watt left Scotland on 1755 and went to London to seek training as an instrument maker. He was killed by John of Conseil? Morgan accepted.

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

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.

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.

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

The patent of Watt steam engine expires in 1800. The cooperation with Bolden ended and Watt retired at the age of 64.

18 19 August 25th James? Watt died at the age of 83.

unit of power

Symbol: w

Unit of power of the international system of units. Watt is defined as 1 joule/second (1J/s), that is, the rate of energy converted, used or dissipated (measured in joules) per second.

Is it 1 volt in the electrical unit system? Ampere (1V? Answer.

In daily life, it is more commonly used in kilowatts, 1 kW = 1000 watts.

Unit conversion: Watt was named after British scientist james watt, who made great contributions to the development of steam engines. The name of this unit was first adopted by the 2nd meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1889. 1960, at its 1 1 meeting, the international congress of weights and measures adopted watt as the unit of power in the international system of units. People often use unit of power times time unit to express energy. For example 1 kW? R is the energy consumed by an energy-consuming device with a power of 1 kW in 1 hour, which is equal to 3.6 MJ. ..

wattmeter

Wattmeter refers to an instrument that measures the power in a circuit in watts.