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James Watt

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James Watt

James Watt FRS FRSE (30 Januar 1736 (19 Januar 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819)[1] wis a Scots inventor, mechanical ingineer, an chemist that improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam ingine wi his Watt steam ingine in 1781, that wis fundamental tae the cheenges brocht bi the Industrial Revolution in baith his native Great Breetain an the rest o the warld.

While wirkin as an instrument makker at the Varsity o Glesga, Watt becam interestit in the technology o steam ingines. He realised that contemporary ingine designs wastit a great deal o energy bi repeatitly cuilin an reheatin the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, that avoidit this waste o energy an radically impruived the pouer, efficiency, an cost-effectiveness o steam ingines. Eventually he adaptit his ingine tae produce rotary motion, greatly braidenin its uise beyond pumpin watter.

Watt attemptit tae commercialise his invention, but experienced great financial difficulties till he entered a pairtnership wi Matthew Boulton in 1775. The new firm o Boulton and Watt wis eventually heichly successfu an Watt becam a walthy man. In his reteerment, Watt conteena'd tae develop new inventions tho nane wis as signeeficant as his steam ingine wark. He dee'd in 1819 agit 83.

He developit the concept o horsepouer,[2] an the SI unit o pouer, the watt, wis named efter him. he ad a statue o imself

References

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  1. Awtho a nummer o itherwise reputable soorces gie his date o death as 19 August 1819, aw contemporar accoonts report him deein on 25 August an bein buiried on 2 September. The date 19 August oreeginates frae the biografie The Life of James Watt (1858, p. 521) bi James Patrick Muirhead. It draws its (supposed) legitimacy frae the fact that Muirhead wis a neffae o Watt an tharefore shoud hae been weel-informed. In the Muirhead papers, 25 August date is mentioned ensewhaur. The latter date is an aw gien in contemporar newspaper reports (for example, page 3 o The Times o 28 August) as weel as bi an abstract o an codicil tae Watt's last will. (In the pertinent buirial register o St. Mary's Kirk (Birmingham-Handsworth) Watt's date o daith is nae mentioned.)
  2. Lira, Carl (2001). "Biography of James Watt". egr.msu.edu. Retrieved 5 Julie 2010.