Watt's Steam Engine

James Watt was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both the Kingdom of Great Britain and the world.

While working at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy. Watt introduced a design improvement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. He developed the concept of horsepower(the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts ).

Watt attempted to commercialise his invention, but he failed, until 1775 when he entered into a partnership with Matthew Boulton. The new firm of Boulton and Watt was eventually highly successful and Watt became a wealthy man. In retirement, Watt continued to develop new inventions though none were as significant as his steam engine work. He died in 1819 at the age of 83.

The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum.

Watt’s steam engine, developed sporadically from 1763 to 1775, offering a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency. The new design replaced Newcomen engines in areas where coal was expensive,and then went on to be used in the place of most natural power sources such as wind and water.

In 1765 Watt conceived the idea of a separate condensation chamber. Watt's idea was to equip the engine with a second, small cylinder, connected to the main one. In Watt's design, the cold water was injected only into the condensation chamber. The condenser remained cold and under less than atmospheric pressure than the cylinder, while the cylinder remained hot. When the piston, propelled (propulsar) by steam, reached the top of the cylinder, the steam inlet (entrada) valve closed and the valve controlling the passage to the condenser opened.External atmospheric pressure pushed the piston towards the condenser.