Excerpts from Books & Articles on James WattÕs Engines
WattÕs
contributions are considered to be the most important of all those who worked
on the early stationary steam engines; as a result there are many publications
dealing with his activities. Selected for inclusion herein are the following
excerpts and articles:
Significant
Scots, A Biography of James Watt, from
www.electricscotland.com web site. Both the personal and professional
aspects of WattÕs life are covered in this concise biography.
Kelly, M., The
Non Rotative Beam Engine, Chapter 3 The Boulton &
Watt Engine Contains descriptions and diagrams of the
condensing steam engine and the giant (48-in. dia. piston) engine erected at
the Chelsea Waterworks.
Thurston, Robert
H., A History Of The Growth Of The Steam-Engine, Chapter 3, The
Development of the Modern Steam-Engine. James Watt and His Contemporaries ,Appleton and Company,New York, 1878. This publication gives more detail on
WattÕs experiments which led to his patenting the condensing engine, for
example. It also details his thoughts on the expansive power of steam. The
section on contemporaries is of interst as it summarizes those who continued
the development of what became to be known as Cornish engines (as most were
installed in the mines in Cornwall).
Robinson, Eric
and A. E. Musson, James Watt
and the Steam Revolution, Adams and Dart, London, 1969. This
publication has an extensive listing of
WattÕs inventions. Excerpts detailing what are considered to be the
three most important are excerpted here together with the original patent
drawings.
Marshall,
Thomas H. , James Watt, Leonard Parsons Ltd., and Printed in
Great Britain by Morrison C Gibb Ltd., Ianfield, Edinburg, 1925. This is an
un-illustrated monograph on the life of James Watt.
Further
references not excerpted here:
Rolt, L. T. C., James Watt, 1963. This 150 page illustrated monograph contains a thorough history of WattsÕs accomplishments.
Smiles, Samuel, Lives of Boulton and Watt, 1865. This classic 520 p. work is often referenced as the defining biography of these steam engine pioneers.
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