Thermodynamics of James Watt – Ignored or not Understood?

In the analysis of the development of thermodynamics as a science, the theoretical work of Sadi Carnot, published in 1824, is generally considered to be the starting point. Carnot studied the cycle of an ideal heat engine and formulated the condition for its maximum efficiency. In this article we examine James Watt’s contributions to the formation of fundamental concepts of thermodynamics, made in the course of his work on improving the Newcomen engine and developing his own steam engine. It is shown that Watt was the first to characterize thermodynamic properties such as latent heat and vapor density. The authors prove Watt’s priority in the studies of the dependence of saturated steam pressure on temperature, in which a critical point was found when the latent heat disappears. These results of Watt anticipated by many decades the studies on the thermodynamic critical state by Th. Andrews and J. Thomson. The article also discusses Wattʼs research on thermodynamic cycles. It is shown that he was the first to study the Rankine cycle with superheated steam, known from the history of thermodynamics. Watt was also the first scientist to introduce the concept of a steam engine’ volumetric work as the product of pressure and volume, and developed a device, the steam pressure indicator, to measure its value. We show the results obtained by Watt with steam to be considerably ahead of Prescott Jouleʼs work on the cooling and condensation of gases during expansion. The article presents an interpretation of Watt’s 1769 patent that is very important as the primary source for a subsequent study and establishment of the principles of energy conversion. The factual material presented in this article suggests that Watt’s scientific research have not been properly understood or simply went unnoticed.

Keywords

James Watt, steam engine, thermodynamics, indicator diagram, vapor pressure, latent heat, critical point, condensation, separate condenser, Watt’s patent, steam expansion, thermodynamic cycles

Received

12.11.2020

Publication date

29.09.2021

Number of characters

102389

Cite

GOST	Mitrovic J., Smyk A. Thermodynamics of James Watt – Ignored or not Understood? // Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki – 2021. – V. 42. – Issue 3 C. 397-442 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://vietmag.org/S020596060016355-2-1 (circulation date: 20.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S020596060016355-2
MLA	Mitrovic, Jovan, Smyk, Alexandra "Thermodynamics of James Watt – Ignored or not Understood?." Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki 42.3 (2021):397-442. DOI: 10.31857/S020596060016355-2
APA	Mitrovic J., Smyk A. (2021). Thermodynamics of James Watt – Ignored or not Understood?. Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki 42(3), pp.397-442 DOI: 10.31857/S020596060016355-2

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 488

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Andrews, Th. (1869) The Bakerian Lecture: On the Continuity of the Gaseous and Liquid States of Matter, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 159, pp. 575–590.

2. Cardwell, D. S. L. (1971) From Watt to Clausius: The Rise of Thermodynamics in the Early Industrial Age. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

3. Carnegie, A. (1905) James Watt. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company.

4. Carnot, S. (1824) Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu et sur les machines propres à développercette puissance. Paris: Bachelier.

5. Carnot, S. (1986) Reflexions on the Motive Power of Fire. A Critical Edition with the Surviving Scientific Manuscripts. Manchester: Manchester University Press and New York: Lilian Barber Press, Inc.

6. Clapeyron, É. (1834) Mémoire sur la puissance motrice de la chaleur, Journal de lʼÉcole royalepolytechnique, vol. 14, no. 23, pp. 153–190.

7. Clark, D. K. (1852) Expansive Working of Steam in Locomotives, in: Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Proceedings. Birmingham: Published by the Institution, pp. 60–88, 109–131.

8. Darwin, E. (1788) Frigorific Experiments on the Mechanical Expansion of Air, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 78, pp. 43–52.

9. Desaguliers, J. T. (1744) A Course of Experimental Philosophy. London: Printed for W. Innys, M. Senex, T. Longman.

10. Dickinson, H. W., and Jenkins, R. (1927) James Watt and the Steam Engine. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

11. Edelstein, S. M. (1948) Priestley Settles the Water Controversy, Chymia, vol. 1, pp. 123–137.

12. Farey, J. (1827) A Treatise on the Steam Engine, Historical, Practical, and Descriptive. London: Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green.

13. Fox, R. (1970) Wattʼs Expansive Principle in the Work of Sadi Carnot and Nicolas Clément, Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 233–253.

14. Fox, R. (1988) Anmerkungen zum Text der “Betrachtungen”, in: Carnot, S. Betrachtungen über die bewegende Kraft des Feuers und die zur Entwickelung dieser Kraft geeigneten Maschinen. Braunschweig and Wiesbaden: Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn.

15. Goodeve, T. M. (1888) Textbook on the Steam Engine with a Supplement on Gas Engines. 9 th ed. London: Crosby Lockwood and Co.

16. Gvozdetskii, V. L. (1987) Formirovanie teorii parovoi mashiny [Formation of Steam Engine Theory], Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki, no. 2, pp. 102–112.

17. Hiebert, E. (1959) Commentary, in: Clagett, M. (ed.) Critical Problems in the History of Science. Proceedings of the Institute for the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin, September 1–11, 1957. Madison: University of isconsin Press, pp. 391–398.

18. Holland, R. S. Historic Inventions. Chapter IV. Watt and Steam Engine, http://gutenberg.readingroo.ms/4/2/5/1/42517/42517-h/42517-h.htm#IV.

19. Joule, J. P. (1845) On the Changes of Temperature Produced by the Rarefaction and Condensation of Air, The Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, vol. 26, no. 174, pp. 369–383.

20. Jungnickel, C., and McCormmach, R. (2016) Cavendish: The Experimental Life. 2 nd ed., http://edition-open-access.de/studies/7/.

21. Kamenskii, A. V. (1891) Dzheims Uatt. Ego zhiznʼ i nauchno-prakticheskaia deiatelʼnostʼ [James Watt. His Life and Scientific and Practical Work]. Sankt-Peterburg: Tipografiia gazety “Novosti”.

22. Karno, S. (Carnot, S.) (1923) Razmyshleniia o dvizhushchei sile ognia i o mashinakh, sposobnykh razvivatʼ etu silu [Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, and on Machines Fitted to Develop That Power]. Moskva and Leningrad: Gostekhizdat.

23. Konfederatov, I. Ia. (1969) Dzheims Uatt [James Watt]. Moskva: Nauka.

24. Kuhn, Th. (1959) Energy Saving as an Example of Simultaneous Discovery, in: Clagett, M. (ed.) Critical Problems in the History of Science. Proceedings of the Institute for the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin, September 1–11, 1957. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 321–356.

25. Miller, D. Ph. (2002) ‘Distributing Discovery’ between Watt and Cavendish: A Reassessment of the Nineteenth-Century ‘Water Controversy’, Annals of Science, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 149–178.

26. Miller, D. Ph. (2004) Discovering Water: James Watt, Henry Cavendish and the Nineteenth-Century “Water Controversy”. Aldershot and Burlington: Ashgate.

27. Miller, D. Ph. (2004) True Myths: James Wattʼs Kettle, His Condenser and His Chemistry, History of Science, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 333–360.

28. Miller, D. Ph. (2011) The Mysterious Case of James Watt’s “1785” Steam Indicator’: Forgery or Folklore in the History of an Instrument? International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology, vol. 81, no. 1, pp. 130–131.

29. Miller, D. Ph. (2016) James Watt, Chemist: Understanding the Origins of the Steam Age. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press.

30. Muirhead, J. P. (1854) The Origin and Progress of the Mechanical Inventions of James Watt. London: John Murray, vol. 3.

31. Muirhead, J. P. (ed.) (1846) Correspondence of the Late James Watt on His Discovery of the Theory of the Composition of Water. London: John Murray and Edinburg: William Blackwood and Sons.

32. Newton, I. (1730) Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light. 4 th ed. London: Printed for William Innys at the West-End of St. Paulʼs.

33. Pacey, A. J. (1974) Some Early Heat Engine Concepts and the Conservation of Heat? The British Journal for the History of Science, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 135–145.

34. Papin, D. A (1681) New Digester for Softening Bones […]. London: Printed by J. M. for Henry Bonwicke.

35. Radtsig, A. A. (1924) Dzheims Uatt i izobretenie parovoi mashiny [James Watt and the Inventionof the Steam Engine]. Petrograd: Nauchnoe khimiko-tekhnicheskoe izdatelʼstvo. Nauchno-tekhnicheskii otdel VSNKh.

36. Radtsig, A. A. (1936) Istoriia teplotekhniki [History of Thermal Engineering]. Moskva and Leningrad: Izdatelʼstvo AN SSSR.

37. Rankine, W. J. M. (1869) A Manual of the Steam Engine and other Prime Movers. 4 th ed. London:Charles Griffin and Company.

38. Robison, J. (1822) A System of Mechanical Philosophy. In 4 vols. Edinburgh: Printed for John Murray, London, vol. 2.

39. Smiles, S. (1865) Lives of Boulton and Watt. London: John Murray.

40. Smith, C. W. (1977) William Thomson and the Creation of Thermodynamics: 1840–1855, Archives for the History of Exact Sciences, vol. 16, pp. 231–288.

41. Smyk, A. F. (2019) Teoriia teplovoi mashiny v trudakh S. Karno i B. Klapeirona [Heat Engine Theory in the Works of S. Carnot and B. Clapeyron], Avtomobilʼ. Doroga. Infrastruktura, no. 1 (19), p. 22.

42. Smyk, A. F., and Kuzʼmina, N. B. (2019) Analogii v postroenii fenomenologicheskoi teorii idealʼnoi teplovoi mashiny [The Analogies in the Construction of the Phenomenological Theory of an Ideal Heat Engine], Istoriia nauki i tekhniki, no. 6, pp. 3–9.

43. Steam (1832), in: Brewster, D. (ed.) The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Philadelphia: Joseph Parker, vol. 17, pp. 390.

44. Stuart, R. (1829) A Descriptive History of the Steam Engine. London: Whittaker, Treacher, and Arnot.

45. Thomson, J. (1871) Continuity of the Fluid and Gaseous States of Matter, Nature, vol. 5, no. 110, pp. 106–108.

46. Thomson, W. (1889) Electrical Units of Measurement. A Lecture Delivered at the Institution of Civil Engineers on May 3, 1883, in: Thomson, W. Popular Lectures and Addresses. In 3 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., vol. 1, pp. 73–136.

47. Thorpe, E. (ed.) (1921) The Scientific Papers of the Honourable Henry Cavendish. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, vol. 2: Chemical and Dynamical Works.

48. Thurston, R. H. (1886) A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine. 2 nd ed. New York: D. Appleton and Company.

49. Watt, J. (1784) Thoughts on the Constituent Parts of Water and of Dephlogisticated Air; With an Account of Some Experiments on That Subject; Letter from Mr. James Watt to Mr. De Luc, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 74, pp. 329–353.

50. Wilson, G. (1851) The Life of the Hon ble Henry Cavendish, Including Abstracts of His More Important Scientific Papers, and a Critical Inquiry into the Claims of All the Alleged Discoverers of the Composition of Water. London: Printed for the Cavendish Society.