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James Watt

Mechanical Engineering

James Watt was a Scottish instrument maker and engineer whose 1769 separate condenser patent dramatically improved the fuel efficiency of Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric steam engine and turned it into a general purpose power source suitable for factories and mills rather than mine pumping alone. The watt, the SI unit of power, is named for him.

Facts
Birth Year
1736 1
Death Year
1819 1
Nationality
Scottish 1
Connections

Associated With

In Field

Source A History of TechnologyCharles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors

Invented

Source A History of TechnologyCharles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors

Long-Form Articles

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. A History of Technology
Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors, Oxford University Press, 1954View the Source
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