cornish engineer
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Richard Trevithick: pressurized steam required courage of conviction
In his early years, James Watt had considered ways to use pressurized (“strong”) steam, as opposed to vacuum-inducing, condensing steam, to develop power. But the mechanical difficulties of constructing a boiler to withstand the pressures could not be overcome. This obstacle tainted Watt’s thinking, resulting in his outright rejection of any steam-engine involving steam-pressures greater… Continue reading
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Why did the steam engine rise solely in Britain?
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain As the dominate player in global trade in the 1700s, Britain embraced technologies that increased product quality and decreased manufacturing costs. The drive to effect both led to the replacement of hands with machines and so launched the Industrial Revolution. The incentive to invent the steam engine appeared in… Continue reading
Block by Block – The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics. “Hanlon has written a masterpiece.” – Mike Pauken, Senior Engineer, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and author of Thermodynamics for Dummies
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About Me
Hi! I’m Bob Hanlon. After earning my Sc.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enjoying a long career in both industry and academia, I’ve returned to school, my own self-guided school, seeking to better understand the world of thermodynamics. Please join me on my journey.
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