Tag Archives: james watt

The Road to Entropy – James Joule and the power of his curiosity (video)

James Joule could have observed what he did and then done nothing with it. Instead, he became driven to understand and explain it and so discovered the mechanical equivalent of heat, a forerunner of the concept of energy and the 1st law of Thermodynamics. His story is a good one, an inspiring one, an exampleContinue reading “The Road to Entropy – James Joule and the power of his curiosity (video)”

The oldest surviving steam engine is on display at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Michigan

I was traveling in Michigan this past week and took a day to visit the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation. All I can say is, WOW! Together with the adjacent Greenfield Village, well worth the visit. The Innovation Museum offers great displays of engine technologies, including the oldest surviving steam engine in the world, aContinue reading “The oldest surviving steam engine is on display at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Michigan”

The Road to Entropy – Phil Hosken on Richard Trevithick and the invention of the high-pressure steam engine (video)

As shared in my previous post (here), the historical road to entropy started with Denis Papin’s development of the piston-in-cylinder assembly and Thomas Newcomen’s and James Watt’s subsequent efforts to commercialize and continuously improve fire engines or atmospheric engines built around this assembly. Steam at atmospheric pressure was employed in these engines, not as aContinue reading “The Road to Entropy – Phil Hosken on Richard Trevithick and the invention of the high-pressure steam engine (video)”

The Road to Entropy – The Newcomen and Watt “Steam” Engines (videos)

The road to entropy began with the 18th century development of the “steam” engine by Thomas Newcomen and James Watt. But steam was not the driving force in these engines. So what was? And what was the purpose of the steam? Check out this video for the answers: Note the shout-out in the video toContinue reading “The Road to Entropy – The Newcomen and Watt “Steam” Engines (videos)”