James Watt, Chemist: Understanding the Origins of the Steam Age (Sci & Culture in the Nineteenth Century)

In the Victorian era, James Watt became an iconic engineer, but in his own time he was also an influential chemist. Miller examines Watt's illustrious engineering career in light of his parallel interest in chemistry, arguing that Watt's conception of steam engineering relied upon chemical understandings. Part I of the book - Representations - examines the way James Watt has been portrayed over time, emphasizing sculptural, pictorial and textual representations from the nineteenth century. As an important contributor to the development of arguably the most important technology of industrialization, Watt became a symbol that many groups of thinkers were anxious to claim. Part II - Realities - focuses on reconstructing the unsung 'chemical Watt' instead of the lionized engineer. This Text Examines James Watt's Illustrious Engineering Career In Light Of His Parallel Interest In Chemistry, Arguing That Watt's Conception Of Steam Engineering Relied Upon Chemical Understandings. I: Representations -- Of Statues, Kettles And Indicators -- The 'mechanical Watt' -- The Demise Of The 'chemical Watt' In The Nineteenth Century -- The 'mechanical Watt': The Making Of A 'philosophical Engineer' -- Ii: Realities -- Watt's Chemistry Of Heat -- The Steam Engine As Chemistry -- The Indicator Understood, Or Why Watt Was Not A Proto-thermodynamicist -- Conclusions. By David Philip Miller. Includes Bibliographical References And Index Contents ......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. Of Statues, Kettles and Indicators......Page 22 2. The Demise of the 'Chemical Watt' in the Nineteenth Century......Page 44 3. The 'Mechanical Watt'......Page 70 4. Watt's Chemistry of Heat......Page 96 5. The Steam Engine as Chemistry......Page 136 6. The Indicator Understood, or Why Watt was not a Protothermodynamicist......Page 158 7. Conclusions......Page 180 Notes......Page 188 Works Cited......Page 228 Index......Page 246