Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/438

* WATSON. 368 WATT. WATSON, William (1858—). An English poet, born at Burley-in-Vharfedale, Yorkshire. His Epigramn of Art' {ISSi) was his first book to attract attention. During the following year he published in the National Review a series of son- nets entitled Ver Tenebrosiim, in which he at- tacked the English policy in Egypt. In 1892 his poem "Wordsworth's Grave" gav;e him con- siderable fame, and in the same year he wrote ■•Lachrym.Te Jlusarum," a fine ode in memory of Tennyson. His verse is careful, delicate, and sure in workmanship and is reflective in tone. His sonnets in the Furple East contain some of his most significant work. Among his later works are: Lyric Love (1892); The Eloping Angels (1893) ; Excursions in Criticism (1893) ; Odes and Other Poems (1894); The Father of the Forest (1895); The Purple East (189G); The Year of Shame (1896), a forceful and ring- ing indictment of England's policy in the Orient, particularly in the Armenian difliculty; The Hope of the World (1897) ; and Collected Poems (1S9S). WATT (named in honor of James TVatt). The practical unit of power (q.v. ) or activity. The C. G. S. unit of power is 1 erg per second, and the watt is 10; of these units, or 1 joule per sec- ond. A horse-power is 33.000 foot pounds per minute and therefore equals 74(5 watts approx- imately: 1 watt = 0.0013406 horse-power. The kilowatt, or 1000 watts, is the unit in ordinary use, and is employed, even in countries w'hich have not adopted the metric system, for the rating of electric machinery. See C. G. S. Sys- tem. WATT, .I.MES (1736-1819). A British me- chanical engineer, famous for his improvements on the steam engine, which were so important and fundamental as often to lead to his being styled its inventor. He was born at Greenock, Scotland, the son of a carpenter and merchant, who also at times held such town offices as treas- urer and chief magistrate. His early education was obtained at the town schools, which, how- ever, he was unable to attend regularly on ac- count of ill health. At the same time he was learning the use of wood and metal working tools and constructing ingenious models and original pieces of mechanism. He early evinced a taste for mathematics and a fondness for read- ing which he maintained throughout his life. When eighteen years old Watt went to Glasgow to learn the trade of an instrument-maker, but after a short time proceeded to London, where he followed this calling for a year. In 1756 he re- turned to Glasgow, but experienced difficulty in starting in business on his own accmmt, owing to the opposition of workers in the same trade. He became connected with the university, however, as an instrument-maker, and remained until 1760, when he became established independently, work- ing also at times as a civil engineer. While at the university he became acquainted with the various professors and students and received from them instruction and suggestions. As early as 1759 he turned his attention to the construc- tion of a steam carriage, and in 1764 he was called upon to repair the model of the Newomen engine in the cabinet of the university. Studying this machine thoroughly, he soon realized its de- fects and lack of efliciency, and determined that the losses of heat in the cylinder could be cor- rected, and the imperfect method of condensing the steam could be improved. Accordingly he contrived an independent condenser where the steam was exhausted and condensed after doing its work on the piston, instead of being con- densed by a jet of cold water in the cylinder, as was done in the Newcomen engine. To develop the invention Watt secured the financial co- operation of Dr. John Roebuck, the founder of the Carron Iron Works, and in 1765 constructed a small engine, which was operated with some success. Watt was in the meanwhile spending all of his resources, but at the same time mak- ing considerable progress in engine-building, until financial misfortunes deprived him of the co- operation of Dr. Roebuck. At this time (1767), fortunately, an enterprising manufacturer, Mat- thew Boulton (q.v.), joined with Watt and their names were subsequentl.v associated in the manu- facture and improvement of steam engines that resulted from the partnership. In 1774 a steam engine was completed which was noteworthy in that it embodied the essential features of the modern steam engine. So much time had been spent in the development of the engine that in 1775 an act to prolong the life of Watt's original patent until 1800 was passed by Parliament, and during this interval other valuable patents were acquired and many engines were manufactured and disposed of to mines and collieries. Next to the external condensation principle the most im- portant features were: The making of the engine double-acting by the addition of valves, instead of having the steam act only on one side of the piston, which was then returned to its original position by a counterweight : and the use of steam expansively. With the double-acting engine by the use of a flj'-wheel it was possible to have continuous rotary motion through the medium of a crank, which, w-hile claimed as an invention of Watt, was actually patented by one Pickard, a former employee of his, and disposed of to a Mr. Washbrough of Bristol. To meet this de- ficiency Watt contrived various devices, of which the 'sun and planet' gear wheels were the most successful, for changing the reciprocating into rotarj- motion. The application of the centrif- ugal governor to the steam engine, the inven- tion of the water gauge, and the mercury steam gauge, are but a few of the many improvements contributed by Watt to the steam engine. With his many improvements and additions to the steam engine it was somewhat singular that Watt did not employ steam at high pressures, as was suggested by Trevithick and others, and which was the next important ste]) in the development of the steam engine. The invention of the steam hammer naturally resulted from liis work on the steam engine, but the copying press, a. spiral oar or screw propeller, the discovery of the com- position of water, a machine for reproducing sculpture, and numerous physical instruments and methods show the diversity of his researches and the breadth of his talents. Retiring from active business in 1800, he turned over to his two sons his interest in the large and remunerative business which had been built up at Solio by Boulton's ctTort. He died at Heathfield, in StafYordshirc, on August 25, 1819. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Socictj' of Edinburgh in 1784; a fellow of the Royal So-