![]() ![]() The principle of Newcomen machine was as follows: when in a cylinder filled with steam a cold water is injected, the steam condenses to form a vacuum, and the piston under the action of the atmospheric pressure is making the movement. At that time these kind of machines was used to pump out the water from mines. In winter 1763-1764 Watt got an order to repair the model of Newcomen steam engine, which was owned by the Department of Natural Philosophy. Another time in a similar situation he learned Italian. Once, to read one of the first work, dedicated to the machines, he learned German. And he, if did not know the answer to their questions, at once started to investigate the problem. Watt also made friends with many students who often asked the young mechanics for advice. Besides, Watt met the well-known physicist and chemist Joseph Black, who in 1754 had discovered carbon dioxide, in 1754 – the so called latent heat of fusion and vaporization, and in 1760 had introduced the notion of heat capacity. This circumstance was of utmost importance as for the future of Watt as well as for the technology history. His invention Watt made being the mechanic of the Glasgow University. The history of Watt’s invention is interesting because many things are joined in it: university science, business, protection of intellectual property – all those reasons which are so much read and speak about in the modern Ukraine. This was one of those invention which gave birth to the industrial revolution in England in the second half of XVIII century. The steam engine, created by Watt, belongs to the most outstanding inventions in the history of humankind. Want to support reporting like this? Consider making a gift to Michigan Radio today.January 19, 2011, it turned out 275 years from the birth James Watt (1736-1819)- the English inventor which name is given to the power unit – watt. There were a number of others that we’re still discovering in terms of the breakthroughs and the pioneering efforts that they made." "We can talk about Elijah McCoy, but he was hardly singular in what he was doing. So some of those people are lost in history. There’s always the question of bigotry, and prejudice and racism, discrimination African-Americans had during that time. "However, he’s like a number of pioneers who have to overcome a number of obstacles and barriers to take their place in history. "Before his death I think he was highly respected among people who were in the industry," Boyd said. Just nine years before he died, McCoy took more control over his own inventions and founded Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company, according to Boyd. ![]() "Only later in his life was he able to really take advantage of. ![]() "Manufacturing companies made careers off of Elijah McCoy's innovations," Boyd said. However, there is a lot of controversy on that," Boyd said, noting that there are several competing theories about the origins of the phrase. "Because it was such an interesting development and innovation, many engineers and conductors began to ask, 'Is this a real McCoy?' And so, many people feel that that's the origin of that particular term. So, he's kind of forced to taking something that is kind of an inferior job."īoyd calls McCoy "absolutely prolific," noting that his work went beyond train lubrication, including one patent for a folding ironing board.īut the self-lubricating device for locomotives would turn out to be the most significant. "The Michigan Central Railroad hired him as an oiler and as a fire person. "After going to Scotland as a teenager to become a mechanical engineer, he came back to this country, and was unable to get a job employed in his particular craft," Boyd said. They went to Canada, where McCoy was born, and eventually settled in Ypsilanti, Michigan, according to Herb Boyd, the author of Black Detroit: A People’s History of Self-Determination.īoyd says racism limited McCoy’s opportunities as a young professional. McCoy’s parents escaped from slavery in Kentucky on the Underground Railroad. McCoy's creation became a necessity on trains, but it never would have happened without an entirely different kind of railroad. “If you were an oiler crawling over steam engines at the time, you would describe his inventions as life-saving, or arm-saving.” “We describe his inventions as assisting in lubrication,” says Damian Porcari, the director of the patent office. He’s best known for inventing an automatic lubricator that was used on trains. McCoy had more than 50 patents to his name. McCoy was born in the mid-1840s, nearly 170 years before the office opened. Patent and Trademark office in Detroit bears the name of Elijah McCoy, a pioneering African-American inventor. ![]()
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