<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > Who invented the steam engine? </h1>
The steam engine is a reciprocating power machine that converts the energy of steam into mechanical work. The production of steam requires boiling water, so it is necessary to use wood, coal, etc. as fuel to burn the boiler, and then use steam expansion to push the piston to work and output power. The advent of the steam engine was an epoch-making event that eventually sparked the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century.
When it comes to the steam engine, everyone will invariably think of Watt, many people think that Watt invented the steam engine, in fact, he just improved the steam engine, improved the efficiency of the steam engine, so that the steam engine can be truly applied to industrial production.
According to historical records, 2,000 years ago, the ancient Roman inventor and mathematician Šilo invented a device called a steam ball. The steam ball is mainly composed of a hollow ball and a closed pot filled with water, which are connected together by two hollow tubes, heated at the bottom of the pot to make the water boil into water vapor, and then enter the ball by the tube, and finally the water vapor will be sprayed out from both sides of the sphere and make the sphere rotate. However, the device did not have any practical use at the time. This should be the world's earliest prototype of the steam engine.
French physicist Dennis Pappan proposed the specific working principle of the steam engine by observing the pressure cooker out of gas, and in 1679 made the world's earliest working model of the steam engine, laying the foundation for the emergence of a practical steam engine. Therefore, the inventor of the steam engine should be Dennis Papan.
After this, Thomas Severi built the world's first practical steam water lifter in 1698, while Thomas Nucomen built the early industrial steam engine in 1712. Watt made a major improvement on the basis of the Newcomen steam engine, greatly improving the efficiency of the steam engine, and eventually triggering the Industrial Revolution.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > Who invented the electric light? </h1>
Electric lights belong to artificial light sources, a device that converts electricity into light, a very great invention, and people still enjoy its benefits today.
If you were to ask who invented the electric light, many people might think of it as Edison. In fact, the electric light was not invented by Edison.
The prototype of electric light appeared in the early 19th century. In 1801, the British chemist David used platinum wire to achieve electrical luminescence in his laboratory; in 1810, David invented an electric candle that illuminated it with an arc between two energized carbon rods.
The advent of electric lights is decades later. In 1854, the American Henry Gobert used a carbon filament placed in a vacuum glass bottle to make the world's first practical electric lamp, which has a lifespan of up to 400 hours. Therefore, the inventor of the electric light should be Gobert.
In 1874, two Canadian engineers made further improvements to Goebbels' technology by filling glass bubbles with nitrogen. In 1875, Edison bought the patents from the two Canadians, and Edison's improvement of electric lights began here. After many trials, Edison finally made a carbonized bamboo wire lamp that could last for 1200 hours in 1880 and brought it to the market with great success.
In addition, in 1878, Joseph Swan, a British electrical engineer on the other side of the ocean, after years of research, also independently made a vacuum bulb with carbon wire electrified and luminous, and obtained relevant patents. Swann and Edison still had a patent dispute over electric lamps in Britain, but in the end Swann sold all of his patents to Edison.
At the beginning of the 20th century, bamboo filament bulbs were replaced by tungsten filament bulbs.
The reason why Edison is mistaken for the inventor of electric lights is mainly because of his promotion of power systems and electric lights, which has made many people in the world use electric lights. If the light has an electric lamp, there is no electricity, and it is useless! The famous General Electric Company was founded by Edison.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16" > summary</h1>
In history, there are many cases like the above, such as papermaking is not invented by Cai Lun, he just improved papermaking, as for who invented this papermaking, it is now impossible to study, it should be the wisdom of many people. Of course, improvement is also an invention.
In short, many inventions and creations do not tend to be perfected overnight, but become better and better with the development of time, and there are many people's contributions behind this. Some things, certain things, cannot be accomplished on their own, such as the atomic bomb, and many times someone is called "the father of so-and-so", just because the contribution made by that person is relatively large.
Whether it is Watt or Edison, they are outstanding engineers and inventors, standing on the shoulders of giants, and have made great contributions to the development of human civilization. But we should correctly understand history, not to credit them with all the credit, but also to remember those who are unknown. It is the contribution of this generation after generation that makes our lives more and more beautiful with the change of science and technology.