Introduction
The remarkable industrial revolution of the 18th century had a very important milestone in the global civilization. As a matter of fact, it set the pace for the recent boost in technology today. However, this is also imperative to consider that the invention and subsequent advancement in the steam engine played an important role in the famous industrial revolution. Before the invention of the steam engine, industrial processes were manually based. More so, the earliest forms of steam engines produced by the engineer, Thomas Savery and even the subsequent development of the first practical steam engine by the English inventor, Thomas Newcomen were highly limited. Therefore, it did not meet the need of the time (Firesheets; Lira, 2013; Xie et al., n.d.).
It was not until the extensive improvements made by James Watt (1736 – 1819) on the steam engine that it became highly relevant in the industries (Lira, 2013). Sanford (2008) argued that the James Watt improvement on the steam engines in the 1780s enabled not only industrial revolution but also consumer revolution. The steam engines were extensively applied in different industries as they were used in driving machines to produce textiles, food milling, and lathe turning as well as in transporting cargo and people.
Operation of the Engine
Interestingly, Watt did not invent the steam engine, but rather he made extensive improvements on it. Watt simply built on Thomas Newcomen engine. As a matter of fact, Watt made a lot of inventions that went a long way in improving the steam engine. The steam engine operates in a very interesting way.
In the Watt’s steam engine, valves are used in connecting the upper and lower parts of the cylinder to the condenser and boiler. The sun and planet gear system is connected at the right end of the beam. This gear system is used in turning the large engine wheel located at the downward part of the figure 1. The engine wheel is quite large, and it is built with teeth on the outside in order to turn machinery effectively. Two pipes located at the left side of the steam cylinder are connected to the upper and lower valves. The function of the pipes is to let the cylinder ends, located above and below the piston in order to connect the boiler and condenser alternately. This alternative connection implies that when one of the ends is connected to the boiler, the other end will be connected to the condenser. The engine piston produces equal work on both upward and downward strokes because the upward and downward strokes are similar.
The Parallel Motion Mechanism
One of the remarkable characteristics of the Watt's rotative steam engine, of which James Watt was very proud of, is the elimination of the chain. This chain connects the beam and the steam piston rod with the mechanism known as parallel motion mechanism. The mechanism makes it feasible and compatible to the linear motion of the piston with the arc motion of the beam effectively, and it makes pushing and pulling by the piston possible (Lira, 2012.).
Figure 1: Early Watt Steam Pumping Engine (Adopted from Lira, 2013)
The Governor
Another interesting feature in the Watt’s rotative steam engine is the governor. The governor is connected to the engine wheel through a chain and pulley located at its base. When the engine wheel turns, the governor is spun by the chain, and as the engine speeds up, the governor spins faster causing the ball to rise due to the centrifugal force on it. The governor had been discovered prior to Watt's innovation. But Watt discovered mechanism of feeding the speed signal back to the steam throttle in order to regulate the allowable rate of steam that is permitted to enter the cylinder (Lira, 2012.).
Figure 2: Speed Governor, (Adopted from Lira, 2012)
The Sun and Planet Gear System
Another important invention made by Watt in the development of the steam engine is the planet and sun gear system connected to the main beam. The gear system could serve the same purpose as a crankshaft. Regarding this particular application, it is more suitable than a crankshaft because a crankshaft will turn a wheel only once per stroke of the piston. The sun and planet gear system is complex, but it possesses the advantage of turning the wheel faster. However, because of the complexity, the device is not in use now as it has been replaced with more efficient systems. Nonetheless, the sun and planet gear system presented in figure 3 is remarkable. It can convert slow linear motion to rotative motion at moderate speeds (Lira, 2012).
Figure 3: Sun and planet Gear System (Adopted from Lira, 2012)
Environmental Impacts Of Watt’s Rotatory Steam Engine
Even though the steam engines of the 18th century catalyzed industrial revolution, they also posed a lot of threats to mankind and his environment. This is undeniable fact that the rapid increase in global warming can largely be attributed to the industrial revolution from the early 18th century till date. The rapid depletion of the ozone layer and lots of other threats and menaces to our environment has posed tremendous threats that are too difficult to overcome. Of course, steam engines and other inventions have no doubt made life better for mankind but on the other hand it has endangered human lives and the environment in an unimaginable way. However, Firesheets pointed out that the improved version of the Newcomen’s engine developed by James Watt during period of 1763 and 1775 used 75% less coal than the Newcomen’s engine. As a result of this, the Watt’s engine is much more efficient than the Newcomen’s engine and can operate at a much cheaper cost.
However, even though the Watt’s engine uses less coal than the Newcomen’s engine, it still releases a tremendous amount of pollutants in the environment. Xie et al. called the steam engine a "paradox box.". This has a lot of benefits and improved the lives of countless numbers of the populace in the industrial revolution era, but it has grievous downside. Due to the use of the Watt’s rotative steam engine, the importance of natural resources like coal, petroleum, natural gas, metal and mineral oil and so forth have become obvious. This resulted to drilling and the development of powerful machineries and equipment for locomotion and other purposes. The problem with the engine is emission of the tremendous amount of pollutants into the atmosphere (Xie et al., n.d). The pollutants released by steam engines would include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and water vapor and so forth. These pollutants are not only extremely dangerous to mankind, but also they harm our environment.
For instance, carbon dioxide and water vapor are greenhouse gases. Being greenhouse gases, they play vital roles in the depletion of the ozone layers. Today, scientists are seriously searching for alternatives to fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and so forth in order to reduce the pollutants and emission of greenhouse gases. In addition, the excessive drilling of crude oil and coal poses great menace to the environment and disrupt the natural ecosystems. The results of global warming are grievous and include melting of the polar caps, heating up of the planets and many others.
Furthermore, as a result of the development and advancement in the steam engine, a lot of industrial products are now possible. Xie et al., pointed out that these products that may include electronics trashes and industrial refuses pose a great harm on the environment. Most of these industrial products are not recyclable and therefore are disposed of in the landfills. They fill up the landfills and since most of them are not biodegradable; they continue to pose great harm and threat to mankind and his environment.
In addition, poisonous chemicals are used in most of the manufacturing processes. Therefore, when these chemicals are released into the environment, they continue to pose harm and threats. These chemicals or pollutants not only deplete the ozone layer, but they also kill vital organisms and plants. This is why the recent trend into green technology is very important to reverse the negative effects of the industrial revolution. Of course, the industrial revolution brought a lot of goodness to mankind and his environment but the dangers it also brought cannot be overstated.
Pollution emerged as a major problem during the industrial revolution as a result of the introduction of the steam engine and numerous other technological advances (Pollution Issues, 2014). This resulted in a dramatic shift from small industries to large industries. The manufacturing activities and processes were greatly advanced as a result of the development in the steam engine. Modern steam engines have more efficient parts than the Watt's steam engines and also their function on better principles of operations. For instance, modern engines produce higher efficiency and have inbuilt capability to reduce the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. This serves to protect the environment against the excessive release of pollutants and greenhouse gases (Pollution Issues, 2014).
Another environmental impact of the Watt’s rotative steam engine that should be noted is noise pollution. The early steam engines produce lots of noises that could be a great inconvenience to people around. Since they were used in automobiles for locomotion, the environmental impact becomes much as it releases pollutants and also noise into the atmosphere. However, there have been tremendous improvements in this in the recent engines. Modern steam engines produce relatively less noise and are also very efficient. Improvement in technology has always made the life of mankind better than it was, and it keeps on doing so. More so, there is a need for much more improvement to drastically reduce or eliminate the amount of pollutants, contaminants and poisonous gases released into the atmosphere through steam engines and its products.
Conclusion
The paper explained the principles of operation of the Watt's rotator steam engine of 1788. It pointed out the basic functional parts of the engines that determine its effectiveness. It also highlights what makes the steam engines developed by Watt better than the steam engines developed by his predecessors including Thomas Newcomen and Thomas Savery. However, despite how wonderful the steam engine was and how it changed human life during the industrial revolution, steam engine was called a "paradox box" because of its great threat to the environment. Steam engine produces a lot of noise during its operation and also it releases pollutants such as carbon dioxide and so forth. Modern technology should tackle the excessive release of pollutants regarding safeguard the planet “Earth.". The recent innovations in green energy is targeted at ensuring zero percent emission from engines. This ensures the reduction in environmental impacts that result from such pollutions. Finally, the Watt's rotator steam engine set the pace for the great boost and industrial growth we experience today.
References
Firesheets, N. (n.d.). Steam Engines. [Online] Files.t-square.gatech.edu. Available at: http://files.t-square.gatech.edu/access/content/group/80020.200908/presentations/Steam%20Engines.ppt [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].
Lira C. (2013). Brief History of the Steam Engine. [Online] Available at: www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].
Lira, C. (2012). Do The Double-Acting Piston and the Rotative Enginecument. [Online] Available at: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/double.htm [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].
Pollution Issues (2014). Industry. [Online] Available at: www.pollutionissues.com/Ho-Li/Industry.html [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].
Sanford G. (2008). Steam Engine. [Online] Available at: www.ventumusa.com/IR/documents/IR-Sample%20Entry.pdf [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].
Xie Y. et al. (n.d). Steam Engine. [Online] Available at: http://intro.phys.psu.edu/class/p001projects/Project1/Spr11Projects/20%Steam_Engine.pptx[Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].
