James Watt, Chemist: Understanding the Origins of the Steam Age

Author:   David Philip Miller
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Volume:   No. 8
ISBN:  

9781851969746


Pages:   256
Publication Date:   21 June 2009
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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James Watt, Chemist: Understanding the Origins of the Steam Age


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Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   David Philip Miller
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Ltd
Volume:   No. 8
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9781851969746


ISBN 10:   1851969748
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   21 June 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The 'Great Steamer' - A Life Outlined Part I: Representations 1 Introduction: Of Statues, Kettles and Indicators - 'The Mechanical Watt' 2 The Demise of the 'Chemical Watt' in the Nineteenth Century 3 The 'Mechanical Watt': The Making of a 'Philosophical Engineer' Part II: Realities 4 Watt's Chemistry of Heat 5 The Steam Engine as Chemistry 6 The Indicator Understood, or Why Watt was not a Proto-thermodynamicist Conclusions

Reviews

'will be especially valuable to readers interested in the science of the period. Highly Recommended.' CHOICE


'will be especially valuable to readers interested in the science of the period. Highly Recommended.' CHOICE 'Miller has an enjoyable writing style ... The balance of the book is good and the 16-page bibliography is very wide ranging.' Notes & Records of the Royal Society 'Miller concludes his fascinating study of reputation with an analysis of Watt's indicator in its late-eighteenth-century and ninteenth-century manifestations.' Victorian Studies 'Miller adds significantly to our understanding of phlogistic chemistry in late eighteenth-century Britain and, via his account of Watt's role in the 'water controversy', the Chemical Revolution itself ... It is a measure of [his] considerable acumen and talents as a historian that he achieves his novel and illuminating insights through a carefully crafted, exhaustively documented and tightly argued analysis of a period in the history of science which, though still poorly understood, transformed our comprehension and utilization of that most ubiquitous and precious substance, water.' Annals of Science


'will be especially valuable to readers interested in the science of the period. Highly Recommended.' CHOICE 'Miller has an enjoyable writing style ... The balance of the book is good and the 16-page bibliography is very wide ranging.' Notes & Records of the Royal Society 'Miller concludes his fascinating study of reputation with an analysis of Watt's indicator in its late-eighteenth-century and ninteenth-century manifestations.' Victorian Studies 'Miller adds significantly to our understanding of phlogistic chemistry in late eighteenth-century Britain and, via his account of Watt's role in the 'water controversy', the Chemical Revolution itself ... It is a measure of [his] considerable acumen and talents as a historian that he achieves his novel and illuminating insights through a carefully crafted, exhaustively documented and tightly argued analysis of a period in the history of science which, though still poorly understood, transformed our comprehension and utilization of that most ubiquitous and precious substance, water.' Annals of Science 'The analysis is consistently convincing, the range of sources consulted is impressive, and the prose is direct and simple - yet always interesting.' Metascience


'a tremendous piece of scholarship ... should be read not just by by students of Watt but also by scholars concerned with chemistry, engineering, commemoration and reputation building from the mid-eighteenth century.' British Journal for the History of Science 'will be especially valuable to readers interested in the science of the period. Highly recommended.' CHOICE 'Miller has an enjoyable writing style ... The balance of the book is good and the 16-page bibliography is very wide ranging.' Notes & Records of the Royal Society 'Miller concludes his fascinating study of reputation with an analysis of Watt's indicator in its late-eighteenth-century and ninteenth-century manifestations.' Victorian Studies 'Miller adds significantly to our understanding of phlogistic chemistry in late eighteenth-century Britain and, via his account of Watt's role in the 'water controversy', the Chemical Revolution itself ... It is a measure of [his] considerable acumen and talents as a historian that he achieves his novel and illuminating insights through a carefully crafted, exhaustively documented and tightly argued analysis of a period in the history of science which, though still poorly understood, transformed our comprehension and utilization of that most ubiquitous and precious substance, water.' Annals of Science 'The analysis is consistently convincing, the range of sources consulted is impressive, and the prose is direct and simple - yet always interesting.' Metascience


Author Information

David Philip Miller is emeritus professor of history of science at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities and a member of the International Academy of the History of Science.

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