How did James watt invent the steam engine?

Answer 1

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I think Watt was not the first to invent THE steam engine, although his model probably had improvements, etc. Ever see a drop of water on a stove top? It can move a little peice of wood. Perhaps that was the first steam engine?

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Sorry - although you start correctly, the rest is guess-work very wide of the mark. No drops of water moving bits of wood, at all.

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In Watt's day, the only practical steam-engines were those invented some decades previously by Newcomen. These were purely reciprocating machines for driving mine-drainage pumps, and though they worked they were dreadfully inefficient because their power stroke was forced not by steam, but by atmospheric pressure against a partial vacuum created by using a water jet to condense steam in the cylinder.

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James Watt analysed the problem and realised that moving the condensing to a separate vessel, so keeping the power cylinder hot, made the engine much more efficient - costing much less to run. He was also one of those who found how to make the steam-engine rotative, so it could drive a much greater range of machinery than just the simple water-pump.

Answer 2

He essentially added a condenser which cooled the steam while it was hot creating less wasted heat. This greatly improved the previous design because it was functioning at a reasonable cost which hadn't been achieved before.

Answer 3

In 1765.