Michael Mosley, Cassie Newland and Mark Miodownik describe the scientific achievements of Thomas Newcomen and James Watt.
These two geniuses were the first to transfer heat energy into useable power using steam engines.
Mark Miodownik shows a working model of a steam engine originally made the blacksmith Thomas Newcomen in 1712.
These early steam engines produced a vacuum to generate power and were commonly used for pumping water out of mines.
In 1763 James Watt was repairing a model of a Newcomen engine. He developed this idea in 1765 to include a separate condenser making the engine more powerful, portable and efficient.
This clip is from the series The Genius of Invention.
Teacher Notes
This clip would be ideally suited to showing students the significant achievements of Newcomen and Watt.
It could set the scene for a project on this or other famous historical scientists.
Students could stain their written work with tea bags to make it look as if it were written many years ago.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching Physics and History. This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC KS4/GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 in Scotland.
More from The Genius of Invention:
Development of photography by Daguerre and Fox Talbot. video
A description of the major scientific invention of photography by Louis Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot in the early 1800s.
Invention of motion pictures and celluloid. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the cinema by Eadweard Muybridge and Auguste and Louis Lumiere (amongst others).
The invention of Morse code and the first transatlantic cable. video
A description of the major scientific invention of Morse code by Samuel Morse.
The invention of photography by Nicephore Niepce. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the first photograph by Nicephore Niepce in 1826.
The invention of television by John Logie Baird. video
A description of the major scientific invention of television by John Logie Baird in 1925.
The invention of the telegraph by Cooke and Wheatstone. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the telegraph by Cook and Wheatstone.
The invention of the telephone and how it changed society. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.
The invention of wireless communication by Guglielmo Marconi. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the first wireless communication by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897.
Trial of Baird and Marconi - E.M.I's competing television technologies. video
A description of the major scientific invention of electronic television by the Marconi / EMI corporation.
The impact of the steam engine. video
A description of the social and economic effects of the steam engines developed by Newcomen and Watt at the start of the industrial revolution.
The invention of the electricity generator. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the electrical generator by Michael Faraday in the 1820s.
The invention of the first power station. video
A description of the effects of Michael Faraday鈥檚 electrical generator on Victorian society and the opening of the World鈥檚 first power station at Holborn Viaduct.
The invention of the turbine. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the rotary steam engine by Charles Parsons in 1884.
The invention of the internal combustion engine. video
A description of the major scientific inventions of Nicklaus Otto, Karl Benz and Henry Ford in developing the motor car.
The invention of the jet engine. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the jet engine by Frank Whittle in 1930.
The invention of the railway. video
A description of the major scientific invention of the railway by George Stephenson building upon the first steam locomotive invented by Richard Trevithick.
The invention of the steam locomotive. video
A description of the major scientific invention of first steam locomotive by Richard Trevithick in 1801.
