Thomas Savery (1650-1715) was an important English engineer; he, along with Thomas Newcomen, is credited with inventing the first atmospheric steam engine. According to writings of the time, this device represented an important advance for the mining industry.
Although at the time it was not well received by the companies dedicated to the exploitation of minerals, a few years later a series of improvements to the creation of Savery gave way to the steam engine of the Scottish inventor James Watt, used in the revolution industrial.
Thomas Savery, an English engineer with a fondness for mathematics and inventions. By Unknown - http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/thurston/1878/Chapter1.htmlhttp://www.moah.org/steam/steam.html, Public Domain
Savery, on July 25, 1688 received the patent for his invention (British patent GB 356 AD 1698) and on September 22, 1701 he presented drawings of the new and revolutionary equipment, in addition to explaining its operation to the mining companies.
This steam engine called it "Friends of the miner", the fundamental base was an engine to raise the water by fire. It consisted of a boiler, a separate collecting chamber and two pipes that, through the process of heating and cooling, sucked the water from the mines to expel it upwards.
This, his most important invention, did not achieve the commercial success expected in mineral exploration companies. However, it was used for a long time to supply water in English towns such as Hampton Court that did not have mills or irrigation systems.
In some of these towns like Campden House in Kensington his invention was useful for up to 18 years.
Biography
Little is known of the early years of Thomas Savery. Born in Shilstone (Devon), he was one of the children of Richard Savery and grandson of Christopher Savery of Totnes, he belonged to a respected English family and received a complete education.
He was characterized by his love of mathematics, mechanics, and philosophy. His dedication to study allowed him to graduate as a military engineer and reach the rank of captain in 1702.
He spent part of his youth in Exeter, one of the oldest cities in Britain. There he was very close to a mining district and it is believed that it was where the idea of working on a device that would facilitate the work of those who were dedicated to the extraction of minerals arose.
In his spare time he carried out mechanical experiments. Thanks to this, several inventions are attributed to him, although not all his creations received positive comments.
Contributions
Savery presented his steam engine to mining companies. By Institute of Human Thermodynamics and IoHT Publishing Ltd. - Image copy / pasted from http://www.humanthermodynamics.com/HT-history.html, Public Domain
Among his notable inventions are also a machine for polishing glass and marble or the paddle wheel for ships that was rejected by the British Armed Forces. He obtained their respective patents from both in 1969.
The paddle wheel for boats was a device that allowed calm paddling thanks to the incorporation of a winch. This is responsible for dragging the entire weight of the boat. Savedry presented it to aristocrat William III and tested its feasibility by installing it on a small yacht, but despite his efforts he was unable to commercialize it.
Another of his innovations, but which was not accepted either, was a mechanism that made it possible to measure the distance navigated by ships. On this she did not obtain an exclusivity registration.
For a time he also worked contracting medical supplies at the Sick and Hurt Commissioners, an institution that handled the health services of the British Royal Navy and had good relations with the Apothecary Society.
One of the lesser known facets of Thomas Savedry was that of a writer. He published Navigation Improved (1698) and El amigo del minero (1702); in both works he explained his inventions in detail. A translation of the Dutch Treaty on Fortifications (1704) is also known of him.
Savedry also had great marketing skills, which is why he took care of the marketing and publicity of his inventions himself.
He also had a mechanical workshop in the center of London, which allowed him to become a public figure who came to have meetings with important representatives of the aristocracy and members of the Royal Society.
In 1714 he served as a waterworks surveyor for Hampton Court Palace.
Stumbles in your career
The reason Thomas Savedry was unsuccessful when he invented the steam engine was that it failed in its demonstrations. The hot vent it gave off was ten times that of ordinary air, causing the seals of the machine to explode.
Its steam equipment was also used in an attempt to clean the water from the Broad Waters pool in Wednesdaybury, but the expected results were also not achieved after the engine exploded.
The same happened in some coal companies that ventured to test the novel invention. The liquid accumulated by mining was constant and Savery's team did not have enough force to suck the water from the deepest caves.
Furthermore, his invention required boilers to keep pumping constant and this model was not feasible in mines with difficult access.
Writings of the time suggest that Savedry initially used unsuitable material to power up his device and this detracted from the quality of his product. However, the method used was practical, which was discovered years later.
After his death
Thomas Savedry died at his home in London on May 15, 1715.
It was after his passing that his invention had the success he had hoped for. The patent granted to this English engineer was taken to The Proprietors of the Invention for Raising Water by Fir to develop his steam engine.
A few years later the inventor James Watt made a third modification to his apparatus and that is how it was commercialized on a large scale.
Licenses were issued to build and operate steam engines with improvements made by Thomas Newcom and James Watt for proper operation. The economic income was considerable.
Royalties reached up to £ 420 per year, while other mining companies paid half of their annual net profits just to keep the machine running.
References
- Thomas Savery (1702-Reprinted in 1827) The Miner's Friend: Or, an Engine to Raise Water by Fire.
- Christopher F. Lindsey (2004-2014) Thomas Savery: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- English Patents of Inventions. Deutschen Museums Library documents
- Oscar Szymanczyk (2013) History of world telecommunications.
- The British Patent System and the Industrial Revolution (2014). Sean Bottomley
- Burke, Bernard (1879) A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland 6th ed.