The Watt is widely known as a unit of electricity, but the man who gave it the name was lucky to live to adulthood. James Watt had seven brothers and sisters, but five of them died in infancy and Watt himself was a sickly child and initially an undistinguished student. An aptitude for mathematics changed his life, however, and his career as an engineer could hardly have been more distinguished. Watt’s steam engine was a landmark invention of the Industrial Revolution, which in turn was a key factor in the internationalisation of the English language.
In 1882, with water and steam power on the verge of commercial production, a name was needed for the unit of power measuring energy conversion. Carl Wilhelm Siemens proposed taking the name of Watt, who by this time had been dead for over 60 years. Siemens was a German-born engineer who became a British subject and had a unique international perspective on the impact of Watt’s work.
The power of most electrical units is measured in watts. A kitchen blender may generate 300 watts, a blow dryer 1000 and a domestic vacuum cleaner as many as 2500. Anyone wishing to throw down a challenge to their domestic appliances can try a session on an exercise bike. A Tour de France cyclist might routinely expect to generate 400 to 500 watts, while track sprinters can achieve instantaneous maximum output of a remarkable 2,000 watts.
In 2002 the BBC conducted a national poll to find the 100 Greatest Britons in history. James Watt was a creditable 84th on the list, above Sir Walter Raleigh and Viscount Montgomery of Alamein but curiously ranked far below footballer David Beckham and musician Boy George. A more balanced acknowledgement of Watt’s status would come in 2011, when the design of British 50 pound notes was amended to include a picture of the inventor and his pioneering steam engine.
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