CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
PAPER 27
KINEMATICS OF MECHANISMS FROM THE TIME OF WATT
Eugene S. Ferguson
Contents
| [JAMES WATT, KINEMATIC SYNTHESIST] | 187 |
| [TO DRAW A STRAIGHT LINE] | 199 |
| [SCHOLARS AND MACHINES] | 209 |
| [MECHANICIANS AND MECHANISMS] | 216 |
| [MECHANISMS IN AMERICA, 1875-1955] | 223 |
| [ADDITIONAL REFERENCES] | 229 |
KINEMATICS OF MECHANISMS FROM THE TIME OF WATT
In an inventive tour de force that seldom, if ever, has been equalled for its brilliance and far-reaching consequences, James Watt radically altered the steam engine not only by adding a separate condenser but by creating a whole new family of linkages. His approach was largely empirical, as we use the word today.