James watt
James Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland, and was taught at home. His technical expertise seems to have been obtained from working in his father's workshop and from early in life he showed academic promise.
Watt combined the expertise of a scientist with that of a practical engineer, for later he was not only to improve the heat engine but also to devise new mechanisms.
Watt was interested in making experimental models of steam engines. In the development of the steam engine James Watt represents the perfecting of a sequence of stages beginning with the Newcomen engine and ending with the parallel motion and sun/planet gearing.
In the scientific field Watt's finest memorial, apart from steam engines, is his establishment of the unit of power — the rate of doing work. He coined the term horsepower (hp), one horse being defined as equivalent to 33,000 ft lb/min.
James Watt died in 1819 in Heathfield, after a life of incomparable technical value. Later, a statue to Watt was placed in Westminster Abbey.
Faraday puts electricity to work
Michael Faraday, who was born in 1791 and died in 1867, gathered together and set in order all the work of the scientists who had worked on electrical problems before him.
He discovered how to make an electrical motor. he built the first generator, then called dynamo. The modern car has both a starting motor and a generator. The starting motor draws electric current from the car battery to start engine. The generator is driven by the engine to recharge the battery and to furnish electric power for all the electrical conveniences in the car.
Faraday also discovered the laws of electrolysis. The works of many other scientists were influenced by the discoveries made by Faraday. Their inventions have profoundly changed the lives of nearly everyone in the world.