James Baquet

    Believe it or not, there was a time when electric power companies wanted people to increase their consumption of electricity, rather than conserve it (so they could sell more). To this end, we used to see cartoons at school about a little guy named “Reddy Kilowatt,” whose nose looked like a light bulb, his ears like sockets, and his torso and limbs like bolts of lightning.

    He even had a song:

    “I wash and dry your clothes, play your radios, I can heat your coffee pot,

    “I am always there, with lots of power to spare, ‘cause I’m REDDY KILOWATT!”

    Well, things have changed. Today, we try to save as much energy as possible, using low wattage bulbs, for instance.

    But what’s a watt? It’s a unit of power (equivalent to one joule per second) and was named for Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819). He was born by the sea 35 kilometers or so from Glasgow where, after studying instrument-making in London, he returned to set up trade. But the Glasgow Guild of Hammermen (who controlled any trade that used hammers) would not grant him a license, as he had not served a proper apprenticeship.

    Fortunately, he was hired by the University of Glasgow, who tasked him with repairing astronomical instruments. They allowed him his own workshop on the campus, where he made toys, musical instruments, and other items.

    A legend tells us that Watt was watching a tea kettle one day, and as the lid lifted due to the force of steam, he was inspired to invent the steam engine. In fact, steam engines already existed; what Watt did was improve their design to make them more powerful, contributing to the success of the Industrial Revolution.

    How did this lead to “the watt” as a unit of power? Watt coined the concept of horsepower, comparing the amount of work done by an engine to the amount done by a horse. But this was calculated differently in different locations. The unit was standardized (often for electrical uses) and named for him 70 years after his death. It is the International System of Units (“SI”) designation for power (though horsepower is still commonly used, as for automobile engines).

    Vocabulary:

    Which word above means:

    1. the main part of the body (chest and abdomen)

    2. places for plugging in an electric appliance

    3. open a business

    4. formal training under a master

    5. specialized pot with a spout for pouring hot water

    6. save, use cautiously

    7. use (of something)

    8. because of

    9. gave responsibility for

    10. arms and legs