James Greener
2019.09.01: Three more papers ready for peer review
'A Special Act of Providence' compares the only known account of the invention of cold water injection to activate an atmospheric engine with contemporary texts on experimental methodology reveals that Newcomen and Calley’s inventive process corresponds with the design of experiments prescribed by Robert Hooke for the Royal Society. Consequently, when an unexpected outcome occurred, they were able to make full application of the findings. Differences between the steam piston experiments of Newcomen and Denis Papin are explored, suggesting that the inventors may have been working in parallel. This paper will be read at the May 2020 Early Engines Conference at Dudley - next to the site of the fist (and third) engine! - and published in IHET.
‘Offering themselves by chance’ re-examines the implicit tenet that Newcomen was remote from London ‘science’, uncovering previously unknown links with Robert Boyle, Denis Papin and other scienti across Europe. Michael Hunter has generously reviewed and corrected this paper extensively. Following a further rewrite, it is now ready for editorial peer review.
'The Impellent Force of Fire' investigates the dating of Newcomen and Calley invention of the atmospheric engine and whether they applied for a patent. Later historians have been puzzled by this double question no less than Newcomen’s contemporaries. The available evidence - Newcomen's own testimony - reveals a plausible timeline for a more complex sequence of events than hitherto supposed.
'A Special Act of Providence' compares the only known account of the invention of cold water injection to activate an atmospheric engine with contemporary texts on experimental methodology reveals that Newcomen and Calley’s inventive process corresponds with the design of experiments prescribed by Robert Hooke for the Royal Society. Consequently, when an unexpected outcome occurred, they were able to make full application of the findings. Differences between the steam piston experiments of Newcomen and Denis Papin are explored, suggesting that the inventors may have been working in parallel. This paper will be read at the May 2020 Early Engines Conference at Dudley - next to the site of the fist (and third) engine! - and published in IHET.
‘Offering themselves by chance’ re-examines the implicit tenet that Newcomen was remote from London ‘science’, uncovering previously unknown links with Robert Boyle, Denis Papin and other scienti across Europe. Michael Hunter has generously reviewed and corrected this paper extensively. Following a further rewrite, it is now ready for editorial peer review.
'The Impellent Force of Fire' investigates the dating of Newcomen and Calley invention of the atmospheric engine and whether they applied for a patent. Later historians have been puzzled by this double question no less than Newcomen’s contemporaries. The available evidence - Newcomen's own testimony - reveals a plausible timeline for a more complex sequence of events than hitherto supposed.
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Papers by James Greener
Consensus is that his initial apparatus was partly derived from an air pump, however historians have debated how this isolated ironmonger could have garnered sufficient theoretical understanding to pursue such a line of enquiry, let alone the know-how to make suitable devices and mechanisms. Just how remote was Newcomen from London ‘science’?
This paper examines his relational connections, identifying potential links with Denis Papin, Robert Hooke and an authority on mine pumps, Christopher Kirkby. The case of Newcomen illustrates the proliferation of modern ideas and values through relational networks, and, most importantly, the know-how to innovate.
This paper assesses the available textual evidence for the location and timing of each pre-1712 engine for which records are preserved. An overall timeline for the technical maturity and commercialisation application of the atmospheric engine is proposed. This development coincided with a short period of lower tax on shipped coal following which the inventors were forced to focus on draining coal works instead of tin mines. Cornwall’s unique context of sharing the risks and rewards of mining ventures shaped Newcomen’s initial business model as a build-operate-own-transfer contractor; this factor in turn facilitated the initial rapid spread of the technology subsequent to its public launch at Dudley in 1712.
Consensus is that his initial apparatus was partly derived from an air pump, however historians have debated how this isolated ironmonger could have garnered sufficient theoretical understanding to pursue such a line of enquiry, let alone the know-how to make suitable devices and mechanisms. Just how remote was Newcomen from London ‘science’?
This paper examines his relational connections, identifying potential links with Denis Papin, Robert Hooke and an authority on mine pumps, Christopher Kirkby. The case of Newcomen illustrates the proliferation of modern ideas and values through relational networks, and, most importantly, the know-how to innovate.
This paper assesses the available textual evidence for the location and timing of each pre-1712 engine for which records are preserved. An overall timeline for the technical maturity and commercialisation application of the atmospheric engine is proposed. This development coincided with a short period of lower tax on shipped coal following which the inventors were forced to focus on draining coal works instead of tin mines. Cornwall’s unique context of sharing the risks and rewards of mining ventures shaped Newcomen’s initial business model as a build-operate-own-transfer contractor; this factor in turn facilitated the initial rapid spread of the technology subsequent to its public launch at Dudley in 1712.