The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester - Joule and Energy

INTRODUCTION
THE EXPERIMENT
JOULE'S LIFE AND WORK
APPARATUS
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
GLOSSARY

Welcome >> Joule's life and work >> The importance of Joule's work to industry in Manchester

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This image shows part of a beam engine at the museum of science and industry which was built in 1830 and drive a joiner's shop at Haydock Colliery in Lancashire

The image above shows part of a beam engine, at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, which was built in about 1830 and drove a joiners' shop at Haydock Colliery in Lancashire. View larger image.

Why was James Joule's work important to industry in Manchester?

Factory owners in the 19th century were very concerned with efficiency - how to produce more products for less work. Joule's experiments helped the manufacturers of steam engines and electric motors improve the performance of both by getting them to understand what was happening inside the machines. He established that electric motors were even less efficient than steam engines - "the comparison is so very unfavourable that I confess I almost despair".

He determined this through a series of experiments that looked at the relationship between wasted mechanical work and the energy of molecular motion or friction.

 

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