In this article, the author explores aspects of Scottish engineer James Watt mythology relating to the kettle and Watt's experiments on steam. The author surveys modem versions of the myth of James Watt's childhood fascination with steam and find it notable that most of them link the portrayal to the idea of steam power. The significance of the rattling kettle is usually taken to be its demonstration to the young Watt that steam could be a source of power. The author traces the myth to nineteenth-century documentary sources and to two paintings.
...MoreDescription On the myth of Watt's childhood fascination with steam and its relation to his later work.
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