James Watt is often called the inventor of the steam engine, but in reality he improved upon the working steam engine of Thomas Newcomen and got his design patented in 1769. In the steam engine of James Watt, hot steam is passed inside the cylinder not just from the side but alternatively from top and bottom. The expansion force of the steam causes a piston in the cylinder to rise and fall. Watt converted this up and down movement into the rotational movement of a flywheel. From there, the force generated by steam could be transferred to machines – to sewing machines or weaving looms.
