James Joule: Thinker, Beer Drinker

Here's a little information to share with your friends over a drink this weekend, courtesy of one of our engineers...

James Joule provided the basis for the worldwide “universal system” of electric power transmission. He lived in England during the middle 1800s, long before the notion of electric power and widespread electrification was even dreamed of. The joule unit of energy was named after him following his observations on the relationship between heat, electricity and mechanical work in the cellar of the family brewery.

Joule rubbed shoulders with many of the great thinkers of his day and after he was educated, became the manager of his father’s brewery. He continued writing and corresponding with the scientific community throughout his life. He was on the right track of fundamental theory even though it was at odds with the accepted thought at the time. Electrical and Mechanical engineers both claim Joule as a kindred spirit because he was a common sense technologist and laid the foundation for most of their fundamental coursework.

Joule’s effect allows MLGW to deliver bulk electricity with very little loss. While investigating replacing his brewery’s steam engines with a new device, the electric motor, he developed the idea of “economical duty.” He compared the work he could get out of a pound of coal in a steam engine versus a pound of zinc found in his early batteries. He discovered that a little change in current resulted in a lot of power loss. This “universal system” is becoming even more important, now that national super grids are on the horizon.

James Joule’s work not only formed the foundation of electric transmission but was also was the key to arc welding, refrigeration, and thermodynamics. He has been termed a physicist but in reality was a technologist – a person who tries to understand the fundamental workings of the world and seeks to put them to positive use.

But what I really want to know...was his beer any good?