Smeaton was born inAusthorpe,Leeds, England. After studying atLeeds Grammar School he joined his father's law firm, but left to become a mathematical instrument maker (working withHenry Hindley), developing, among other instruments, apyrometer to study material expansion. In 1750, his premises were in theGreat Turnstile in Holborn.[5]
He was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in 1753 and in 1759 won theCopley Medal for his research into the mechanics ofwaterwheels andwindmills.[6] His 1759 paper "An Experimental Enquiry Concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to Turn Mills and Other Machines Depending on Circular Motion"[7] addressed the relationship between pressure and velocity for objects moving in air (Smeaton noted that the table doing so was actually contributed by "my friend Mr Rouse" "an ingenious gentleman of Harborough, Leicestershire" and calculated on the basis of Rouse's experiments), and his concepts were subsequently developed to devise the 'Smeaton Coefficient'.[8] Smeaton'swater wheel experiments were conducted on a small scale model with which he tested various configurations over a period of seven years.[9] The resultant increase in efficiency in water power contributed to theIndustrial Revolution.[citation needed]
Over the period 1759–1782 he performed a series of further experiments and measurements on water wheels that led him to support and champion thevis viva theory of GermanGottfried Leibniz, an early formulation ofconservation of energy. This led him into conflict with members of the academic establishment who rejected Leibniz's theory, believing it inconsistent with SirIsaac Newton'sconservation of momentum.[citation needed]
In his 1759 paper "An Experimental Enquiry Concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to Turn Mills and Other Machines Depending on Circular Motion" Smeaton developed the concepts and data which became the basis for theSmeaton coefficient,[10] the lift equation used by theWright brothers. It has the form:[11]
where:
is the lift
is the Smeaton coefficient (see note below)
is the velocity
is the area in square feet
is thelift coefficient (the lift relative to the drag of a plate of the same area)
The Wright brothers determined withwind tunnels that the Smeaton coefficient value of 0.005[10] was incorrect and should have been 0.0033.[12] In modern analysis, the lift coefficient is normalised by thedynamic pressure instead of the Smeaton coefficient.
Smeaton is important in the history, rediscovery of, and development of moderncement, identifying the compositional requirements needed to obtain "hydraulicity" in lime; work which led ultimately to the invention ofPortland cement. Portland cement led to the re-emergence of concrete as a modern building material, largely due to Smeaton's influence.
Recommended by the Royal Society, Smeaton designed the thirdEddystone Lighthouse (1755–59).[13] He pioneered the use of 'hydraulic lime' (a form ofmortar that will set under water) and developed a technique involvingdovetailed blocks of granite in the building of the lighthouse. In designing the lighthouse, Smeaton combined different types of knowledge from separate fields, including geology, electrical research, meteorology, and classical learning.[14]
Granite bust by Philip Chatfield in Smeaton's Tower Plymouth
His lighthouse remained in use until 1877 when the rock underlying the structure's foundations had begun to erode; it was dismantled and partially rebuilt atPlymouth Hoe where it is known asSmeaton's Tower.[15] In 2020 a Cornish granite bust of Smeaton by Philip Chatfield, commissioned byThe Box, Plymouth, and funded byTrinity House, was installed in the tower's lantern chamber before its reopening. The bust is based on a plaster one donated by theInstitution of Civil Engineers in about 1980, but later removed for safety reasons.[16]
Smeaton is considered to be the firstexpert witness to appear in an English court. Because of his expertise in engineering, he was called to testify in court for a case related to the silting-up of the harbour atWells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk in 1782.[21] He also acted as a consultant on the disastrous 63-year-long New Harbour atRye, designed to combat the silting of the port ofWinchelsea. The project is now known informally as "Smeaton's Harbour", but despite the name his involvement was limited and occurred more than 30 years after work on the harbour commenced.[22] It closed in 1839.[23]
In 1789 Smeaton applied an idea byDenis Papin, by using a force pump to maintain the pressure and fresh air inside adiving bell.[25][26] This bell, built for theHexham Bridge project, was not intended for underwater work, but in 1790 the design was updated to enable it to be used underwater on the breakwater at Ramsgate Harbour.[26] Smeaton is also credited with explaining the fundamental differences and benefits of overshot versus undershot water wheels. Smeaton experimented with theNewcomen steam engine and made marked improvements around the timeJames Watt was building his first engines (c. late 1770s).[27]
Smeaton died after suffering a stroke while walking in the garden of his family home at Austhorpe, and was buried in theparish church at Whitkirk, West Yorkshire. His surviving daughters erected a memorial to him and his wife which is on thechancel wall of the church.[28][29]
Due to the decay of the rock beneath the Eddystone Lighthouse the structure needed to be replaced. When the upper section of Smeaton's lighthouse (which included the lantern, store and living and watch room) was about to be removed, it was suggested that some of it be brought to Whitkirk and set up as a memorial to him. Unfortunately, the project was deemed too expensive as it was estimated that it would cost around £1800.[30]
The pioneeringconstant of proportionality describing pressure varying inversely as the square of the velocity when applied to objects moving in air was namedSmeaton's coefficient in his honour.[10] Based on his concepts and data, it was used by theWright brothers in their pursuit of the first successfulheavier-than-air aircraft.
Between 1860 and 1894 the design of the reverse side of theold penny coin showed (behindBritannia) a depiction of Smeaton’s Eddystone lighthouse.[29]
John Smeaton Academy, a secondary school in the suburbs of Leeds adjacent to thePendas Fields estate near Austhorpe, is named after Smeaton. He is also commemorated at theUniversity of Plymouth, where the Mathematics and Technology Department is housed in a building named after him. A viaduct in the final stage of theLeeds Inner Ring Road, opened in 2008, was named after him.
Smeaton is mentioned in the song "I Predict a Riot" (as a symbol of a more dignified and peaceful epoch in Leeds history; and in reference to a Junior School House at Leeds Grammar School, which lead singer Ricky Wilson attended) by the indie rock bandKaiser Chiefs, who are natives of Leeds.
A Narrative Of The Building And A Description Of The Construction Of The Edystone Lighthouse With Stone. London: H. Hughs. 1791.[34]
An Account of Some Improvements of the Mariners Compass, in Order to Render the Card and Needle, Proposed by Doctor Knight, of General Use, by John Smeaton, Philosophical Instrument-Maker, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 46 (1749), p. 513-517
A Letter from Mr. J. Smeaton to Mr. John Ellicott, F. R. S. concerning Some Improvements Made by Himself in the Air-Pump, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 47 (1751), p. 415-428
An Engine for Raising Water by Fire; Being an Improvement of Savery's Construction, to Render It Capable of Working Itself, Invented by Mr. De Moura of Portugal, F. R. S. Described by Mr. J. Smeaton, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series, vol 47 (1751), p. 436-438
A Description of a New Tackle or Combination of Pullies, by Mr. J. Smeaton, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 47 (1751), p. 494-497
An Account of Some Experiments upon a Machine for Measuring the Way of a Ship at Sea. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 48 (1753), p. 532-546
Description of a New Pyrometer, with a Table of Experiments Made Therewith. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 48 (1753), p. 598-613
An Account of the Effects of Lightning upon the Steeple and Church of Lestwithiel, Cornwall; In a Letter to the Right Honourable the Earl of Macclesfield, President of the R.S. By Mr. John Smeaton, F.R.S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 50 (1757), p. 198-204
Remarks on the Different Temperature of the Air at Edystone, from That Observed at Plymouth, between the 7th and 14 July 1757. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 50 (1757), p. 488-490
An Experimental Enquiry concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to Turn Mills, and Other Machines, Depending on a Circular Motion. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 51 (1759), p. 100-174
A Discourse concerning the Menstrual Parallax, Arising from the Mutual Gravitation of the Earth and Moon; Its Influence on the Observations of the Sun and Planets; With a Method of Observing It: By J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 58 (1768), p. 156-169
Description of a New Method of Observing the Heavenly Bodies out of the Meridian: By J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 58 (1768), p. 170-173
Observation of a Solar Eclipse the 4th of June, 1769, at the Observatory at Austhorpe, Near Leeds, in the County of York. By J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 59 (1769), p. 286-288
Description of a New Hygrometer: By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 61 (1771), p. 198-211
An Experimental Examination of the Quantity and Proportion of Mechanic Power Necessary to be Employed in Giving Different Degrees of Velocity to Heavy Bodies from a State of Rest. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 66 (1776), p. 450-475
New Fundamental Experiments upon the Collision of Bodies. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S. in a Letter to Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. P. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 72 (1782), p. 337-354
Observations on the Graduation of Astronomical Instruments; With an Explanation of the Method Invented by the Late Mr. Henry Hindley, of York, Clock-Maker, to Divide Circles into any Given Number of Parts. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.; Communicated by Henry Cavendish, Esq. F. R. S. and S. A., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 76 (1786), p. 1-47
Account of an Observation of the Right Ascension and Declination of Mercury out of the Meridian, Near His Greatest Elongation, Sept. 1786, Made by Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S. with an Equatorial Micrometer, of His Own Invention and Workmanship; Accompanied with an Investigation of a Method of Allowing for Refraction in Such Kind of Observations; Communicated to the Rev. Nevil Maskelyne, D. D. F. R. S. and Astronomer Royal, and by Him to the Royal Society, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 77 (1787), p. 318-343
Description of an Improvement in the Application of the Quadrant of Altitude to a Celestial Globe, for the Resolution of Problems Dependant on Azimuth and Altitude. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.; Communicated by Mr. William Wales, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 79 (1789), p. 1-6
^Morris, Andrew M.A. (2021). "English engineer John Smeaton's experimental method(s)". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 89, 283-294|url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.07.004
^abDenny, Mark (2007). "Ingenium: Five Machines That Changed the World". p. 34. JHU Press.
^Gromicko, Nick & Shepard, Kenton."the History of Concrete". The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI). Retrieved8 January 2013.
^Rich, Elihu, ed. (1866),Great Men of Great Britain, D. Appleton, p. 276
^Rosen, William (2012).The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry and Invention. University of Chicago Press. p. 127.ISBN978-0226726342.
^Morris, A. M. A. (2021). “ The joint labours of ingenious men”: John Smeaton's Royal Society network and the Eddystone Lighthouse. Centaurus, 63(3), 513–531.https://doi.org/10.1111/1600-0498.12398
^"Geograph Photo". Geograph.org.uk. 10 March 2006. Retrieved31 May 2010.
^"The Greenwich Hospital Smelt Mill at Langley, Northumberland 1768–1780" by F. J. Monkhouse, Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy vol. 49, 1940. It is aScheduled Ancient MonumentArchived 5 December 2014 at theWayback Machine.
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