Key Innovations of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a time characterized by the wide scale introduction of machinery, the transformation of cities and significant technological developments in a wide range of areas. Many modern mechanisms have their origins from this period.
Here are eight key inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
1. Spinning Jenny The spinning jenny was invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves. Able to be operated by unskilled workers, it was a key development in the industrialization of weaving, as it could spin many spindles of thread at a time. Combined with other innovations like the flying shuttle and power loom, textiles could be produced in factories rather than at home with much greater speed, efficiency, and profit.
2. Watt’s Steam Engine During the latter half of the eighteenth century, Scottish engineer James Watt sought to improve on an earlier version of a steam engine that was used primarily to pump water out from mines so that miners could dig for coal further down. Watt’s steam engine was similar to the original design, but it required less fuel to run making it more attractive to potential buyers. Brought to market in 1778, it became the main source of power for a large variety of British industries.
His invention turned heat from burning coal into movement through a series of valves and gears. The steam engine was used in manufacturing to run machines at great speeds for long periods of time so work could be performed on large scales, almost year-round, with vastly higher efficiency. With this invention, it became possible to locate factories far from rivers and coal fields. Eventually, the steam engine was used in locomotives [trains] and steamboats, thus leading to a revolution in transportation.
3. The Locomotive The first recorded steam railway journey took place on 21 February 1812, when a locomotive carried ten tons of iron, five wagons and seventy men 9.75 miles in four hours and five minutes. The journey had an average speed of 2.4 mph.
Twenty five years later, George Stephenson and his son, Robert Stephenson, designed ‘Stephenson’s Rocket’. The most advanced locomotive of its day, it could hit speeds of 24 mph. The Rocket’s design – with its smoke chimney at the front and a separate fire box in the rear – became the template for future steam locomotives for the next 150 years. Stephenson’s Rocket 4. Telegraph Communications On 25 July 1837 Sir William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone successfully demonstrated the first electrical telegraph that was installed between Euston and Camden Town in London. The next year they installed the system along thirteen miles of railroad. It was the first commercial telegraph in the world.
Meanwhile in America, the first telegraph service opened in 1844 when telegraph wires connected Baltimore and Washington D.C. One of the main figures behind the invention of the telegraph was the American Samuel Morse, who also went on to develop Morse Code that allowed the easier transmission of messages across telegraph lines and is still used to this day. Samuel Morse’s telegraph 5. Dynamite Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, in the 1860s. Prior to its invention, gunpowder (called black powder) had been used to shatter rocks and fortifications. Dynamite, however, proved stronger and safer, quickly gaining widespread use in a variety of industries. Alfred called his new invention dynamite, after the ancient Greek word ‘dunamis’, meaning ‘power.’ He did not want it to be used for military purposes but the explosive was soon embraced by armies across the world.
6. The Bessemer Process Early in the 1800s, Britain's iron industry was growing and changing. Inventors had discovered a more efficient, less expensive method for making cast iron and developed a process of refining iron into steel, a stronger product that could easily be used in all kinds of factories and manufactured goods. The Bessemer process, pioneered by the Englishman Henry Bessemer and patented in 1856, created steel far quicker and cheaper than had previously been possible. The availability of cheap steel encouraged the growth of steel- based industrial products and services, like factories and railroads.
7. The Electric Generator The first electric generator was invented by Michael Faraday in 1831. Although it was not very effective at generating electricity at first, Faraday’s invention would be improved upon until electric generators were used to power everything from industry to transportation to domestic lighting. The electric motor became a mighty force for industry and continues to be used today in devices as diverse as hand drills and disk drives.
8. The Modern Factory With the introduction of machinery, factories began springing up first in Britain and then across the world. The man credited with inventing the modern factory is Richard Arkwright, who constructed a water-powered cotton spinning mill in 1771. It initially employed 200 workers running day and night with two 12-hour shifts. The factory model that he set up required workers to come to a factory instead of working at home to produce goods. It used division of labor (separating the steps of making something into separate jobs) and used mass production (making a lot of the same good) to keep the cost of making something as low as possible. This format would become the standard for factories of all types all around the world. Water wheel/water frame https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AloWMoc-3WU http://www.animatedengines.com/