|
|
First of all, allow a brief overview of the Industrial Revolution. It was a major time period in history depicting incredible technological development. The Industrial Revolution occurred, chiefly, in Britain and lasted from the middle of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. There were two phases to this Revolution. The first phase was founded on iron, steam, and coal. The second phase was founded on steel, electricity, and oil. Throughout both of these phases, cities started to grow at a rapid rate and the modern sciences were developed. It was a time of growth, excitement, and new horizons for inventors.
In 1698, an Englishman named Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine. This invention was created for the intention to pump water out of coal mines (which had been a serious problem). The design would seem rather crude to us now, but it was a major advancement of technology in those days. Now Savery cannot be given all the credit for the steam engine. Like every great invention, many people are responsible for the finished product because of the contributions they made to the model. The same goes for the steam engine. Savery’s own design was based on Denis Papin’s “Digester” which had been created in 1679. So, to improvise the first steam engine, several inventions were introduced afterwards (improved models of Savery’s engine) which would later lead to an massive improvement in transportation. Basically, these inventors consisted of Thomas Newcomen, James Watt, and Benjamin Franklin Tibbets.
Newcomen created a steam engine which used the force of atmospheric pressure to do work instead of the pressure of steam. Watt later came forward and further improved the design by adding a separate condenser connected to a cylinder by a valve. This would allow the condenser to be cool while the cylinder was hot. Needless to say, Watt’s engine became the dominant design for all the steam engines of that time. And, just like Watt and Newcomen, Tibbets also took a turn and improved the steam engine. All of these inventors played a part to improve the invention and their hard work paid off. The steam engine played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. It was used to create power for factories, automobiles, trains, boats, etc.. Truly, without the steam engine, the Industrial Revolution would not have been very industrious.
Electricity has become a vital part of the modern world. Turn on the lights, surf the web, switch the TV on, listen to the radio, cooking in the microwave, all of these activities are made possible through electricity. There are several individuals who have played with electricity before the famous Ben Franklin got a hold on it. The Greeks certainly noticed the strange “attraction” between certain metals and many people recognized the strange “zaps” that would shock every now and then. Yet no one could really describe electricity until good ol’ Franklin came along in 1752. He developed a theory that lightening was electricity and proved it through his kite experiment. But what happened next?
What happened next did not rise to popularity until the second phase of the Industrial Revolution. In 1816 the first electronic utility was created and this quickly escalated into a further appreciation for the use of electricity. Suddenly many people were recognizing the vast well of untapped potential by using electronic power in the factories. Why use steam when electricity was better? This question led to the inevitable invention of the first electric motor, created by Michael Faraday in 1821. These motors were a simplistic version of what’s under the hood in cars today, but please do not forget the steam engine. Yes, it was not as efficient or powerful as the electric motor, but could we have obtained that motor without first inventing the steam engine? The answer is . . . probably not. See, improvement takes steps. The success of electricity was dependant on the role of the steam engine. Note that the first phase of the Revolution depended on steam, the next phase depended on electricity. They are connected in an interdependent bond which was vital to the Revolution.
Ring. Ring. Ring. “Hello?”
“Oh, you’ll never believed what happened today!”
“What?”
“Guess!”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes! But I’ll give you a hint, A-L-E-X.”
I’m sure this sounds familiar. You may not appreciate this invention when
trapped in the lovesick babble of a teenage girl, but our world would never
be the same without Alexander's telephone. Today, many use it to keep in touch
with family or friends who live far away. But the telephone is also used to
call an ambulance, notify a doctor, make appointments, etc.. Messages can be
conveyed around the world in a matter of seconds, thanks to the hard work of
many individuals. Telephones deal, primarily, with communication which has traveled
a hard and long road over the years. First, messages were sent via a man or
woman who would personally relay the message to a given destination (which may
be many miles away). But after written languages were developed, well, that
changed things too.
Messengers began to carry written out reports, orders, or letters to certain destinations. Then, in 1831, a man named Joseph Henry created the first electric telegraph system. Samuel Morse created the infamous Morse code four years later. The telegraph system was limited due to its ability to only send one message at a time and the need for an experienced person to decipher the codes. However, this invention was a huge step forward in technology. And, more importantly, it ushered in the telephone which Alexander Graham Bell created in 1876. The telephone did not become popular until sometime during the Revolution, but the invention was genius and it did change the world. Also note how the telephone developed. It didn’t just happen when people were mailing written messages. Why? Would that have made sense? No. First, electricity needed to be acknowledged and harnessed. Then the telegraph needed to be created to show that electricity could be used for communicational purposes. Finally, Bell would take the same energy to create the telephone. Remember what started electricity? The steam engine! So if we had not developed the steam engine than we would’ve never founded the telephone because technology would not have advanced so far.
Steam Engine. Electricity. Telephone. We advanced in technology. It’s like climbing the stairs in a lighthouse. You go from one level to the next to the next until you reach the top and observe the height you have traveled. No one can start at the first step and then reach the top of the lighthouse without traveling up the winding staircase. Just like the stairs, these inventions were interdependent and became crucial building blocks for the Industrial Revolution. Today we have continued to build, improve, and rely on these same building blocks. Does this mean that our world has reached the top of the lighthouse? No! We have not reached the top! There is more to discover in our world, there are more steps to take.
Sources:
1. Mary Bellis, The History of Communication, 25 March 2004, <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_history_of_communication.htm>
(26 March 2004)
2. EIA, Electricity in Milestones, February 2004, <http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/milestones/electricity.html>
(26 March 2004)
3. Peter Nunns, The Industrial Revolution, 26 March 2004, <http://www.mvhs.net/~pnunns/ind_rev/>
(26 March 2004)
4. Mary Bellis, The History of Steam Engines, 25 March 2004, <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamengine.htm>
(26 March 2004)
5. Phil Shapiro, “The Invention of the Steam Engine”, 1995, <http://www.his.com/~pshapiro/steam.engines.html>
(26 March 2004)
6. Mary Bellis, The History of the Telephone, 25 March 2004, <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelephone.htm>
(26 March 2004)
| Map Graph Drawing |
Original Source
Document Focus on Facts Biography |
|
Doc.
Based Questions |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
Copyright © 2000-2007 www.hyperhistory.net, all rights reserved