Industrial Revolution Alex Ivolella

The flying shuttle, invented by John Kay, made it more efficient to weave faster on a loom. This allowed weavers to double their output without changing the rate at which thread could be spun. It created shortages of yarn until the invention of James Hargreaves' spinning jenny. The flying shuttle had a huge social impact on society. It exceeded the capacity of the spinning industry of the day. It prompted the development of powered spinning machines. This was a crucial aspect to the Industrial Revolution, as it transformed the textile industry in Great Britain.

The loom was powered by water and was invented in 1787 by Edmund Cartwright. It allowed the weaving of cloth to catch-up with the spinning of yarn. It is more efficient now to bring workers to the machines. Their labor was organized collectively in factories that were located next to rivers and streams. Rivers and streams served as the source of power for these early machines.

The spinning jenny was perfected in 1768 and allowed spinners to produce yarn in greater quantities. The spinning jenny reduced the amount of work needed to be done by workers, with workers being able to work eight or more spools at once. The spinning Jenny was kept in secret by Harsgreaves for a period of time. The spinning Jenny was more efficient because it could hold more than one ball of yarn, making more yarn in a shorter period of time and reducing prices.

James Harsgreaves

The steam engine allowed for the increase in productivity in the cotton industry. The steam engine was created by Scottish engineer, James Watt. The steam engine was able to pump water from mines almost three times as quickly as regular engines would. This allowed for more coal to be extracted from the mines. Watt had also developed a rotary engine that was able to turn a shaft, therefore drive machinery. The invention of the steam engine marked the ability for steam power to be used in spinning and weaving cotton. Before long, steam engines were multiplying across Britain. Steam engines were powered by coal and could be found anywhere.

James Watt

Scottish engineer who lived from 1736-1819.

The British iron industry needed a technological advancement in order to improve. Britain had always depended on charcoal since the Middle Ages. Puddling was a system invented by Henry Cort in which coke, which came from iron, was used to burn away impurities in pig iron (or crude iron). This would produce high quality iron. This system caused an economic boom in the iron industry. Britain was able to produce about 17,000 tons of iron in 1740, but that number rose to about 2 million tons by 1840 and 3 million by 1852. This was more than the rest of the world combined

The iron produced by puddling was then used to make new and innovative machines. One of those machines was invented by Richard Trevithick in 1804. He pioneered the first steam-powered locomotive on an industrial railine in southern Wales. At 5 miles per hour, it pulled about 10 tons of ore and seventy people. More effective locomotives would soon emerge.

The Rocket was a more superior form of locomotive invented by George Stephenson. This was first used on the first public railway line that opened in 1830. It stretched 32 miles from Liverpool to Manchester. Rocket was able to go at speeds at 16 miles per hour. Within a span of twenty years, locomotives reached speeds of fifty miles per hour, and eventually over 6,000 miles of railroad were located in Britain.

Electricity was the new form of energy that could be converted into many other forms of power. Electricity spawned the invention of the light-bulb. The light-bulb was developed independently by Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan. This invention allowed homes and cities to be illuminated by electric lights.

The Telephone was invented on March 7, 1876, by Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was born in Scotland on March 3, 1847. While working on the invention of the telephone, Bell worked at a school for the deaf. After the invention of the telephone, Bell continued his scientific work, establishing several research centers across the nation. The telephone is arguably the most important invention of all time. Many scientists claim to be the inventor of the telephone, but it is widely believed that Bell is the true inventor. The original telephone was described as a "apparatus for transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically. The telephone converted sound into electronic signals that could be interpreted from long distances. The original telephone had to main parts, the microphone, to speak into, and the earphone to listen into. If not for the telephone the world as we know it would be drastically different.

The Model T was the first mass-produced and affordable automobile. It was invented on October 1, 1908, by Henry Ford, whom the Model T's brand, "Ford", was named after. Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863, and was the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He invented the "Model T" to make an automobile that was affordable to the average citizen. Before this invention, in 1900, the world production of automobiles sat at a mere 9,000 cars. After the Model T was invented, that number went up to 735,000 cars a year, due to the car being able to be mass-produced. The car ran on an internal combustion engine, in which power is generated by the burning of gasoline. The car also gave a massive boost to the economy due to the amount of buyers. This invention revolutionized transportation in America and it is still being improved to this day. In addition, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in a fixed-wing airplane.

On December 12, 1901, Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio waves across the Atlantic. Marconi was born on April 25, 1874 in Rome, Italy. In his youth, Marconi studied physics and became interested in radio waves. Marconi stated off by sending radio waves about 2 miles, the. 10 miles, and then, his biggest accomplishment yet. It was said that, due to the curvature of the Earth, radio transmission was limited to 200 miles of less. However, this all changed when Marconi send a Morse-code signal more than 2,000 miles across the Atlantic from England to Canada. The radio seems simple st first glance, but it is actually quite complicated. First, elictructy from te transmitter makes electrons vibrate up and down, which produces radio waves. Those waves then travel at the speed of light until they reach the receiver. The waves make the electrons inside the receiver vibrate, producing sound. Due to this feat, in 1909 Marconi was awarded the Noble Prize in physics. Before television and mobile telephones, the radio was essential for communication worldwide, and it still plays a prominent role in society today.

Department Stores were first opened in the 1870s. They started to pop up in cities due to the development of steel and electrical industries. They made a whole new range of products available to the people. Early department stores used steel as a vital part in their building plan. The steel allowed for very large and open spaces for room to display various items for sale. One department store, "Le Bon Marché" had iron beams, iron and glass roofs, balconies, and iron bridges that revolutionized the way goods were sold. By the 1890s, about 18,000 people visited the department store daily. Some of the most popular and successful department stores today include Macy's, Target, and JCPenney.

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