The inventions of the Industrial Revolution are those artifacts or creations that were developed between 1760 and 1840, that is, during the process of economic, technological and social transformation that began in the 18th century in Great Britain that later spread throughout Anglo-Saxon America and Western Europe.
The Industrial Revolution is considered one of the most important phenomena in the history of humanity, since it modified almost all aspects of daily life. For example, it involved the multiplication of agricultural production and increased income per capita like never before.
Robert Lucas, in his text Lectures on Economic Growth (2002), pointed out that during this historical period the standard of living of ordinary people experienced sustained growth for the first time, a phenomenon that classical economists had not even been able to deduce as a theoretical possibility..
All this was possible thanks to technological innovations, which supplanted manual labor and animal traction by complex manufacturing and transport machinery. Some of the most important inventions of this time are described below, along with their corresponding creators:
It was invented by the Englishman Thomas Savery (1650-1715) in 1698. This creation constituted a monumental advance within the mining industry, since before its invention groundwater was a serious problem for mining work. This happened because the existing pumps did not have the necessary capacity to extract the water from those depths..
Savery's machine consisted of a very simple device: it was a tank that was connected to two pipes and a boiler. One of the pipes was connected to the water from the mine that was to be extracted and another gave outside.
The steam pump acted as follows: first a valve had to be opened that connected the boiler with the tank; This, when completely filled with water vapor, allowed the air to escape to the outside through a non-return valve.
It was built by the English inventor and agronomist Jethro Tull (1672-1741) in 1701. It is considered that Tull was a pioneer in scientific agriculture thanks to this design, which increased the speed of crop production.
The seeding machine was robust and efficient; It made it possible to sow and plow vast fields using little labor. In addition, the seeds were distributed regularly, which implied a more homogeneous growth of the crops and a better use of the soils..
Devised by the English inventor and blacksmith Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729) in 1705. Newcomen is known to some as the father of the Industrial Revolution, as he was a pioneering businessman within the field of technological innovation..
His machine was actually an improvement on Thomas Savery's invention. In fact, they worked in a similar way: they both had to create a vacuum in a reservoir and cool the water vapor. However, Newcomen's invention had a cylinder that pulled a beam, which was used as a rocker and formed a much more efficient kind of reciprocating pump..
It was devised by the German engineer Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) in 1714. His invention consisted of a type of thermometer that made it possible to measure the temperatures of any selected material by means of a white reflective bulb, which prevented the absorption of radiation. present in the environment.
That is, the mercury thermometer calculates the real air temperature without the result being affected by any other element present in the environment that radiates heat..
It was devised by the German physicist Ewald Georg von Kleist (1700-1748) in 1745 and is considered the first electric capacitor. It is an electrical device that, by means of a glass bottle, allows to store certain electrical charges.
Its characteristics are as follows: by means of a metal rod and aluminum or tin sheets, the internal armor is formed. On the other hand, the external armor consists of a layer that covers the glass bottle. This bottle works as an insulating material between both layers of the condenser.
Designed in 1764 by the British carpenter and weaver James Hargreaves (1720-1778). Your machine is also known as spinning jenny and was built to meet the demand for cotton yarn, the supply of which could not be satisfied by single yarn spinning wheels.
Hargreaves realized that by placing multiple threads in alignment and positioning a wheel horizontally, multiple threads could be spun at the same time. His invention brought problems for him with traditional spinners, who claimed that they would lose their jobs due to the effectiveness of the new spinner..
The English industrialist Richard Arwright (1732-1792) was the one who designed it in 1769. It was a type of spinning machine that was powered by a water wheel..
In addition, it consisted of a frame that allowed the simultaneous use of up to 128 spinning mechanisms, which significantly increased the quality and production of the yarn manufactured on industrial scales. His original name was water frame.
The first automobile is considered by many to have been made by the Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (1725-1804) in 1770. However, this is still in dispute. What can be affirmed is that Cugnot made several models of vehicles that were powered by steam engines and whose objective was to drag the heavy guns to speed up the military confrontations.
It was designed by the American John Fitch in 1787. His creation was successfully tested during a navigation on the Delaware River in 1787, which allowed Fitch to obtain a patent in 1791. However, his idea could only become profitable decades later. thanks to improvements made by Robert Fulton.
Made by the British John Barber (1734-1793) in 1791. This machine allowed to increase flammable air in order to obtain movement to facilitate metallurgical work. Barber's design included a turbine, a combustion chamber, and a reciprocating gas compressor..
Scottish inventor William Murdoch (1754-1839) was the first to use the flammability of gas in order to apply it to lighting. Murdoch first managed to light his own house in 1792, then in 1798 he used gas to light some buildings in the Soho Foundry. In 1802 he made a public exhibition, surprising the local population with his lighting.
It was devised in 1793 by Eli Whitney (1765-1825), an American inventor. It is a simple machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, which are usually sticky..
The gin works through a screen and wire hooks that push the cotton through the screen, while small brushes remove loose threads to avoid jams.
Lithography was invented by the German Johann Aloys Senefelder (1771-1834) in 1796. It is a printing procedure that allows a text, drawing or photograph to be traced on a metal plate or limestone. At the moment it is almost in disuse; it is only used to obtain and duplicate artistic works.
It consists of a mechanical loom invented in 1801 by the Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834). It worked by using punched cards, which allowed us to weave patterns on the fabrics. For this reason, even the most novice users could come up with the most complex designs..
Each punch card matched a line in the design and their placement together with the other cards worked to determine the weave with which the tile would weave..
It was invented by the Italian count Alessandro Volta in 1799. In general terms, it can be established that an electric battery is a commercial and industrialized format of the voltaic cell. It consists of a device capable of converting chemical energy into electrical energy through a transient chemical process.
In other words, it is a primary generator whose energy becomes accessible through two terminals that the battery has, called electrodes, poles or terminals..
It was made by the American John Stevens (1749-1838) in 1804. During his lifetime, Stevens made many steamships and developed various designs for naval engines and boilers. In 1792, the inventor obtained a patent for the creation of two propeller motors, which allowed his steamship to navigate the Hudson River using a high-pressure multi-tube boiler..
The printing press was invented by the German Friedrich Koenig (1774-1833) in 1810. It was a machine that used a double cylinder with the energy provided by a steam engine. Koenig's objective was to substitute human power for the machine, which allowed increasing the diffusion of printed texts among the less well-off sectors of the population..
It was devised by the British George Stephenson (1781-1848) in 1814. This mechanical engineer is considered "the father of the railways", since he designed several railway lines during its existence, such as the Liverpool-Manchester line..
It is important to add that Stephenson was not the first to build a locomotive, since in 1813 William Hedley had already developed this invention, however, Hedley's creation was not successful. Therefore, George actually must be studied as the most successful pioneer within railway inventions..
In 1816, the German researcher Karl Drais (1785-1851) developed the first two-wheeled velocipede, now known as a bicycle. It was a kind of small cart made up of a handlebar and two wheels, placed one behind the other..
It was a vehicle that, to function, required human-machine interaction. The person had to remain seated on a saddle and had to place his hands on a wooden pole that was attached to the front wheel. This rod was the one that determined the direction of the vehicle.
In 1829, the American inventor William Austin Burt (1792-1858) patented a typographer, considered by many to be the first modern typewriter..
It consisted of a mechanical device made up of a set of keys that, when pressed by the user, printed characters on a document. The person who used this machine was known by the name of typist.
It was devised by the French Barthélemy Thimonnier (1793-1857) in 1829. This machine was characterized by its ability to imitate hand sewing. It was made of wood and used a barbed needle, which passed through and under the fabric to catch the thread. These spikes also pulled upward in order to form a loop.
It consists of an electrical generator that transforms the magnetic flux into electricity through a phenomenon known as electromagnetic induction. It was devised by the British physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) in 1831.
This invention is also known as the Faraday Disc and consists of a homopolar generator that uses a copper disc, which rotates between the ends of a magnet, which generates current continuously..
It was designed by the American Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796-1886) in 1830. This scale made it possible to weigh large targets with great precision. Before this invention, a balance beam was required to determine the weight of objects, so heavier objects could not be accurately calculated..
In 1825, the British physicist William Sturgeon (1783-1850) built the first electromagnet. In addition, he designed the first practical electric motor. The electromagnet consisted of a piece of iron that was shaped like a horseshoe and that was wrapped by a coil.
Sturgeon managed to regulate this electromagnet, which marked the beginning of the use of electrical energy in controllable and useful machines. Therefore, this invention established the foundations of what would later be electronic communications..
In 1824, the British Joseph Aspdin (1778-1855) manufactured Portland cement, which consisted of an artificial stone used as a construction material. It is a hydraulic binder that is mixed with aggregates, discontinuous steel fibers and water, elements have the property of forming a durable and resistant mass known as concrete..
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