-
200
Chinese Develop Natural Gas as an Energy Source
They used it to make salt from brine in gas-fired evaporators, boring shallow wells and conveying the gas to the evaporators via bamboo pipes. -
200
Europeans Use Hydro-Electricity
By the end of the Roman era, waterwheels powered mills to crush grain, full cloth, tan leather, smelt and shape iron, saw wood, and carry out a variety of other early industrial processes. -
Dutch Use Windmills
The Dutch provinces developed the windmill to the fullest possible degree it ground the grain produced on the rich meadows, it sawed the wood, and it ground the spices.. -
First Steam Engine
Thomas Newcomen's invention was the first machine to provide significantly large amounts of power not derived from muscle, water, or wind... If I were to attempt anything so simple-minded as to pick a birthday for the industrial revolution, it would be the first day that Newcomen's machine began operating in 1712. -
First Commercial Coal Production in US
-
Process of Electrolysis Discovered
The discovery of electrolysis was an important historical step in the development of hydrogen energy and the hydrogen fuel cell. -
First Natural Gas Well in US Is Drilled
-
First Solar Power System Developed in France to Produce Steam to Drive Machinery
-
BCE Chinese Begin Burning Coal as a Source of Heat
In 2000BC Chinese began burning coal when there was a shortage of wood. -
Chinese First to Refine Petroleum (Oil)
