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Thomas Newcomen
Thomas invented the steam engine. The steam engine was used to pump water out of mines.The steam engine uses steam which is provided by a boiler. The steam expands under the pressure and the heat energy is used for work. It could also condense the steam. -
John Kay
John Kay invented the flying shuttle. The flying shuttle is something used in weaving that made it more efficient. The shuttle used to have to be moved by hand and two weavers would have to work together. The flying shuttle used wheels and pads to shoot it across. This allowed one person to weave alone and be faster than two people. -
Adam Smith
He is known for his book "The Wealth of Nations" where he made the invisible hand theory. The invisible hand theory is a metaphor. It talks about how in a free market economy, people think they are only working for their own well-being. In reality, they are working in a system of mutual interdependence. Whether they know or not, they are working to make what is necessary socially. -
Samuel Crompton
Samuel invented the spinning mule. This was a way of spinning cotton. This machine made it so people could spin both fine and coarse yarn. The spinning mule made it so one person could operate 1,000 spindles. -
Henry Cort
Henry is known for inventing the puddling process. The puddling process allows wrought iron to be made on a large scale. Wrought iron was made by exposing pig iron to heat and frequently stirring. It was stirred in a furnace in the presence of oxidizing substances. -
Edmund Cartwright
He invented the power loom. This invention changed a lot of things for the Industrial Revolution. This invention created a growth in the cotton industry. This machine made it way more efficient to make fabric. -
Eli Whitney
Eli invented the cotton gin. The cotton gin was used to remove the seeds from the cotton. The cotton gin sped up the process of selling cotton because people used to have to take the seeds out of the cotton by hand. The cotton gin worked by pushing the cotton through small slots that were big enough for the cotton to pass through them, but it was too small to let the seeds through. -
Alessandro Volta
He invented the battery. The battery was made of disc. These discs were made out of zinc and silver. These discs were stacked on top of each other and had cloth in between them that were soaked in salt water or sodium hydroxide. -
George Stephenson
This inventor created many things. One of his inventions is the geordie lamp. This lamp did not provide much light. Instead, this lamp was used for safety. The lamp is used to test for firedamp which sometimes causes fires in mines. -
David Ricardo
David Ricardo was an economist who invented many things like the comparative advantage theory. This theory says that when trading with other countries, the countries should make what they are best at. By doing this, they are being more efficient. Trading should result in trading away something that the country is good at making and gaining something that they aren't good at producing. -
Cyrus Field
He created the transatlantic cable. This was a cable that went across the Atlantic ocean. Its goal was to connect telegraphs to other places that were across bodies of water. The first cable went across the Atlantic ocean, but it was able to prove that it could go through other bodies of water. -
John Wesley
He was the first to discover how to make celluloid. Celluloid is a synthetic plastic. It is made a homogeneous colloidal dispersion of nitrocellulose and camphor. It is flexible and moldable as well as tough. It was used as a substitute to natural materials when making things like eyeglass frames, combs, brush handles, and piano keys.