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James Watt Improves the Steam Engine
James Watt (19 January 1736 – 25 August 1819) played a major role in the Industrial Revolution. He made the stream engine, which had been around for over a hundred years at the time, much more efficient and much more practical. The Newcomen steam engine was used for many things, such as pumping water from mines and powering machines far inland that used to run on water power. -
The Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented in 1794 by Eli Whitney. It separated the useful cotton fibers from the cotton seeds automatically. It dramatically increased production of cotton and cotton related goods and decreased the need for slaves to separate out cotton from seeds. -
Steam Powered Paddle Boat Service
In 1807, Robert Fulton started a regular passenger service between NYC and Albany, NY, a trip of 150 miles. It was a huge commercial success and paved the way to other steam powered ships being developed as viable methods of travel. -
The Telegraph
In 1836 Samual F. B. Morse developed a telegraph which could transmit signals a very long way using cheap wires. Other telegraphs had been developed in the past, but Morse's was the first one to be practical. The telegram had major effects on society as messages could now be sent between countries instantly and modern communication was born. -
The Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell first patented the telephone in 1876. A telephone is a device used to transmit speach instantaneously to another telephone. The telephone, similar to the telegraph, was a very important way to transmit information as quickly as possible. Unlike the telegraph, people didn't have to type out each letter individually which made communication much faster. -
Edison's Lightbulb
Thomas Edison invented the first practical, long-lasting incandescent lightbulb. An incandescent lightbulb produces light by heating up a filiment to very high tempuratures using electricity. Edison's lightbulb caused major changes to life back in the late 1800's. People could now stay up later at night, go out at night, and stop using candels. In addition to that, lightbulbs are much safer than candels because there is no exposed heating element. -
Effective use of Electricity
During the late 1700's, people were begining to do research into electrical charges. It wasn't until the late 1800's that electricity was became widely available for lighting and as a power source for various machines. However, electricity had remained one of, if not the largest, source of power we consume throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. -
The Electric Motor
Nikola Tesla invented the AC electric motor in 1887. He was able to successfully and practically turn electricity into mechanical power. Electric motors were a lot smaller and cheaper than the former steam engines that factories and other machines had run on, and began to replace them. They could also be used inside of machines so that those machines could run completely independantly of an engine. -
The First Airplanes
Orville and Wilbur wright built the first powered vehicle to fly. Their flight was only 120 feet, but is the most important flight of all time. The flight didn't actually accomplish anything other than moving orville a little bit down a field, but allowed other flights to occur afterwords, effectively giving birth to aviation. -
The Assembly Line
The technique of using an assembly line to manufacture goods was pioneered in 1913 by Henry Ford. The main purpose of an assembly line is to produce as much of a product as you can in a given amount of time. Because Henry Ford could produce cars quickly and efficiently, he could sell them really chaeply and created "The common man's car."
