Technology in the Industrial Age Notes

  1. Technological Innovations of the Industrial Age

    • Ralph Waldo Emerson initially viewed industrial innovations positively, seeing them as tools to shape nature for human benefit.

    • The steam engine and internal combustion engine significantly increased access to resources and facilitated goods distribution.

    • The Second Industrial Revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries involved advancements in chemicals, steel, precision machinery, and electronics.

    • Electrification, telephone, and radio brought instantaneous communication, enhancing connectivity in industrial societies.

  2. Impact of Coal and Steam Power

    • New machinery benefitted from coal power, which was more mobile than water power.

    • James Watt's steam engine (1765) harnessed coal power to create steam for machinery, greatly benefiting textile factories.

    • Steam-powered trains emerged within 50 years of steam engine development, revolutionizing land transport.

    • Steamships, powered by coal, provided reliable and mobile energy production, allowing for upstream travel and ultimately replacing traditional sailing ships.

  3. Advancements in Communication and Production

    • Electricity required the development of effective generators; the first public power station began production in London in 1882.

    • Electric street lighting and electric street trains became common in the 1890s, illustrating the impact of electrification.

    • The telephone was patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, making communication more practical with Thomas Edison's improved voice transmitter in 1886.

    • Innovations in oil extraction and the Bessemer Process for steel production shifted industrial society's backbone, enhancing versatility and strength of materials used in production.