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Historical Dictionary |
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Narratives : Developments in Science, Technology 1829-1914 http://www.zum.de/whkmla/sat/texts/narrscitech18.html |
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For earlier history of technology, see First Industrial Revolution Railroad Construction Boom : The opening of the railroad Liverpool-Manchester in 1829 was an instant success. In subsequent decades, Europe experienced a railroad construction boom which soon covered the continent with a network which became the more dense the further the century progressed. Railroads required large investments and completion of a line took years to accomplish; the results were immediate. Railroad contruction ensured many jobs in coal mining, the steel and metal industry, on the railways themselves. Early in the century, many railroads were constructed by private syndicates; soon the need for standardization became apparent (gauge width, for example), once the individual lines met and began to form a network. Also the clocks in the various cities had to be synchronized, in order to make reliable time tables possible. Industrialization of Europe 1830-1880 : Countries on the continent with access to coal and metal ores, such as Belgium, Prussia, Saxony, Bohemia attempted to imitate the British model and establish modern industries of their own. British entrepreneurs complained about imports from Germany, then of inferior quality, demanding they had to be labelled "Made in Germany". The ongoing Industrial Revolution caused administrations on the continent to introduce or modernize patent legislation; schools and colleges polytechnics) educating clerks and engineers were opened. Steamships were constructed in ever increasing size, the Titanic (1912) marking the climax of this development. The Suez Canal Project (1859-1869) was the largest engineering project of her time. The Industrial Revolution had produced social misery, as discussed in the chapter Social Consequences of the Industrial Revolution; it also had made many items, such as textiles and coal, as well as cheap and fast transporttion, available, had made many entrepreneurs rich, had produced many inventions. So pride in progress achieved was a prevalent sentiment, expressed in World Exhibitions such as those held in London 1851 (Crystal Palace), in Paris 1889 on the occasion of which the Eiffel Tower was constructed. The Second Industrial Revolution : 1859 saw the beginning of the modern oil industry, with the discvery of an oil field in Titusville, Pennsylvania, U.S. The main application in the early days was the usage of light il (kerosene), mainly for lighting. The invention of the Internal Combustion Engine (Belgium : Lenoir 1855, improved by Nikolaus Otto / Germany in 1876) soon was followed by that of the car (Carl Benz / Germany 1885). While the electric bulb began to replace kerosene as the major source of lighting, Diesel Engines (inventor Rudolf Diesel, France 1898) began to replace steam engines, first in the British Navy in 1913. Petrol also was to supply a major raw material to the merging chemical-pharmaceutical industry, which produced a variety of items, from films (1876) to synthetical dyestuffs, paint. The most successful pill in history, Aspirin, was marketed by Bayer (Germany) since 1899. The other dominant industry of the Second Industrial Revolution is the electric industry. Applications included the lightbulb, the telegraph and telephone, then early in the 20th century wireless transmission (radio; radio stations were opened immediately after WW I). In the cities, the streetcars were electrified, the first, electricity-powered subways were taken in operation; lifts in houses were electricity-powered. A characteristic of the Second Industrial Revolution is that it produced large-scale factories, some employing enthousands of workers. In a number of cases, individual factories dominated the economic life of the respective town (Bayer - Leverkusen, Germany; Philips - Eindhoven, Netherlands etc.). Notable Inventions : The car was invented in 1885. Early car drivers had to buy their gasoline in drugstores. Yet not until Henry Ford introduced the conveyor belt in his car factory (on the eve of WW I) did cars become affordable for a significant segment of the population; until then only wealthy persons, such as factory owners, medical doctors etc., could afford an automobile. In Europe, cars did not become affordable to average persons until into the 1960es. Similarly, the airplane was invented in 1903 by the brothers Wright. Yet its first civilian applications were the transportation of airmail and cropdusting (spreading insecticides over fields), in addition to airshows and advertisement. For transport across the North Atlantic, passengers chose ocean liners such as the Queen Mary. The jet plane age only began in the 1970es. In these cases, it tok decades for the original inventions to mature. The Arms Industry : Often overlooked in chapters on the history of technology in the late 19th century is the arms industry. Between the Franco-German War of 1870-1871 and World War I (1914-1918), no major European War was fought. Meanwhile, the arms industry quickly progressed, in every weapons category. While ever new cannons were produced, capable of shooting heavier ammunition further, explosive projectiles (shrapnell) were developed which were more destructive. The machine gun was invented, which proved very efficient in the trench warfare of World War I. In World War I, armored vehicles, tanks, airplanes, blimps, submarines were used - but the military commanders largely failed to comprehend, and optimally utilize the weapons they had at hand; progress in the arms production had been too fast for them to keep up with. |
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Victorian Web, Click : Science, Technology Spartacus Schoolnet, Click : Industrial Revolution, Railways 1780-1900 |
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