Iron and Steel Timothy Tchou, Kevin Erben, and Richard Yoo

What Was Going on in Britain? ●Exploration and Colonialism o Claimed colonies around the world o Provided vast amounts of supplies like cotton fiber o Colonies became new markets for British goods ●Seapower o Could import raw materials and send finished goods globally since Britain had the largest, most powerful navy and merchant fleet ●Political Stability o Inside country was at peace, despite ongoing wars ●Government Support o Parliament passed laws favoring business; o Allowed Britain to compete with other countries successfully ●Growth of Private Investment o Private businesses funded experiments for creating better products

Famous People ●1850s: Englishman Henry Bessemer developed cheap and efficient method to make steel o Known as the Bessemer Process ●Englishman Abraham Darby discovered cheaper, easier method to produce cast iron, using coke-fueled furnace. o Coke: a solid fuel made by heating coal when there is no air present

Famous People cont. ●Henry Cort: ironmaster pursuing method to refine iron ●Reheated bars of iron, melting them to paste, mixed the paste, and heated it with coke ●Purified iron rolled up into ball to remove any remaining dirt ●Process known as “puddling and rolling” ●Sir William Siemens: German-born English engineer and inventor ●Invented the open-hearth furnace

Advancements and Improvements ●Some improvements/advancements with iron and steel during the Industrial Revolution was the Bessemer Process and The Bessemer process was invented by Sir Henry Bessemer in 1813, this machine was used to turn pig iron into steel, and then in the 1860’s a man named Karl Wilhelm created the open-hearth process which made crafting iron into steel more precise. ●The open-hearth process was a steelmaking method which contributed to the mass production of steel. It involves using a furnace where excess carbon and other impurities (foreign matter) from pig iron (a type of iron ore) to produce steel.

Prediction: Impact on Great Britain ●Mass-produces iron and steel ●Significantly increases profit for Britain

Prediction: How it’ll Spread & Affect other countries ●Transportation and communication spreading word of improvements and advancements ●Advancements in technology will result in newer and improved mechanics.

Why is Iron and Steel the most important advancement? ●Iron and steel is the foundation of Industrial Revolution ●Technology for farming methods, textile machines, and means of transportation (i.e. steam engine), are all dependent on iron and steel. ●Even communication is indirectly influenced from iron and steel. Advancements in transportation makes communication quicker.

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