The Industrial Revolution Inventions and Innovations

Textiles

The Cotton Gin Eli Whitney 1793 a machine that quickly and easily separates the cotton fibers from the seedpods and the sometimes sticky seeds, a job previously done by slave workers. These seeds were either used again to grow more cotton or if badly damaged were disposed of. It uses a combination of a wire screen and small wire hooks to pull the cotton through the screen, while brushes continuously remove the loose cotton lint to prevent jams.

The Spinning Jenny James Hargreaves 1764 The device dramatically reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, with a single worker able to work eight or more spools at once.

Sewing Machines Elias Howe stitches a minute

Transportation

Model- T Henry Ford 1908 the first affordable automobile assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting, as well as the concept of paying the workers a wage proportionate to the cost of the car. “You could have any color you wanted so long as it was black.”

Diesel Engine Rudolf Diesel 1892 an engine in which air is compressed to such a degree that there is an extreme rise in temperature. When fuel is injected into the piston chamber with this air, the fuel is ignited by the high temperature of the air, exploding it, forcing the piston down.

Airplane Orville and Wilbur Wright 1903 The brothers studied the aerodynamics of birds Built gliders before adding a motor.

Steam Engine James Watt 1775 No one person can be credited with inventing the steam powered road vehicle Thomas Savery invents the first crude steam engine using a pressure cooker as a model. Thomas Newcomen was an English blacksmith, who invented the atmospheric steam engine, an improvement

George Stephenson created the first locomotive in 1801 He had developed a steam powered carriage that carried passengers on roads, he developed this idea further and in 1804 created the first locomotive to run on rails The Locomotive

Miscellaneous Inventions

Light bulb The modern world is an electrified world. The light bulb, in particular, profoundly changed human existence by illuminating the night and making it hospitable to a wide range of human activity. The electric light, one of the everyday conveniences that most affects our lives, was invented in 1879 by Thomas Alva Edison. He was neither the first nor the only person trying to invent an incandescent light bulb.

Telegraph Samuel F. B. Morse 1836 sending an electronic current over one mile of wire to activate an electromagnet which caused a bell to strike.

Telephone Alexander Graham Bell 1876 An improvement on the telegraph

Water Frame Richard Arkwright 1769 The Water Frame was a large wheel that was turned by running water. This was then harnessed to turn cogs inside a factory which then made the machinery work. This invention led to the building of a number of factories and is regarded by some as being the catalyst of the Industrial Revolution.

Tractors The first engine-powered farm tractors used steam and were introduced in 1868 by John Froehlich. These engines were built as small road locomotives and were operated by one man if the engine weighed less than 5 tons. They were used for general road haulage and in particular by the timber trade.

Toilet Paper Joseph Gayetty invented toilet paper in His new toilet paper was composed of flat sheets. Before Gayetty's invention, people tore pages out of mail order catalogs - before catalogs were common, leaves were used. Unfortunately, Gayetty's invention failed. Walter Alcock (of Great Britain) later developed toilet paper on a roll ( instead of in flat sheets). Again, the invention failed.