The Second Industrial Revolution Inventions and Innovations that changed the world!

Industrial Innovations The Second Industrial Revolution (1865-1900) was ignited through numerous discoveries and inventions. The original industrial revolution was ignited by the discovery of coal and steam. Coal-feed steam engines powered factories and the factories produced the goods that generated economic growth.

Steel The second revolution was spurred by the development of steel. Steel was used to construct: heavy machinery railroad tracks bridges tall city buildings (skyscrapers)

STEEL Steel could be produced as early as the mid-1800’s, but the process was so expensive that it was not practical. This changed in 1859 when two gentlemen (one from Great Britain and one from the U. S.) developed a process (called the Bessemer Process) that used a blast of hot air to burn off impurities. Those men were William Kelley (U. S.) and Henry Bessemer (G. B.). More steel was produced in a day than the old process could produce in a week. An American engineer named William Holley adapted the Bessemer process and improved it. Steel production went from production of 15,000 tons in 1865 to more than 28 million by 1900.

Advantages (Bessemer Process) allowed for the developments of industrial cities such as Gary, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania and West Virginia provided most of the coal that fueled steel production. allowed the railroad industry to replace their old iron rails with stronger steel rails that lasted much longer. builders began to use steel to build buildings and bridges. Buildings could be built higher and bridges built longer due to the stronger substance. steel’s resistance to rust made it ideal for used in wire and nails.

COMMUNICATIONS

Telegraph Samuel F. B. Morse’s 1837 invention that allowed for communication over wires with electricity led to the development of a company called Western Union. By 1866, the company had 2,000 telegraph offices that sent messages using ‘Morse’ code which was a dot and dash code that allowed communication over long distances.

Telephone In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell successfully demonstrated the telephone at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. By the end of the century, over one million has been installed in offices ands homes. Early phones required operators to connect persons and a new job industry was formed which hired women.

Typewriter Christopher Sholes developed the typewriter in 1867. It allowed for documents to be produced that were easily legible, He sold the patent to E. Remington & Sons. His first keyboard is essentially what is still used today on our compute keyboards. Carbon paper was used to produce the first copies of documents. The typewriter proved to be another job opportunity for women.

Edison and Menlo Park Arguably the greatest inventor of all time was Thomas Alva Edison.

Major Edison inventions: a telegraph that could send four messages at once over the same line. the electric light bulb the phonograph the motion picture machine the electric vote recorder the telegraphic stock ticker opened the first electric power plant

Thomas Edison Opened an invention business full time in Menlo Park , New Jersey in 1876. When he died in 1931, he had patented over 1,000 inventions.

Westinghouse and Tesla

Westinghouse and Tesla George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesa developed AC (alternating current) electrical current. It was more efficient than Edison’s early patent. This AC power allowed for cities to be lighted at night with electricity rather than gaslights and to provide transportation through electric streetcars rather than horse-drawn carriages.

Henry Ford and eleven other investors launched the Ford Motor Company in 1903. In 1913 Ford introduced the moving assembly line to mass produce his automobiles. By 1918 half of all cars in America were the Ford Model T. Ford employed tens of thousands of workers and used innovative business techniques to make his company an automotive giant.

The innovations in automobile manufacturing gave Americans jobs, greater mobility, and a sense of freedom that many had never experienced before. 1965 Ford Mustang 1913 Ford Model T Ford Country Squire Station Wagon

Wilbur and Orville Wright

December 17, 1903 Orville Wright flies 120 feet in 12 seconds

The work of the Wright Brothers continued…. After the first flight the brothers continued the development of the airplane. On November 16, 1904 the Wright Flyer II flew 1760 feet in 40 seconds.

and continued. The Wright Flyer III. The brothers did not mind pictures of their planes in flight, but they feared close ups due to the fact that others may steal their ideas.