The world is changing at a very fast pace due to the changes in technology that was brought from time to time. Sometimes there have been significant changes in technology that changed the whole industry and brought a revolution to the society as a whole. From the invention of wheel to internet of things, there have been four significant Industrial Revolution that took place in mankind and we shall be talking about them.
The changes that were visible in the past 300 years certainly did not happened in the last 3000 years. 10,000 years ago humans started with agriculture for food and 5,000 years ago we started living under civilisations, the lifestyle was very simple yet structured. Little was known that 18th century will mark a new beginning of how humans lived.
First Industrial Revolution (1760-1830)
In the 18th century, the First Industrial Revolution took off after the invention of steam engine. Coal played the biggest role since steam engines used to run on coal. Steam engines were used to run trains and ships for travelling and movement of goods to longer distances. This revolution began from the Great Britain and spread the whole Europe.
Most of the economies were dependent on agriculture and man made goods but due to Industrial Revolution, manufacturing and processing of goods through machines became possible. Machines were introduced into agriculture thereby improving the conditions in this sector. The work in the fields became faster and there was more productivity visible. There was also a huge movement of humans from villages to bigger cities for work and employment. Industrial Revolution 1.0 is called as the Age of Mechanical Production.
Second Industrial Revolution (1850-1914)
Instead of steam engines, internal combustion engines were used from the mid 19th century. The invention of electricity was the most important invention of that time. It led to mass production of goods and products. Communication improved after the invention of telephone and radio.
Longer distance and new places were covered once the invention of cars and places happened. Pharmaceuticals and chemicals were also introduced that fought diseases and increased the life expectancy. Industrial Revolution 2.0 is called as the Age of Science and Mass Production.
Third Industrial Revolution (1969-present)
The Third Industrial Revolution is currently reaching its peak in the modern day society. The focus of the industrial revolution shifted towards electronic goods and nuclear energy. It began from Europe and the United States and grew significantly in countries like China and Japan in Asia.
This revolution also brings the advent of computers which played a huge role when the US and USSR were competing in space. Due to this, there was up-gradation in computers. The usage of computers also increased within the common man whether it was at a company or for personal usage.
When the usage increased, there was a need to connect the computers. That was how the World Wide Web or the internet came into existence. With internet, humans could finish off the task which was almost impossible. The world became small and connected. Next came the introduction of mobile phones and then smartphones in the early 21st century. Apps and softwares became popular and gave rise to information technology.
Similarly problems in any domain such as agriculture, water conservation, waste management and much more could be solved with these inventions. Industrial Revolution 3.0 is called as the Age of Digital Revolution.
Fourth Industrial Revolution
Pollution and drainage of energy forced the concentration of the world from non-renewable sources to renewable ones. More emphasis is given to sources like wind, geothermal and solar energy, etc to create a more healthier and better world. Electric vehicles would replace petrol and diesel running vehicles.
Modern technologies such as Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, BlockChain, Machine Learning, Robotics are currently used but their usage will increase with time. Data is said to be as valuable as crude oil and with time, real time data and predictive analysis would play a bigger role than ever. Manufacturing will became robotic in nature.