In Chapter 13 of McClellan and Dorn’s “Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction” an overview of the modern Industrial Revolution is presented. The industrial revolution was characterized by the development of several major industries and technologies: coal, the steam engine, iron production, textiles, and more. The development of the coal industry was driven by the lack of wood throughout Europe. The increased mining of coal led to the creation of the steam engine, which was first created by Thomas Newcomen and then made more efficient by James Watt. These steam engines were used to pump water out of mines, power steamboats, and mechanize the textile industry. A high-pressure steam engine, invented by Richard Trevithick, was used to power locomotives. Rail travel was made possible by the increased availability of iron, which was driven by the growth of the coal industry.
A major theme of this chapter is that the growth of these industries each contributed to the industrial revolution jointly and individually. In many cases, one industry contributed to the development of another industry and that industry contributed to another technology, etc. Another major theme of this chapter is that scientific theory was rarely used in the development of new technologies; most innovations were done by trial and error. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of technology because it is logical and easy to read.
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Name: Connor Mackert