innovation of industrial Revolution

 Invention of industrial

The series of invention comprehended in the term Industrial Revolution took place in textile and iron industries. They were accompanied by notable improvement in the system of internal and external transport as well as immense expansion of other branches of natural economy especially coal mining and engineering. According  to Mrs. Knowles the industrial and commercial revolution hinge on coal and iron and the power to transport them. The decades with which the industrial revolution is traditionally associated cover the period 1760-1880 but these dates can be mis-leading as the events which are designated as industrial  revolution constituted no sudden breach with the existing economic order but were part of the continuous movement which  had already made marked advance. The famous invention inventions associated with the name of Arkwright, James Watt, Stephenson and many others were the climax of a long series of industrial experiments extending over two centuries. If the earlier ages were barren of great technical achievement it was not due to want of ideas or energy. There were two improved impediments which retarded the progress of the invention of machinery.  It was feared that introduction of machines as there was a great necessity for economising labour in view of the increasing demand for English products. The 18th century came to be known as the century of inventions. In the first decade of the 18th century Abraham smelted iron ore with coke. In the second decade, Newcomen invented  the steam engine to drain water from mines. In the fourth decade Kay invented the fly shuttle in waving and Paul  in spinning by rollers which Arkwright later developed in the fifth decade. Paul invented a carding machine for preparing wool and huntsman produced steam by what is known as crucible process. Thus in spite of obstacle society had not remained stagnant. It was continuously changing and power driven machinery, mass production and assemblage of workers under one roof.

In the textile industry all the processes such as carding spinning, weaving and finishing were performed by hand. The era of the inventions was ushered in by John Kay. In 1733 he invented the fly-shuttle whose main feature was a new mode of casting of the shuttle by means of lever. It was driven mechanically without the help of the wavers hands. In 1746 James Hargreaves, a Lancashire weaver brought to completion his spinning which was a single simple machine operated a hand wheel and carried at first eight threads which ultimately increased to 80. It was very weak and was removed by the invention of the water frame by Arkwright in 1771. The introduction of the water frame was an event of prime importance in the history of textile manufactures .The water frame which was to be driven by some non-human power could not be set up in the ordinary cottage and utilised profitably under commonly associated with the factory system. In 1779, Samuel Crompton brought together the best feature of Hargreaves, and Arkwright machine.  from 1784 onwards Edward Cartwright the inventor of machine for wool combing gradually worked out the principles of the first power loom but it was adopted very gradually as there was tough resistance from the existing class of weavers.

The principle of the cylinder and piston was introduced by Newcomen. He introduced an engine which was of substantial service in pumping out water. In 1768, James Watt set himself the task of improving Newcomen's engine, chiefly in eliminating its waste of energy and making it more widely available for the purposes of manufacture. The advances in the textiles trade were however conditioned by corresponding advance in the metal industries. 

Transportation

It was on land rather than on sea, that the revolution in transport made it first beginning by the improvement of roads and more general use of steam vessels on inland waterways. This was necessitated by the tremendous increase in production and the need to explore new markets. The organisation of road network was a reality in France and Great Britain by the end of the 18th century. About 1780 the journey from Manchester to London took 4-5 days. In 1820, 36 hours were enough. About this year England had 21,000 miles of turnpike roads, as much as France.  Then arrived Telford and Macadam on the scene in England to build public roads. Under the direction of Thomas Telford 900 miles of road were opened across the mountains. John Macadam guaranteed a better quality and more uniform  surface on the roads.

In general, the road system was the most satisfying one where industrialisation had proceeded farthest. The road map of Europe corresponded to that of the Industrial Revolution. 

Canals

Since transportation by land was expensive, the English government began building canals. Strangely enough Great Britain, the founder of industrial civilization and the first country to have a large number of canals, was not really owed by geography for this method of transportation. This was because the sea makes numerous inroads into the heart of the country, the nature of the land is uneven and the supply of water that feeds the streams is fairly limited, except at the estuaries. Canals in England in reality were the result largely of historical factors rather than natural endowments. These canals were able to transform the whole industrial order, as well as the markets for fuel and food.

There was no question of the continent discovering inland navigation. For centuries the northern plain of Europe from Flanders to Prussia had the advantage of a navigable network. It was only a question of adapting this traditional mode of navigation to the requirements of an industrial civilisation.

France once again took up the work of canal building begun at the end of the previous century and interrupted by the revolution (1789). 

Steam boats

Canals saved miles but the steam boat saved hours. Although experiments had been made earlier it was an American Robert Fulton, who is regarded as the builder of the first steam boat. It was in 1807 that Claremont of Fulton travelled 150 miles along the Hudson in 32 hours. Europe adopted this invention at once. The increase of steam navigation on the rivers made the problem of their 'reconstruction' even more urgent. After about 1840, English Transatlantic steam boats were built of iron. The main reason why the English for years monopolised shipping trade of the world was due to their improved steam boats.

Steam Locomotives

Railways were the product of the reciprocal adaptation of trade and engine, both of which were closely limited to the revolution in metallurgy. Railways were cheaper to build and to run than canals. They could be used at all times of the year and provided relief for the over -crowded roads.

On the continent, the first railway also linked mines to waterways, Without the locomotive, the railway line would have remained only of local importance. The steam engine had already made its appearance on the road and it was only a matter of time and eventually George Stevenson an Englishman, invented his steam locomotive the Rocket, which won the Rainhill contest in 1829. From then on the locomotive was fully adopted to the trade and it helped considerably to expand the possibilities of the railway. Michel Chevalier going to Liverpool to sail for America in 1833 set foot into the railway carriage for the first time at Manchester. Train became a part of the new economic pattern they had helped to create. 

The electric telegraph played an important part in this development. The Great Western were the first to introduce it in 1839. By 1848 half the railway possessed the telegraph. The link between telegraph and railway was important and continued to be so. the telegraph soon became a public service.

Automobiles and Aeroplanes

A number of people contributed to the invention of the automobile including a German Daimler, who in 1855 produced a gasoline engine and an American, Goodyear, succeeded in vulcanising rubber in 1844. It was another American, Henry ford whose untiring efforts made available the automobile within the reach of man with moderate means.

Even more than the railroad and the automobile, the aeroplane helped to shrink distance and bring people of the world closer together. The first flight by the  wright Brothers paved the way foe an upheaval is commercial transportation and military methods.

Postal Services

The postal service of the ancient Persian empire was probably faster than that found in many parts of the civilized world in 1800. The costly unreliable and slow government postal service underwent a remarkable change when a blind Englishman Rowland Hill introduced a system of penny postage in Great Britain. He is rightly known as the father of the modern postal system. Other countries were quick to copy Hill's system and in 1874 the International Poster Union was established.

Other significant and far reaching invention followed. Electricity was harnessed and applied to telegraph and the Telephone was followed by the wireless, radio and television.