15 INVENTIONS OF THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION - HISTORY - 2024

Some of the inventions of the Second Industrial Revolution were the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, the incandescent light bulb or the steam turbine. The Second Industrial Revolution or Technological Revolution was a phase of rapid industrialization in the last third of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The First Industrial Revolution, which ended in the early 1800s, was marked by a slowdown in macro-inventions before the Second Industrial Revolution in 1870.

Some of the characteristic events of the Second Industrial Revolution can be attributed to earlier innovations in manufacturing, such as the establishment of a machine tool industry, the development of methods for making interchangeable parts, and the invention of the Bessemer Process for producing steel..

Advances in manufacturing and production technology enabled the widespread adoption of pre-existing technological systems, such as rail and telegraphy networks, gas and water supply, and sewage systems, which had previously been concentrated in a few select cities.

The enormous expansion of railway and telegraph lines after 1870 allowed an unprecedented movement of people and ideas, culminating in a new wave of globalization.

In the same period, new technological systems were introduced, most significantly electric power and telephones.

The Second Industrial Revolution continued in the 10th century with the early electrification of the factory and the production line, and ended at the beginning of the First World War.

Main inventions of the Second Industrial Revolution

one-

In 1885, the Karl Benz Motorwagen, powered by the internal combustion engine, was the first automobile ever invented.

The effect of the car was huge among the people and everyone started buying it. In addition, the automotive industry contributed significantly to the economic growth of the country in which it was invented.

2- Ford Model T

The Model T is an automobile built in 1908, by the Ford Motor Company. The car was very popular during those times and it was affordable for the middle class.

The innovation of the Ford company assembly line made the car very popular with Americans.

3- Plane

Humanity had always dreamed of flying over the sky with inspirations from Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine and mythical wax wings from Daedalus and Icarus.

In 1903, two American brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright turned humanity's dreams into reality by building the first true flying machine called an "airplane."

His invention was of great help to people and the 20th century witnessed the most influential growth in transportation globally.

4- Telephone

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, invented a device called a "telephone." His experiments with sound, to make the deaf to communicate, led to the invention of the telephone.

Today, the telephone industry lives in the era of the portable telephone, a revolution in the international communication system.

But, Graham Bell, as well as other inventors of devices similar to the telephone, pioneered a change in humanity in an unimaginable way back in the 19th century.

5- Transatlantic signal

In 1901, Marconi demonstrated the first transatlantic signal using Morse code and wireless telegraphy. Wireless telegraphy was invented and widely used on ships for fantastic communication by reading, sending and receiving signals.

During 1912, the famous ship Titanic sent a distress call for rescue to nearby ships using transatlantic signals from the sea.

In 1906, the first human voice signal was transmitted via radio transmissions using Marconi waves.

6- Phonograph

In 1877, Thomas Alva Edison invented the phonograph. It is a machine in which rotating registers make a pencil vibrate and the vibrations are amplified acoustically and electronically.

7- Automatic weapon

Richard Gatling, American inventor, revolutionized the world of weapons when he developed the Gatling Gun in 186, being the first automatic machine gun.

It produced a new range of automatic weapons that would become one of the most important in various battles, including the American Civil War and the World Wars.

8- The incandescent bulb

The theoretical and practical basis for the use of electrical energy was laid by the scientist and experimentalist Michael Faraday.

Through his research on the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a direct current, Faraday established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics.

His inventions of rotating electromagnetic devices were the basis for the practical use of electricity in technology.

In 1881, Sir Joseph Swan, inventor of the first incandescent light bulb, supplied nearly 1,200 incandescent Swan lamps to the Savoy Theater in the City of Westminster, London, which was the first theater and the first public building in the world to be fully illuminated. by electricity.

9- Oil extraction

Although there were many efforts in the mid-19th century to extract the oil, the Edwin Drake well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859, is considered the first "modern oil well."

Drake learned of wire-tool drilling and extraction from Chinese workers in the United States. The primary product was kerosene for lamps and heaters.

Thanks to these techniques, Drake fostered the boom in oil extraction on North American soil.

10- Steam turbine

The steam turbine was developed by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884. His first model was connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kW (10 hp) of electricity.

The invention of the Parsons steam turbine made cheap and abundant electricity possible and revolutionized shipping and naval warfare.

By the time of Parsons' death, his turbine had been adopted by every major power plant in the world.

11- Dynamite

In 1847, the chemist Ascanio Sobrero discovered nitroglycerin by accident, as it left him experiencing physical consequences. In fact, some inventors like Alfred Nobel wanted to work with this explosive substance.

The well-known Swedish engineer developed dynamite after working with diatoms (marine fossils) that absorbed nitroglycerin and, with this, managed to introduce it into cardboard tubes.

His invention, although initially disliked, was a success in industries such as mining, earning him a lot of money and posthumous recognition.

12- Radio

This invention was made possible by the development of the transatlantic signal in the early 20th century. Although Marconi is associated as its inventor, there is a historical dispute over the patent of this invention that is still present today.

In addition to being an invention that has informed and entertained millions of people, it has also saved lives. For example, thanks to this device the Titanic was able to send a warning of its sinking and, with it, save the lives of about 700 people.

13- Machine Gun

The machine gun has the distinction of being the first automatic weapon in history. Devised in 1861 by Richard Gatlin, it marked a significant change from what lay ahead on the battlefield.

Although its potential was much higher than the rest of the weapons of the time, at first it did not have military support, in part due to its rudimentary system and its excessive weight (40 kg), which made it a slow weapon.

However, Gatlin improved his artifact and soon found clients who used it in various military conflicts, such as the Pacific War.

14- Explosion engine

Although at first inventions such as the automobile or the airplane worked thanks to the combustion engine, it soon gave way to the explosion engine. This has remained active to this day, with only the diesel engine as competition and, in the short term, the electric motor.

This invention was developed by Nikolaus August Otto in 1876 and soon companies like Karl Benz made use of his technology.

15- Telegraph

After inventing the famous Morse code, Samuel Morse developed the telegraph in 1844. This was one of the great inventions of the 19th century, remaining in force until much of the 20th century.

It is considered as a precedent for what we currently know as text messages or emails.

References

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