The Technology, Science and Inventions

The 18th century (also referred to as the 1700s) began the first Industrial Revolution. Modern manufacturing began with steam engines replacing animal labor. The 18th century saw the widespread replacement of manual labor by new inventions and machinery.

The 18th century was also part of the "The Age of Enlightenment", an historical period characterized by a change away from traditional religious sources of authority, and a move towards science and rational thought.

The effects of the 18th century Enlightenment led to the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. The 18th century saw the spread of capitalism and the increased availability of printed materials.

Industrial Revolution – Timeline of Textile Machinery

Several inventions in textile machinery occurred in a relatively short time period during the Industrial Revolution.

Timeline of Textile Machinery1733 Flying shuttle invented by John Kay -

an improvement to looms that enabled weavers to weave faster.

1742 Cotton mills were first opened in England.

1764 Spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves - the first machine to improve upon the spinning wheel.

1764 Water frame invented by Richard Arkwright - the first powered textile machine.

Timeline of Textile Machinery1769 Arkwright patented the water frame. 1770 Hargreaves patented the Spinning Jenny.1773 The first all-cotton textiles were produced

in factories.1779 Crompton invented the spinning mule that

allowed for greater control over the weaving process.

1785 Cartwright patented the power loom. It was improved upon by William Horrocks, known for his invention of the variable speed batton in 1813.

Timeline of Textile Machinery1787 Cotton goods production had increased

10 fold since 1770.1789 Samuel Slater brought textile

machinery design to the US.1790 Arkwright built the first steam powered

textile factory in Nottingham, England.1792 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin - a

machine that automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber.

Timeline of Textile Machinery1804 Joseph Marie Jacquard invented the

Jacquard Loom that weaved complex designs. Jacquard invented a way of automatically controlling the warp and weft threads on a silk loom by recording patterns of holes in a string of cards.

1813 William Horrocks invented the variable speed batton (for an improved power loom).

1856 William Perkin invented the first synthetic dye.

1712 - Newcomen Steam Engine and the Industrial Revolution

In 1712, Thomas Newcomen, together with John Calley built their first steam engine on top of a water-filled mine shaft and used it to pump water out of the mine. The Newcomen steam engine was the predecessor to the Watt steam engine and it was one of the most interesting pieces of technology developed during the 1700s. The invention of engines, the first being steam engines, was very important to the Industrial Revolution.

Newcomen Steam Engine

1733 - Flying Shuttle, Automation of Textile Making & The Industrial

RevolutionIn 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle, an

improvement to looms that enabled weavers to weave faster.

By using a flying shuttle, a single weaver could produce a wide piece of cloth. The original shuttle contained a bobbin on to which the weft (weaving term for the crossways yarn) yarn was wound. It was normally pushed from one side of the warp (weaving term for the the series of yarns that extended lengthways in a loom) to the other side by hand. Before the flying shuttle wide looms needed two or more weavers to throw the shuttle.

The automation of making textiles (fabrics, clothing, etc.) marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Flying Shuttle

1764 - Increased Yarn and Thread Production During Industrial

RevolutionIn 1764, a British carpenter and weaver named

James Hargreaves invented an improved spinning jenny, a hand-powered multiple spinning machine that was the first machine to improve upon the spinning wheel by making it possible to spin more than one ball of yarn or thread. Spinner machines like the spinning wheel and the spinning jenny made the threads and yarns used by weavers in their looms. As weaving looms became faster, inventors had to find ways for spinners to keep up.

Spinning Jenny

1769 - James Watt's Improved Steam Engine Powers the

Industrial RevolutionJames Watt was sent a Newcomen

steam engine to repair that led him to invent improvements for steam engines.

Steam engines were now true reciprocating engines and not atmospheric engines. Watt added a crank and flywheel to his engine so that it could provide rotary motion. Watt's steam engine machine was four times more powerful than those engines based on Thomas Newcomen's steam engine design.

Steam Engine Designs of James Watt

Steam Engine Designs of James Watt

Steam Engine Designs of James Watt

1769 - Spinning Frame or Water Frame

Richard Arkwright patented the spinning frame or water frame that could produce stronger threads for yarns. The first models were powered by waterwheels so the device came to be first known as the water frame.

It was the first powered, automatic and continuous textile machine and it enabled the move away from small home manufacturing towards factory production of textiles. The water frame was also the first machine that could spin cotton threads.

Spinning Frame or Water Frame

1779 - Spinning Mule Increased Variety in Threads and Yarns

In 1779, Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule that combined the moving carriage of the spinning jenny with the rollers of the water frame.

The spinning mule gave the spinner great control over the weaving process. Spinners could now make many different types of yarn. Finer cloths could now be made.

Spinning Mule

1785 - Power Loom's Effect on the Women of the Industrial

RevolutionThe power loom was a steam-powered,

mechanically operated version of a regular loom. A loom is a device that combines threads to make cloth.

When the power loom became efficient, women replaced most men as weavers in the textile factories.

Power Loom

1830 - Practical Sewing Machines & Ready Made Clothing

After the sewing machine was invented, the ready-made clothing industry took off. Before sewing machines, nearly all clothing was local and hand-sewn.

The first functional sewing machine was invented by the French tailor, Barthelemy Thimonnier, in 1830.

About 1831, George Opdyke was one of the first American merchants to begin the small-scale manufacture of ready-made clothing. But it was not until after the power-driven sewing machine was invented that factory production of clothes on a large scale occurred.

Practical Sewing Machines & Ready Made Clothing

The History of Steam EnginesThomas SaveryThomas NewcomenJames Watt

Thomas Savery (1650-1715)Thomas Savery was an English military engineer

and inventor who in 1698, patented the first crude steam engine, based on Denis Papin's Digester or pressure cooker of 1679.

Thomas Savery had been working on solving the problem of pumping water out of coal mines. His machine consisted of a closed vessel filled with water into which steam under pressure was introduced. This forced the water upwards and out of the mine shaft. Then a cold water sprinkler was used to condense the steam. This created a vacuum which sucked more water out of the mine shaft through a bottom valve.

Thomas SaveryThomas Savery later worked with Thomas

Newcomen on the atmospheric steam engine. Among Savery's other inventions was an odometer for ships, a device that measured distance traveled.

Illustration of Thomas Savery's Engine circa 1698

Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729)Thomas Newcomen was an English blacksmith who

invented the atmospheric steam engine, an improvement over Thomas Slavery's previous design.

The Newcomen steam engine used the force of atmospheric pressure to do the work. Thomas Newcomen's engine pumped steam into a cylinder. The steam was then condensed by cold water, which created a vacuum on the inside of the cylinder. The resulting atmospheric pressure operated a piston, creating downward strokes. In Newcomen's engine the intensity of pressure was not limited by the pressure of the steam, unlike what Thomas Savery had patented in 1698.

Thomas NewcomenIn 1712, Thomas Newcomen, together with

John Calley built their first engine on top of a water-filled mine shaft and used it to pump water out of the mine. The Newcomen engine was the predecessor to the Watt engine and it was one of the most interesting pieces of technology developed during the 1700s.

Thomas Newcomen’s Engine

James Watt (1736-1819)James Watt was a Scottish inventor and

mechanical engineer, born in Greenock, who was renowned for his improvements of the steam engine. In 1765, James Watt, while working for the University of Glasgow was assigned the task of repairing a Newcomen engine, which was deemed inefficient but the best steam engine of its time. That started the inventor to work on several improvements to Newcomen's design.

James WattMost notable was Watt's 1769 patent for a

separate condenser connected to a cylinder by a valve. Unlike Newcomen's engine, Watt's design had a condenser that could be cool while the cylinder was hot. Watt's engine soon became the dominant design for all modern steam engines and helped bring about the Industrial Revolution.

A unit of power called the Watt was named after James Watt. The Watt symbol is W, and it is equal to 1/746 of a horsepower, or one Volt times one Amp.

Engraving of James Watt

Progress of the Atmospheric Steam Engine

The atmospheric engine, as first designed, had a slow process of condensation by the application of the condensing water to the exterior of the cylinder. Producing the vacuum caused the strokes of the engine to take place at very long intervals.

More improvements were made which immensely increased the rapidity of condensation. Thomas Newcomen's first engine produced 6 or 8 strokes a minute and he improved that to 10 or 12 strokes.

Atmospheric Steam EngineIn the following diagram, the steam was

generated in the boiler A. The piston P moved in a cylinder B. When the valve V was opened, the steam pushed up the piston. At the top of the stroke, the valve was closed, the valve V' was opened, and a jet of cold water from the tank C was injected into the cylinder, thus condensing the steam and reducing the pressure under the piston. The atmospheric pressure above then pushed the piston down again.

Atmospheric Steam Engine

Newcomen Atmospheric Steam Engine

Steam Engine NomenclatureA labeled schematic diagram of a typical single

cylinder, simple expansion, double-acting high pressure steam engine. Power takeoff from the engine is by way of a belt.1 - Piston2 - Piston rod3 - Crosshead bearing4 - Connecting rod5 – Crank6 - Eccentric valve motion7 - Flywheel8 - Sliding valve9 - Centrifugal governor.

Steam Engine Nomenclature

How Steam Engines Work

How Steam Engines WorkA steam engine is a device that converts the

potential energy that exists as pressure in steam, and converts that to mechanical force. Early examples were the steam locomotive trains and steamships that relied on these steam engines for movement. The Industrial Revolution came about primarily because of the steam engine. The thirty seconds or so required to develop pressure made steam less favored for automobiles, which are generally powered by internal combustion engines.

How Steam Engines WorkThe first steam device was invented by Hero

of Alexandria, a Greek, before 300BC, but never utilized as anything other than a toy. While designs had been created by varous people in the meanwhile, the first practical steam engine was patented by James Watt, a Scottish inventor, in 1769. Steam engines are of various types but most are reciprocal piston or turbine devices.

How Steam Engines WorkThe strength of the steam engine for modern

purposes is in its ability to convert raw heat into mechanical work. Unlike the internal combustion engine, the steam engine is not particular about the source of heat. Since the oxygen for combustion is unmetered, steam engines burn fuel cleanly and efficiently, with relatively little pollution.

How Steam Engines WorkOne source of inefficiency is that the

condenser causes losses by being somewhat hotter than the outside world. Thus any closed-cycle engine will always be somewhat less efficient than any open-cycle engine, because of condenser losses.

How Steam Engines WorkMost notably, without the use of a steam

engine nuclear energy could not be harnessed for useful work, as a nuclear reactor does not directly generate either mechanical work or electrical energy - the reactor itself does nothing but sit there and get hot. It is the steam engine which converts that heat into useful work.

Steam Engine OperationThe following diagram shows the major

components of a piston steam engine. This sort of engine would be typical in a steam locomotive.

The engine shown is a double-acting steam engine because the valve allows high-pressure steam to act alternately on both faces of the piston.

Steam Engine Operation

Steam Engine OperationYou can see that the slide valve is in charge

of letting the high-pressure steam into either side of the cylinder. The control rod for the valve is usually hooked into a linkage attached to the cross-head, so that the motion of the cross-head slides the valve as well.

The following animation shows the engine in action.

Steam Engine OperationGo to the following website for animated

steam engine:http://science.howstuffworks.com/steam1.htm

BoilersThe high-pressure steam for a steam engine

comes from a boiler. The boiler's job is to apply heat to water to create steam. There are two approaches: fire tube and water tube.

A fire-tube boiler was more common in the 1800s. It consists of a tank of water perforated with pipes. The hot gases from a coal or wood fire run through the pipes to heat the water in the tank, as shown here:

Fire-tube Boiler

BoilersIn a fire-tube boiler, the entire tank is under

pressure, so if the tank bursts it creates a major explosion.

More common today are water-tube boilers, in which water runs through a rack of tubes that are positioned in the hot gases from the fire. The following simplified diagram shows you a typical layout for a water-tube boiler:

Water-tube Boiler

BoilersIn a real boiler, things would be much more

complicated because the goal of the boiler is to extract every possible bit of heat from the burning fuel to improve efficiency.

ConclusionEarly steam engines had limited application

because of design limitations.The first applications were in mines for

ventilation and pumping out water.As time passed improvements in steam

engine design opened up new possibilities for steam engine applications.

Britain’s textile industry was the first to be mechanized by steam engines.

ConclusionAs steam engines were applied to new applications

more design improvements were made.This increased productivity greatly.Steam engines were then applied to railways and

steamships.Because Britain industrialized first it became the

strongest world power, despite its size as a tiny island nation.

The Industrial Revolution spread and other countries eventually overtook Britain in industrial capacity.