Industrial revolution homework: 3D Gallery

The industrial revolution

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The impact of the steam engine in causing the Industrial Revolution

The steam engine can be considered as one of the most important
inventions of the industrial revolution.

In around 1712,
Thomas Newcomen built the first commercially successful steam engine to pump
water out of mines. A consequence of this was there would be almost an endless
amount of coal.

James Watt made
steam engines much more efficient in the 1760s and 1770s giving huge savings on
fuel. His other improvements meant steam engines could replace water and horse
power in a wide variety of industries, which in turn allowed factories to be
built anywhere.

Prior to this, most factories were powered using water, wind or
man. This was always seen as being
unreliable as you would not only have to be located near rivers but these could
also dry up due to droughts. It was also not always windy. On the other hand, steam power gave you the
flexibility to have factories located anywhere.
It also supplied trustworthy power that was used to operate machines,
this worked very efficiently. The steam engines used boiling hot water to drive
a piston back and forth. It would boil the water by burning coal (a useful
source of energy). When people used to dig to find coal, the holes would flood.

Cotton machine changes

Cotton was a
big part of the industrial revolution. It was one of the most used materials
before and after the industrial revolution. There were some big inventions
during this time including the water frame, the spinning jenny, the Crompton mule
and the power loom. The water frame was the first of these many inventions. It
was a spinning frame that was powered by a water wheel. Richard Arkwright was
the inventor of this fabulous machine. The problem was the cotton was too
coarse. The spinning jenny was an invention by James Hargreaves. The problem
with that was the cotton was too weak. Then the Crompton mule was invented. It
solved the problems of both the water frame and the spinning jenny and created
a magnificent machine. This happened because Crompton had more time to examine
both of the machines and then create one super machine. A consequence of this
was that it changed the cotton industry forever.

Transport

Transport
was another big thing in the industrial revolution. It was used to transport raw
materials and goods over long distances. People used to have to send horses on
long journeys travelling coal. Then in the 1760s, James Brindley invented the
canal and it was a great invention. The canal could hold a barge which could
carry much more coal than the horse. Canals were important because roads could
not handle the weight of the coal and there were no vehicles to carry it.
Canals were perfect for the job. A consequence of this was that coal could be
transported almost anywhere with ease.

The Railway Age— Britain had ‘shrunk’ due to changes in time and communication

The steam
train could be considered as the biggest invention of the industrial
revolution. It could be used to transport humans as well as goods. The first
inventor of the steam train was Richard Trevithick. The problem was the speed.
It would travel at an extremely slow pace. The second inventor of the steam
train was George Stephenson. He entered a steam train competition and named his
train the rocket. He won, as his train reached up to speeds of 36 miles an
hour. That was fast in the 1800s. In 1700 it took a long time to get from
London to Manchester. This happened because scientists did not know how to generate
more speed as they didn’t have the technology we have today. But in 1880 it
took just four hours. A consequence of this was goods, food and post arrived
faster.

Child Labour in Factories

Child labour
was a big factor in the industrial revolution. Estimates show that around about
50 percent of employee were under the age of 14. This happened because children
were preferred to adults as they could fit through small spaces. Another reason
business owners liked to hire children rather than adults is because they
worked for very little pay. In fact, they earned 10 to 20 percent of what an
adult would get if they had the same job. A consequence of this was the
companies were making lots of profit. Working conditions were very dangerous as
they lacked safety equipment.

Urbanisation— Living conditions in Towns

Urbanisation was
good and bad for many reasons. One of the main bad reasons was the living
conditions in towns. They only had one toilet and water pump. A consequence of
this was that most people were not drinking enough and had to walk in a lot of
poo. As a result of having one toilet, people started to do their business in a
bucket and once they had finished, they would chuck the waste out of the
window. Second of all, the spaces were cramped. There used to be back to back
houses, which meant there was no back garden. Also, there was an estimated 40
people to 1 house. A few families would share a single bedroom. This happened
because Britain was getting so overpopulated due to the fact that they had lots
of factories.

The Hireling Shepherd

This is a painting by William Holman Hunt, a leading British Pre-Raphaelite.

Ophelia

Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851 and 1852. It depicts Ophelia, a character from Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark. [more]

The Music Lesson

The Music Lesson or Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman by Jan Vermeer, is a painting of young female pupil receiving the titular music lesson. [more]

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Industrial revolution homework