This article written by Chapurukha Kusimba describes money as a universal language, something that everyone, everywhere understands. Starting in the upper Paleolithic nearly forty thousand years ago, individuals would barter for weapons and tools, creating the first forms of currency. The article describes that the common belief is that money first originated as a form…
Textiles and Factories
Arkwright – Cotton king or spin doctor? – Kyle Weissenberger
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This article written by Karen Fisk details the life and career of Richard Arkwright, a textile tycoon in the 18th century. Fisk brings to question the common characterization of Arkwright as the “father of the factory system” as well as the “founding father of the industrial revolution”. Arkwright was an educated man, and in being…
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Comment on Tarkov- Engineering the Erie Canal by David Barney by weissenbergerkyle
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David,
Great job summarizing the article. I personally think it’s very interesting to find that the need for engineers for public creating could have had such a profound effect on the educational systems in America. Reading about the 5 locks and 60 foot elevation change within just peaked my curiosity. I did some research and found that in total, the Erie canal has 36 locks and and elevation difference of around 550 feet.
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Comment on Silver and Gold: Hodgett on Mining by weissenbergerkyle
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Daniel, nice summary. I found the bit about using waterwheels to crush rocks to be a rather interesting use for them. I have also been reading some blog posts about steam engines and how they were often used to pump water out of the mines. This use of …
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Comment on Summary of “The Origins of the Steam Engine” by Ferguson by weissenbergerkyle
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Nice work Max, I really appreciated how detailed yet completely understandable your descriptions of the engines were. The included images and animations were helpful too. I also liked your connection between what we have learned in class and the bit about invention coming before science. It’s interesting to me to think about how these devices were created without scientific backing, through mere trial and error.
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Comment on Fisk, “Arkwright” by weissenbergerkyle
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Jeff,
You did a wonderful job with this post, It read like a story and was very entertaining. From what you wrote it seems like Arkwright lead a rather interesting life. I too was pleased with his values for education, children, and general philanthropic tendencies. I will however point out that the second link you supplied states that he did in fact employ children “as young as six years old” which doesn’t sound as pleasant as “until they can read”. Also on the second link, I found it rather funny that his creation of waterproof wigs helped him finance his spinning devices.
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Comment on Qasim Wani: Gimpel, Chapter 7 – The Medieval Machine: The Mechanical Clock by weissenbergerkyle
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Qasim,
This is an expertly written post, well structured covering everything from background information, problems, progress, to the ultimate solution. I really liked your detailed description of the shortcomings of previous time keeping devices. The included video was very informative, I really enjoyed the candle burning method.
All this clock-talk reminded me of the youtube channel “Clickspring” which details the build process of many different clocks. He is currently recreating the Antikythera mechanism that Barbara Reeves introduced us to. If you are an engineer, you will enjoy this channel.