(Iron and Steel in America: Early Foundations by W. David Lewis) Lewis argues in his article that the United States originally used minimal iron compared to Europe, but as colonialization increased in the colonies so to did iron requirements. Almost everything was made out of wood in the 1600s and 1700s. Boats, wagons, tools, homes, …
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John R. Harris’s article The Rise of Coal Technology highlights the technological developments associated with coal and provides the reader with a historical timeline of the inventions and industries which are bound to this significant development. Interestingly, Harris notes that inventions of the late 18th century came about from earlier developments, less known or historically …
Humans have known about the existence o iron for about four thousand years, but it was not always easy to manage it and take advantage of its qualities. Early ironworkers used to warm the iron in charcoal fires which was a meticulous and time-consuming process. Also, this process only allowed for small amounts of iron …
(The Rise of Coal Technology) Harris’s article covers the idea that coal and the technology developed because the increasing use of coal, served as a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution in England. He does not outright say this but alludes to coal being widely used well before the traditional “start” of the Industrial Revolution. Such …
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Once wood began to not meet the needs of industrialized society, iron became the most prominent metal to create everyday use items. In the early days, wrought iron was made by heating up iron and hitting it into the desired shape for the needs. Places that produced slabs of wrought iron (blooms of wrought iron)…
It is known that men have known of iron for around 4000 years. However, for most of history Iron was very hard to extract from the ore. Only very small amounts of Iron could be obtained because the ore would be heated over a small fire. It was discovered that it would be necessary for …
Though coal had been around for centuries, it did not become a major energy source until the Industrial Revolution. In the Middle Ages prior to the Industrial Revolution, coal was used only by blacksmiths and other metalworkers. As the advantages of coal became more well-known throughout the centuries, it became more prevalent in industrial society. …
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“Early Iron Making in America” by Lewis discusses the reason iron making began in colonial America and how colonial Americans made iron. In the early colonial days, almost all tools were mad of wood except for parts that needed to be used for cutting or striking. Machines like water wheels, gears, and spinning wheels were …
David Lewis seeks to elucidate the importance of iron replacing wood as the dominant material for a whole sleuth of technologies early Americans used daily even though the practice was brought over from Europe. The world’s tools and machines were mainly made from wood before the implementation of iron which directly juxtaposes most societies that …
Coal, the remains of dead plants and biomass, carbonized into a dark black rock; dustier than Kansas with Toto, but burns beautifully. By the end of the 1600’s England was mining nearly every coal field they had, producing nearly two to three million tons (recent studies have questioned the accuracy of that number). With such …