post 1
The most significant gain of this period I believe would be the Iron working. Before the discovery of Abraham Darby, iron smelting was done using the forest or other biofuel which not only depleted forest but was very expensive and time consuming. (Landes, 1981)
Abraham Darby was the first known to use coal to produce cast iron. This process included turning coal into coke. The reason for this being so successful is when the coal becomes coke it loses a lot of its sulphur properties by emitting gases. This lowered the fuel cost it took to produce "pig iron" also it made it stronger and more malleable due to being able to reach higher temperatures. (Landes, 1981)
I believe this is the most important because it brought an affordable and mass produceable product to the revolution that help drive and move the industrial revolution forward and made it possible. Without a affordable iron there is no evolution of the steam engine, there is no machinery for the textile factories and also there is no infrastructure that could be built to support the industrial revolution.
During the time it was not a worry but today and moving ahead it has really been in issue. That would be the second order effects by the use and mass use of coal on the environment. "When coal is burned, gases are given off and particles of ash, called "fly ash." are released. The sulfur in coal combines with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide, which can be a major source of air pollution if emitted in large enough quantities." (Kentucky Coal Education, 2016) With the releasing of those pollutants results in two major environment concerns: acid rain and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere which causes greenhouse effects. (Kentucky Coal Education, 2016)
sources
"Kentucky Coal Education-Coal and the Environment." Kentucky Coal Education- Online Since 1996. Accessed February 26, 2016.https://www.coaleducation.org/.
Landes, David S. The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981
Post 2
The most significant breakthrough of the eighteenth century, in my opinion, was the invention of the steam engine by James Watt in 1776. The significance of this engine was that "could be used to pump water from coal mines or drive machinery in the textile factories" (Hunt, et. al, 687). With the increasing population in England by 50% in the second half of the eighteen centuries, it also increased the demand for producing more and cheaper cotton cloth and the cotton manufacturing industry was booming. The invention of the steam machine was more important than other invention of the Industrial Revolution because this engine "could be run by a small boy and yield fifteen times the output of a skilled adult working a handloom" (Hunt, et.al, 687). Also, with this new power machinery the manufactures start hiring more skilled men, women and children.
Good opportunities and relative stable political environment in England were the biggest issues ushered in by the Industrial Revolution. All over Europe textile manufacturing spread out because of the "putting out" or "domestic " system. This system that enabled families to work from home had existed for years but it expanded on the eighteen century and is been called sometimes "proto- industrialization "which signifies the process that helped pave the way for the full scale of the Industrial Revolution (Hunt, et.al, 687).However, with all this growth of the textile industries not everyone was a winner because whenever the demand for cloth declined the manufactures did not buy from the families that were in the textile industry. This put hundreds and thousands of families in finance trouble and even sometimes forced them in bankruptcy "the Handloom did not agree with establishment of the factory that forced them out of work" (Hunt, et.al, 688).
Bibliography
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R, Martin, Barbara H. Rosenstein, and Bonnie G. Smith. 2012. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 4rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
post 3
Although it is difficult to narrow down which gain is most significant from the Industrial Revolution, the importance of new technology cannot be understated, especially in regards to the steam-powered engine. From the very beginning of its development, the steam engine had a profound impact on multiple fields and occupations. Originally developed by James Watt in 1776, steam-driven engines could "pump water from coal mines or drive machinery in textile factories" (Hunt et al. 2012, 686). Both the coal and the textile industries benefitted from increased efficiencies due to the steam engine, allowing them to grow during this time of rapid industrial expansion. When George Stephenson developed steam engines powerful enough to pull wagons in the 1820s, the railroad system became the most effective method for transporting not only people and products, but also for moving coal and iron to factories (Hunt et al. 2012, 688). The development of the railway system using steam-powered engines transformed the layout of European states. By increasing industrial development in nearly every industry, it could be argued that the steam-driven engine is the most important invention of the period, and it certainly demonstrates the significant gains that came from new technology.
However, along with the technological advances made during the Industrial Revolution came unforeseen issues. While there were many political and economic issues that developed, it is perhaps the social issues that often accompanied urbanization that contributed most to the problems of the period. As a byproduct of industrial development, urbanization is not an undesirable trend in and of itself. Rather, the problem seemed to stem from the sheer number of people emigrating to the cities, which in turn were unable to support such growing populations. Overcrowding in the cities led to dismal and unsanitary living conditions for much of the working class, as well as contributing to disease outbreaks that claimed thousands of lives. Despite the standard of living increasing, many women and children now entered the workforce out of necessity, or otherwise faced starvation. Unfortunately, the middle-class viewed the working class as "morally degenerate because of the circumstances of urban life," causing increased tensions between the classes (Hunt et al. 2012, 694). In the end, it is this disparity between the social classes that helped stoke the political and economic problems of the Industrial Revolution.