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Revolver, Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt's business expanded rapidly in 1847. The Texas Rangers ordered 1000 revolvers during the Mexican American War. During The American Civil War, Colt supplied firearms to both the North and and the South. -
Sewing Machine, Isaac Singer
At first Singer's invention did not work very well. The Sewing Machine was not very effective at first. Singer concluded that if the shuttle moved in a straight line rather than in a circle, it would be more effective. The Sewing Machine could sew 900 stiches per minute, way better than 40 accomplished seamstresses at work. -
Elevator, Elisha Graves Otis
The safety cable was quite a breakthrough. If the cable pulling the elevator broke, the cab would not fall down with it. This design is still in use today. Today the Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturerer of elevators. -
Manned Glider, George Cayley
Cayley produced a large scale manned glider equipped with "flappers" which flew across Brompton Dale of Wydale Hall in 1853. The first pilot was claimed to be Cayley's coachman. This invention did not have a very big impact on society. -
Bessemer Process, Henry Bessemer
The bessemer process was a process of making steel. Air would would be blown over the molten iron to remove impurities and keep the iron molten. But the process did not work at first and Bessemer was sued. Later it was researched and others worked on it. Eventually it started working well and helped to mass produce steel to build hundreds of things. -
Bicycle, Pierre Michaux
The first really popular and succesful bike was of a French design. It used rotary cranks and pedals mounted by the front wheel. The bike was popular in Europe where the roads were smooth and easy to bike on. It did not really work in the US because the roads were rough. It improved travel in Europe a bit. -
Dynamite, Alfred Nobel
Nobel was an industrialist, engineer, and an inventor. He mixed silica and nitroglycerine to make a malleable paste which was called dynamite. The dynamite was put together in a cylindrical shape so that it could be placed in drilling holes. It really helped to blow rock so that railroads, tunnels, and bridges could be built. But the invention of dynamite was dangerous as well for the workers. -
Transatatlantic Telegraph Completed, Cyrus West Field
The telgraph was first developed by Samuel Morse. Field's idea was to attach a well insulated line at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and connect Great Britain and the US. After several attempts it finally worked. This was very big becuase now long distance communication was possible in a short time. It wuld have taken months to deliver a message without this. -
Barbed Wire, Joseph Glidden
Barbed wire is a type of steel fencing wire with sharp edges or points all over it. Glidden invented something that was like a wooden block that had a protrusions on it. It could be used to keep cattle and other livestock inside their pens. -
Internal Combustion Engine, Nicholaus August Otto
An internal Combustion Engine is used to efficiently burn fuel directly into a piston chamber. The engine created by Otto was way better than the ones before its time. The engine was used for many things as well as an automobile engine. -
Telephone, Alexander Graham Bell
The telephone carried a double electromagnet which was in front of a membrane and which was stretched on a ring. And there was also a ong piece of soft iron. The invention had a very large effect on society. People could communicate from very long distances and hear the other person's voice almost instantly. -
Refrigerated Train Cars, Gustavus Swift
The refrigerated train cars were usedto keep meat and other perishables cool and to extend their life. The cart was kept well insulated and then ice was put at the top of the cart. THe cool air naturally moves downwards and keeps everything in the cart cool. The cart does not heat up because of the insulation. -
Light Bulb and Direct Current, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison did not invent the first electric lightbulb as he is often credited for. Thomas Edison's light bulb used a carbon filament after he tested platinum and other metals. This light bulb lasted for 13.5 hours. This really had a great affect on oher people because now they could work late into the night without fire which could be dangerous at times. Edison promoted Direct Current while others promoted Alternate Current. DC did not have any advantages. There was a verbal war and AC won. -
Induction Electric Motor, Nikola Tesla
An induction motor is an AC electric motor where the current needed to produce torque is created by electromagnetic induction. Therefore an induction motor does not require mechanical commutation. A major advantage is that its energy ouput can be changed from very large to very small and back very easily. -
Diesel Engine, Rudolf Diesel
The diesel engine is an internal combustion engine. The diesel engine was a pressure ignited heat engine. It had a higher efficiency rate than say, a steam engine with only a 10% efficiency rate. The engines were used to power pipelines, electric and water plants, automobiles, trucks, and much, much more. -
Alternating Current, George Westinghouse
Alternating current is a current that that reverses its direction many times a second at regular intervals. It is better than Thomas Edison's invention of direct current. AC can be transported hundreds of miles with minimal loss of power. After its birth it was used mostly in power supplies at the time and at current day. -
Motion Picture, Lumiere Brothers
The movies that the brothers showed in public places were long films that could be 17 meters long. The film was then cranked through a hand projector and ran for approximatley 50 seconds. This invention had a major effect on society. This invention created a whole new industry known as the film/movie industry which is giant today. -
First Successful Airplane, Wright Brothers
The Wright Flyer was based on many gliders that the brothers tested. The brothers built the plane from spruce wood. They built a new engine from scratch. A sprocket chain drive, borrowed from bicycle technology, powered the twin propellers. This was a very intense breakthrough because now long distance traveling and trips could be made in much shorter time than in ships, or wagons, or on horses. -
Model T, Henry Ford
This automobile was generally regarded as the first affordable automobile. The Model T was one of the first cars to be produced on an assembly line making it cheap and prolific. The upside of this was that now, lots of people could afford a good form of transportation and get from place to place. This probably lead to the design of bigger trucks and jeeps and a whole new car industry.
