INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Steam Engine

In 1775, James Watt formed an engine-building and engineering partnership with the manufacturer
Matthew Boulton. The partnership of Boulton and Watt became one of the most important businesses
of the Industrial Revolution and served as a kind of creative technical center for much of the British
economy.In 1763, James Watt was working as instrument maker at the University of Glasgow when he
was assigned the job of repairing a model Newcomen engine and noted how inefficient it was. The most
important development of the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine facilitated major advancements
in the fields of mining, manufacturing, agriculture and transportation. And while several prominent
figures of the 18th and 19th centuries are credited with developing and improving the steam engine, the
history of steam-powered machines actually goes back nearly 2,000 years before the Industrial
Revolution.

The steam engine was used in many industrial settings, especially mining, where the first engines
pumped water from deep workings. Early mills had run successfully with water power, but by using a
steam engine a factory could be located anywhere, not just near water. Water power varied with the
seasons, and was not available at times due to freezing, floods and dry spells.Steam power originally
developed slowly over a period of several hundred years, progressing through expensive and fairly
limited devices in the early 17th century, until it reached to actually practical applications at the
beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Thus, steam engine was expensive and hence, only rich people
had access to it. The Industrial Revolution had both positive and negative impacts for society.The
Industrial Revolution had many positive effects. Among those was an increase in wealth, the production
of goods, and the standard of living. People had access to healthier diets, better housing, and cheaper
goods. In addition, education increased during the Industrial Revolution. Due in part to the Edward
invention of the smallpox vaccine and Louis Pasteur’s discovery of bacteria, health care increased, and
people began to live longer.Although there are several positives to the Industrial Revolution there were
also many negative elements, including: poor working conditions, poor living conditions, low wages,
child labor, and pollution.

Pasteur’s discovery of bacteria, health care increased, and people began to live longer.