Steel Making, Steam Engine, and Railroads

Steel Making

Steel has played a major part in the construction of America. Steel is a strong metal made with iron and carbon and can be used for almost anything from nails and eyeglass frames to the frames of cars and skyscrapers. Steel was made in the 18th century by layering charcoal and flat iron bars in a chest and setting it in a furnace for a week. During this time the iron took in the carbon from the charcoal. And the steel was formed. As years went by steel making became easier and today can be processed using either the Basic- Oxygen Furnace which takes about 45 minutes or the Electric Arc Furnace.

Steam Engine

"The wonderful progress of the present century is, in a very great degree, due to the invention and improvement of the steam engine, and to the ingenious application of its power to kinds of work that formerly taxed the physical energies of the human race."~Robert H. Thurston

Attempted by many, perfected by one. The steam Engine could be thought of as one of the most important inventions of industrial revolution. The concept behind the steam engine has been around for hundreds of years and all started with the Hero Engine named after the ancient writer Hero, although no one is positive if he was the true inventor of the machine. The man most commonly known for inventing the working steam engine was Thomas Newcomen in 1712. This steam engine has been so successful it is still being used today.

Railroads 

Just like the steam engine the concept for the railroad systems has been around for hundreds of years. It is said that the first forms of railroads were used by ancient Egyptians in the building of the pyramids. However the first record of it was back in 1630 when it was used to transport coals from the mines near New Castle, England. The railroads since then have evolved into one the most well known ways of transportation.

In 1827 Massachusetts became the first state to have a railroad, it was three miles long and went from the granite-quarries to the Neponset River. The second railroad was completed in May of 1827, was 9 miles and extended from the coal mines in Pennsylvania to the Lehigh River. Today the railroads stretches all across America.
 

Sources:

Steel Manufacturing: http://www.bsu.edu/web/acmaassel/steel.html

The Steam Engine: http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Steam/steam.htm
Railroads in America: http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/brown/index.html
Pictures from Google Images


written by....Tiffany B.