Page 49 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

As steel became plentiful, it replaced wrought iron for almost all uses. With a lower price, people began to think how they might find new uses for metals. One of the most important was in the building industry.
At this time no one had developed
alloy steels – those that are harder
or more resistant to corrosion than
mild steel. That needed another kind
of furnace, one that did not use coke but electricity. It was called the electric arc furnace. The electric arc furnace was first demonstrated in 1879 by Sir William Siemens and was quickly put into widespread use to produce better-quality metals.
The development of metal machines
The increase in iron making using coke meant there was growth in the demand for coal. As coal mines were made deeper, the mines flooded more easily. The solution was to produce a mechanical pump – one run by steam but, just as importantly, made of metal. It was invented in 1698 by Thomas Savery and was developed by Thomas Newcomen, and then, most extensively, by James Watt over the next century. The pump at first was partly made of wood but eventually was made entirely of iron.
The steam engine then allowed the building of other metal machines, which had previously been impossible to power. One example was the rolling mill, which could make iron bars, girders, and so on.
By 1812 trains were running on experimental track, with the first commercial railway between Stockton and Darlington in England opening in 1825. As the railway age began, the demand for iron and then steel for rails became enormous. There was also demand for iron and steel for railway engines and carriages.
Towards the end of the 19th century the first internal combustion engines were invented. The blanks for engines were made of cast iron. Car bodies at first were wood, but very quickly they became pressed steel. So began the car industry, today one of the major consumers of the world’s steel.
(Above) Metalworking was still a very labor- intensive industry throughout the
19th century.
(Below) Metals revolutionized the way people lived during the Industrial Revolution. There were cheap metal pots and pans, and even metal baths. Cooking pots were often enameled iron. Stoves were made of cast iron instead of ceramic.
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