STS 3700 – Lecture 9 - Science and Technology in the 19th
Century
- Iron, rail and steam, 1st Industrial revolution
- “Second Industrial Revolution”, internal combustion engine,
electrical technology and chemicals
- Industries of 1st revolution contributed to 2nd
- Scientific input was important to Second Revolution,
biology, chemistry, electromagnetism and thermodynamics
- Industrial developments were interdependent
Steel
- Steel industry contributed to other industries
- Bessemer process for improved steel, high phosphorous iron
- By WWI - 30 million tones of steel were produced
- Electrolytic treatments contributed to steel alloys
Electricity
- Faraday’s electromagnetic induction and Volta’s battery,
telecommunications
- Lightbulb research and innovation, Thomas Edison (18471931)
- AC versus DC power and long distance transmission
- 1888 Nikolai Tesla develops motor to translate AC power to
mechanical motion
- First AC plant at Niagara Falls in 1895, streetcars in 1880’s
Chemical Developments
- Chemical theory contributions: bonding theory, organic
chemistry, ionic theory
- Electrolysis, process chemicals (chlorine) and substances
(graphite)
- Gas chemistry for nitrogen and hydrogen
The Internal Combustion Engine
- Christiaan Huygens in 17th century, first example of IC
engine
- Nikolaus Otto first commercially viable IC engine,
compressed gas
- IC engines: less labor intensive, smaller, flexible, cheap fuel
(coal gas, kerosene and gasoline)
- 1885 Gottlieb Daimler, high speed IC engine, carburetor,
Karl Benz IC motor car
A Shift of Power
- Britain lost technological lead of first Industrial Revolution
to Germany and US
- Industry regulation, American capture of German patents
after WWI
- British did not develop their scientific education
- US: Industrial research labs at turn of century, mass
production, large domestic market and raw materials in
abundance
The Merger of Science and Engineering
- Scientific R+D was appropriated by industrial interests
- Scientific research:
o Increased productivity
o New methods of production
o Required innovation and capital access
- Scientific R+D was long, and expensive, this required excess
capital from:
o Traditional manufacturing profits
o Financial speculation
o Industrial consolidation (vertical integration)
- 1920’s: over 500 corporate mergers
- Union Carbide, Dupont
o Union Carbide (carbon, alloys, oxyacetylene, liquid
gas, bakelite and plastics)
o Dupont (explosives, gasoline, and automobile
applications)
- Science, variety and industrial laboratories
- Petroleum, metallurgy, paper, cement, photography,
fertilizers, steel
The Chemical Industry in the US
- Medieval dye technology: plant extracts and acids
- Industrial revolution: batch production, artificial substances
- US industry: Acids, alkalis, inorganic salts
- Industries that used chemicals: textiles, paper, leather, glass,
soap, paint, petroleum, rubber, electrical equipment,
fertilizers, insecticides, automobile
- Dye industry, textiles and printing
- Before WWI, German chemical companies:
o Initial lead
o Low cost chemicals
o Advanced university scientific research
o Ownership of patents
- After WWI, German patents redistributed, tariff barriers
- US industry: catalytic, electrochemical, organic synthesis and
liquifaction processes
- Electrolytic process used to produce salts, soda, chlorine and
bromine
The Reciprocal Relationship between Science and Industry
- Science, new processes, monopolies, and patent control
- Science directed by industrial interests, curriculum
- Science/engineering skills brought to mining, petroleum,
steel, rubber, automotive industries
Industrial Momentum and the Electrical Industry
- Turn of century electrical industry dominated by a few large
companies, electrical power generation, lighting,
transportation and communications
- Engineers and scientists determined industrial model:
o Patents
o Research laboratories
o Technical training programs
- GE, Westinghouse and ATT
- 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, voice transfer over wires
- Reliable current, efficiency, standardization and reliability
- In 1885 Westinghouse, alternating current
Patents and Innovation
- Patents lasted for 17 years
- Securing of patents and mergers to gain control over patents
- Thomas Edison: Menlo Park, New Jersey, market guide to
innovation, diffuse patents
- Complexity, technological systems and a network of
innovations, mergers
- Patent maintenance and patent pooling
- Patent protection became more important as industry adopted
more science and complexity
Vertical Integration
- Vertical integration: When a supplier of a product merges
with a user
- Vertical integration used to reduce transaction costs and to
guarantee supply and fixed prices in expensive R+D
intensive industries
- Suppliers of raw materials and users of manufactured
products
- Vertical integration: internal demand for purity, volume and
variety
- Dupont, war, explosives, dynamite, nitroglycerine and black
powder
Conclusion: The “Scientific Revolution” in Industry
- Science in industry at end of 19th century required:
o Control and purchase of patents
o Scientific training for employees
o Large scale industrial scientific R+D
- “Scientific revolution” in industry, corporate and scientific
advancement
The Profession of Engineering
- Craft traditions and scientific traditions
- Educational institutions, professional organizations,
publications
- Scientific theories and scientific methods
- Experiments, systematic organization and mathematical
theories
- Materials, barriers, contributions to technology
- Materials science:
o Dominance of engineers
o Science based engineering schools
o Fundamental entities
- Specialization and sub-fields
- Basic research, theoretical development and mathematical
sophistication
- Structural similarities, difference of priorities