IRON & STEEL

By: Richie Dragotta, Grace Kelly, Jeein Youn, Lauren Chen

Period 7

WHY IT WAS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL

REVOLUTION

• During the Industrial Revolution, iron and coal became one of the two major raw materials of modern industry.

• Iron and steel is what allowed the British manufacturers to quickly introduce power-driven machinery in many different industries.

• Without coal, water, winder power, and firewood would have served the energy needs of the Industrial Revolution economy.

WHY IT WAS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL

REVOLUTION

• According to statistics stated in a resource “Church 1987” In 1860, 22 million tons of coal was used for domestic purposes such as heating, cooking, and lighting.

• Iron and Coal is what allowed access to buildings and railroads.

FAMOUS PEOPLE: WILLIAM KELLY AND HENRY BESSEMER

• People realized that after years of using iron as their metal of choice, steel was the best option to use instead.

• As the demand for steel rose, a new, faster procedure for making steel had to be devised

• The process for making iron was invented in the 1850’s, when William Kelly and Henry Bessemer created what is now known as the Bessemer process

• The Bessemer process was a cheap and efficient way to make steel, in which you burned the impurities out of molten iron to make the steel.

FAMOUS PEOPLE CONT’D: ELI WHITNEY

• While Eli Whitney did not produce a new way to make iron or steel, he was very important in the iron and steel industry.

• Whitney’s new invention, the cotton gin, was made of iron, which made the industry much richer and more popular.

• The early iron cotton gin was able to do the work of over 50 men, so iron was often in demand to make more cotton gins

FACTORS OF PRODUCTION

• Had the factors of production, or the basic resources necessary for industrialization

• Land

• Abundant supply of natural resources

• Capital

• Had money and goods such as tools, machinery, equipment, and inventory

• Labor

• Many industrial workers were willing to work after they were forced to find jobs in the city after the agricultural revolution

WHAT WAS GOING ON IN GREAT BRITAIN?

• Found that coal worked better to separate iron from it’s ore than previous methods such as wood or charcoal which Great Britain benefited from

• Iron and Coal became the two major raw materials of the industrial revolution

• Great Britain was rich in these two resources which gave them an advantage over other European countries

IMPROVEMENTS AND ADVANCEMENTS

• Steam engines began to explode due to the high pressure which the iron couldn’t stand. They needed a new metal that could be used to build steam engines

• Steel was created, which was iron with impurities removed, and was harder and stronger than iron

• Steel was expensive and took a long time to make when it was first introduced

IMPROVEMENTS AND ADVANCEMENTS

• William Kelly from Great Britain invented the Bessemer process, which involved blowing air through the molten iron which burned out many of the impurities

• The Bessemer process was very similar to how the Haya south Africans made metal more than a thousand years prior

• Very soon after the invention of iron and steel, many countries such as Great Britain started using these materials to build machinery and taller, much more stable buildings; most things became mechanized

HOW IT MAY IMPACT GREAT BRITAIN

• The iron and steel industry will cause the use of machinery to increase greatly

• The amount of steam used from the steam engine will probably create pollution and a cloudy polluted atmosphere

• Will be able to use the steel and iron in other industries such as railroads

• Iron and steel will also spread to other countries and allow Great Britain to receive trading partners

HOW IT WILL SPREAD AND IMPACT OTHER COUNTRIES

• Other countries will take notice to the increase in factories and production from Great Britain, and either purchase iron and steel from them, or try to recreate it

• Iron and steel will become extremely popular and towns and cities will progress and build  more factories and large buildings

• Other countries might find a product that they can produce and a trade network will organize.