Industrial Revolution And The Implementing Of Machines example essay topic

Machineries are used in everyday life and had benefited us in many ways. The invention of machines started to quicken in the last hundred years but it is the industrial revolution which brought about a change in many industries by introducing the use of machines so that goods could produced at a much faster and cheaper rate. Starting in the early 19th Century the United States underwent the industrial revolution. The work that many people did changed as they moved from farms and small workshops into larger factories. They tended to buy things in stores, rather than make them at home or trade with their neighbors. They used machines, and purchased the products of machines, more than they ever had.

The implementing of machines had changed man's life drastically, but for the better or is it for the worse? What impact does the change have in our lives today, our lives in the past just after the revolution and our lives in the future? During the Industrial Revolution, pollution, such as Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere rose, working conditions declined, and the number of women and children working increased. The government, the arts, literature, music and architecture and man's way of looking at life all changed during the period. The revolution utilized the power of electricity to develop the technology and help social and home lives. Electricity improved life by supplying people with light, and electricity to power machines.

Communications improved as a result of electricity. The first communicational devices for public use are the telegraph and the telephone. With the development of technology, radio waves were discovered. Messages could be sent over long distances in practically no time. This is an example of how the industrial revolution which brought about the use of machines had benefited people's life in the past and even today. Instant messaging and electronic mail used by many is an example of how machines have improved our communication today.

Machines had also helped in the medical field. Medicine before the 1750's and in the 1750's wasn't well developed. It was impossible to save a patient once there is infection. Various diseases couldn't be stopped or controlled because of limited technology. In the 1850's however, vaccinations were discovered and administered. X rays machines were also invented and provided doctors with a faster way of diagnosing medical problems.

Louis Pasteur discovered a way to remove all germs in milk. Called pasteurization, this technique is now widely used on all milk. The technique involves heating the milk to slow the fermentation process and also requires the use of machinery. Machinery had also contributed to transport. The invention of the steam engine had greatly increased trade during the 19th century and communication as letters could reach another country faster by the use of steam engines. Marie Curie discover radioactivity as a power source, but this also led to the discovery of the nuclear bomb.

During the 1800's over 70,000 chemical compounds were broken down. Some of these were Portland cement, vulcanized rubber, synthetic dyes, and petroleum products. Petroleum was used widely as an alternate energy source. Gasoline which was also needed for transportation also changed from steam engines to the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine made transportation faster and less public. A person could own a car instead of using public transportation.

During this time, a new technology was born in the field of transportation. Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully completed the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk. The air plane industry was born. This had made moving around in big countries easier and also going abroad.

Today, we also can see how machinery helps in transport. The Mass Rapid Transit and the Light Rail Transport in Singapore are examples of how machines have improved our transport system today. It has made getting on buses easier by changing the "ticket system" to the easy tapping of the e-z link card. This has made convenience for most and prevented people from "cheating" by buying the cheaper ticket while riding for a longer distance.

The Industrial Revolution and the implementing of machines had changed our lives for the better but it has also changed it for the worse. Not all people benefited from the revolution. As Britain grew richer, it was the wealthy that benefited from the makeover, not the poor. In the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, before any legislation was passed, some of the worst evils of the factory system affected many workers, many of whom were children. They were forced to work sixteen-hour days, six days a week, under unsanitary and inhumane conditions.

People were living in germ infested, crowded and very unhealthy conditions, much like their place of work. Children and women labored in harsh conditions, working long hours with little pay. Many developed diseases like spinal curvature. As the factory system shrouded over workers, conditions in the workplace declined, pay was low and animosities among the workers and the supervisor arose. The factory system was based on the principal of a person with his or her own capital who sets up his or her own company. The person with the capital could buy numerous machines and store them in one building and hire people to come work in the building.

This came to known as the factory system. The factory system was a reliable way to lower prices on goods but the quality of the worker's life declined. With the use of machines in work places like farms, the employers no longer need so many workers to work for them therefore this causes unemployment among the people. For example, employees are needed on a farm to plough the land, now farmers use advanced technology like irrigation systems and tractors to help them. He would not need that many workers anymore. Another example closer to home is, in the past, conductors are on every bus to give the passengers the ticket and collect money from them, now, with the implementing of the "e-z link card system", and fewer conductors are needed as they only need to check the card.

Advance technology also provides an incentive for wars. With the invention of nuclear bombs and other weapons, it encourages countries to go to war. These mass destruction weapons can kill many innocents at once and make the living's life hell. Technology advances which brought about the implementing of machineries also cause environmental problems. Acid rain threatens wide ranges of forests and farmland. Pollution from nuclear tests is suspected of causing cancer in victims unfortunate enough to be exposed to it, while chemical content in rivers and streams destroys communities and reduces the productivity of already overworked soil.

Diversion of water from natural sources feeds towns and cities, only to create shortages elsewhere. Leisure use of natural habitats destroys landscapes and threatens the homes of wildlife. Pipelines are purported to damage the ecologically delicate balance of permafrost environments and to disrupt the migration patterns of elk. These effects are all cause by the technology advances, directly or indirectly. The Industrial revolution brought on more technology, wealth and power, but at what consequences? The people were living in filth, working unthinkable hours and being paid very little.

The revolution shaped modern society to what it is today. From the benefits mentioned, it is obvious that machines are essential in our lives but it has also brought us trouble, depleting our natural resources more than ever. So, have humans been too dependent on robots to do our work or we just cannot live a simple and plain lifestyle as the cavemen had? As Henri Rousseau said, 'Civilization spoils people,' but did people spoil civilization by implementing machines to do our work?