Chemistry And Industrial Revolution

Chemistry & The Scientific Revolution

Chemistry is a science that goes back to the ancient ages. Early chemistry products include brewing of wine, glassmaking, cheese making and early mettalurgy. Early European chemists were called alchemists, who were severely obsessed with researches for turning metals into gold. Although they never succeeded in that, major advances in the field of chemistry were achieved during the Scientific Revolution of Renaissance. Chemistry became an important science during the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries, but its wide application in industrial settings was not until the Industrial Revolution of the nineteeth century.

During the Industrial revolution, as the world moved towards the first world war, Germany was the leading country in chemistry. German compaines producing chemicals started to cooperate with universities for new researches. They supplied universities with materials and appliances needed to research and produce new chemicals. In these new chemistry labs of the universities, new chemical methods and chemcials were developed with the help of industrial companies. These companies then picked what they thought was good enough to mass-product. They employed the graduates from universities for this. Many advances were made in the field of chemisty.

In my honest opinion I think the most important chemical advance at the time was the oil and the study of it during this period. Oil became a very important source of energy as the usage of the new internal combustion engine widened. Chemists conducted researches and studied the components of oil. Many oil based products are a result of these researches such as lubricants, refined oils, parraffins and heavy oils. Exctraction and refinement of oil is a chemical procedure and

major advances over petroleoum were made after the invention of internal combustion engine which plays a big role in our lives as well as in industrial settings.

Other daily uses of chemistry became wide in this period such as dyes. In the ancient ages, the most expensive cloth was purple cloth becouse the material required to produce purple dye was so expensive that only kings and nobility wore it. During the industrial revolution, a young english chemist called Perkin discovered the artificial purple dye, which then would be followed by other artifical dyes. Industries then employed this method and started mass production of artifical and synthetic dyes. Research on phosphades during the industrial revolution led to the founding of factories producing mineral-phosphades which are used in agriculture. New fertilizers were researched and mass produced, synthetic and artifical fertilizers started to become widely used all over the world. Rubber as we use today, was invented in 1839 by an american, Charles Goodyear. He developed a process in producing rubber and many uses in daily life and industry were found for rubber. Many medical chemicals were invented at this time, such as anesthesics like chloroform. Invention and mass-production of disinfectants and anti-septics, particularly bromines and phenol came to being at this time. These medical chemicals were used in injuries and diseases, to prevent against microbic infections, a very important discovery for mankind. A remarkable invention is one from a Bayer scientist: the invention of acetyl compound of salicylic acid also known as Aspirin today. It truly was a wonder drug with no serious side

effects, cheap to produce and effective. It was immediately mass produced and its wide-usage began. As you see, practical uses of chemistry were developed during the Industrial Revolution. I think our chemical knowledge and technological advance today is based upon the research that was made during the Industrial Revolution.

Brief Response:

Development of Steel:

Steel is the common name for an alloy of iron, which contains a level of Carbon between %0.2 and %2.1 Different kinds of steel can consist of alloys of different metals. By varying the amount of alloys within the steel, it is possible to take create the properties of alloys within to the steel. Distinctive features of steel is its strenght and its resistance to rust. In the ancient ages, steel was a precious and a legendary material. Steel production furnaces date as early as 1000 years ago. A strong fire burned in these furnaces, usually fueled by wood. Iron coke was dumped into the furnaces and then air would be blown into it to increase the heat and melt the iron. Molten metal then would be taken from the furnace and shaped.

Ancient Furnaces with the same principle, but different in appearance.

Today, steel is produced via enchanced methods discovered during the Industrial revolution. In principal, it is the same as it was produced in the ancient ages. Difference is, it is more advanced, produces quality material inexpensively and more efficently. Distinctive steel production methods are using a blast furnace and the Bessemer process.