Silas
abayomi
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
CHANGE AGENT OF THE
WORLD.
How It Began:
Johannes Gutenberg blazed
the trail,
fired the printing revolution
salvo,
fusillade that ignited
socio-political adventure
in Europe.
Adventure that birthed
renaissance,
nurtured reformation,
hand-reared enlightenment,
finally stopped at the great-
terminus,
Europe’s Industrial Revolution
Bus Stop.
Industrial Revolution-vehicle-
that moved Europe from
agrarian society to industrial
world,
trajectory that launched
Europe from a feudal state to
a representative democracy.
Revolution that rescued
Europe from shackles of
questionable religious dogmas
to research-based-
scientific-proven matters,
previously left to the
Church to decided.
What the Few Did to
Change the World-
From hand-woven cloth,
mankind moved to spinning
machines,
thanks to James Hargreaves’
spool thread machine that
simplified loom-for-weaving;
just as Abraham Darby’s
coke fuel method of iron casting,
made iron purification by
charcoal system obsolete.
Iron! Iron!! Iron!!!
From time long past
iron was breastwork of
economic development,
from simple household wares
to the fortified city walls, and
from military equipment to
wagon production owed
existence to iron.
Just like old world depended on
iron for development,
same iron through
“a decarbonization process” of
mass production pioneered by
Henry Bessemer created
a new industrial world.
A world every sector stands
upon iron;
a world iron becomes
indispensable with a
commanding lead,
a world iron leads,
others follow.
Transportation sectors-
waterways, land, and railroads-
became immediate beneficiaries of
iron production;
steam engines from the likes of
Thomas NewComen, James Watts,
and Robert Fulton transformed
transportation beyond
human imagination;
revolution that soon changed
trans-Atlantic crossing,
invention that later changed
sea voyages.
Coach-drawn-locomotive-engine-
on-rail-track debuted,
handiworks of George Stephenson and
Richard Trevithick;
macadam or road construction and
bridge building by John McAdam
followed as foot and pathways
gave way to highway, flyover,
and overpass.
Bridges over rivers to span
physical obstacles eventuated,
canal dredging by Thomas Telford
created man-made-waterway
that link rivers and seas for easy
transportation of goods and
services.
Yesterday’s Inventions:
The Joy of Today
New communication system of
message encoding to message
transfer, and decoding
radically transformed human
society;
telephone-electrical speech
transmitter device-
enchantment from Alexander
Graham Bell,
heralded modern man that could
communicate with an out-of-sight
fellow receiver.
Like its twin sister,
telegraph took man several
steps forward,
just as “harmonic telegraphy”
another wonder from
Alexander Graham Bell,
a multi-message-transmission device,
written-message-by-wire-system
became most outstanding change
agents of the 20th century.
With voice-turned-
electrical-signal-medium,
the telephone and
coded-message-medium,
the telegraph,
foundation for information
technology was laid,
mankind was just only few
decades away to conquer
the world by means of
information superhighway.
Electricity-light in homes-
light on streets and
neighborhood,
light in factories,
light in everywhere;
thanks to Thomas Alva Edison,
thank to your lamp.
Mankind little moon at night and
the little sun during the day;
Edison-your filament-designed
bulb,
the “carbonized sewing thread”
lit the world,
displaced the wick-inserted-wax-
produced-candle.
Yes, your bulb overthrown-
still and moveable lanterns-
more so, your lamp or globe
inspired many;
not until incandescent light bulb
invented,
not until wide range bulb
sizes, volts, and output
accomplished;
tasks of several years.
Wilbur and Orville Wright-
two great brothers from
Dayton, Ohio,
the world of mankind
will ever be grateful
to your tenacity of purpose,
as you conquered airspace
by flying a suspended metal bird.
Neither will humankind forget
George Eastman in a hurry,
the man that perfected
camera obscura,
object that creates images on
room walls by means of
pinhole when light reflects.
Fewer they were,
but great were their
accomplishments,
industrial revolution
created several templates,
patterns others soon followed
to replicated and to improved
on what makes man a unique
creature.
The world of humankind may
spin in mire of greed,
gyrates in all form of
corrupt practices,
created partially, or wholly
through the effects of industrial
revolution;
still world cannot dismiss the
benefits of this revolution,
neither will the world say:
it needs no more scientific
revolutions.
Silas abayomi
No comments :
Post a Comment