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John Kay
Inventor of the Flying Shuttle
The Flying Shuttle was a device that allowed weavers to weave wider fabrics. One disadvantage was that it required hard work to use. One Advantage was that instead of two weavers weaving wide fabrics it allowed for only one to have to be used. Some Flying Shuttles are used today alongside other inventions -
James Hargreaves
Inventor of the Spinning Jenny. The Spinning Jenny was a device that allowed a weaver to spin up to 8 threads at once. One disadvantage of the invention was that it was operated by hand and a water frame could be used to spin thread much easier. One Advantage was that it allowed someone to spin up to eight threads at once. This machine paved the way for the spinning mule. -
Richard Arkwright
Inventor of the Arkwright Water Frame. The water frame was an alternative to the spinning jenny. One advantage was that it made spinning thread easier, it could spin up to 128 threads at a time. One disadvantage was that some people lost their job because of it. it influenced technology because it inspired another inventor to invent the spinning mule -
Samuel Compton
Inventor of the Spinning Mule.This machine made it possible for one worker to spin one thousand spindles at the same time. One advantage was that it made work much easier but one disadvantage is that the new technology meant that not as many workers were needed which means that some people were left unemployed. This invention paved the way for the new steam engine by James Watt. -
James Watt
Inventor of the Watt Steam Engine. A Machine that transfers heat into kinetic energy. One disadvantage was that the smoke polluted the environment. One advantage was that it made work easier -
Robert Fulton
Inventor of the North River Steam Boat.The steam boat was a boat that was powered by heat much like a locomotive. One of the advantages of this technology was that it made it faster to carry goods across water, one of the disadvantages was that steam propulsion was dangerous and explosions were not uncommon among steam boats. This technology paved the way for motorized boats which uses a combustion engine. -
Richard Trevithick
Inventor of the First Locomotive. The locomotive was a vehicular transport that could carry both passengers and people using a steam engine innovated by James Watt who was inspired by Samuel Compton. One of the advantages of this technology was that it could carry goods manufactured in the north to the south and the Midwest. One of the disadvantages was that they weren't very efficient or inexpensive. Large Semi-trucks are very similar to the function of the locomotives used back then. -
George Stephenson
Pioneer of Rail Travel. Rail Travel was very innovative because instead of walking or traveling by horse and wagon to the western portions of the United States they could instead just ride a railway. One of the disadvantages of this was that it wasn't very flexible; the routes could not be adjusted. Airplanes are similar in function to the modern use of early rail travel -
Henry Bessemer
Inventor for the Bessemer Process for making steel. The Bessemer process was a method of creating steel that was cheaper and easier. One disadvantage was that the Bessemer process did not remove sulfur from the steel which is harmful. -
Louis Pasteur
Inventor of Pasteurization. Pasteurization is a method of heating up and cooling things to remove bacteria. One of the disadvantages of this is that it can remove certain good vitamins and minerals. Today we use Irradiation instead of pasteurization. -
Thomas Edison
Inventor of the Incandescent Light Bulb. The Incandescent light bulb is an amazing and innovative piece of technology that changed life as we know it. One of the disadvantages though is that it put traditional kerosene lamp companies out of business. Today we use LED lights instead of incandescent ones. -
Nikola Tesla
Inventor of the Modern Alternating Current. An alternating current is one that can reverse its direction many times, this is used in many electronics today and without it I wouldn't even be able to create this digital timeline. One of the disadvantages was that you need a higher voltage for higher efficiency and less loss as it travels. We still us Alternating Currents today.
