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The Second Industrial Revolution was another great leap forward in technology and society. New innovations in steel production, petroleum and electricity led to the introduction of public automobiles and airplanes. You wanna know how everything began? Let's see
The Second Industrial Revolution, which began in the middle of 19th century (1850-1970). It was a period of growth for pre-existing industries and expansion of new ones; such as the steel, oil and electricity fields. The development of new technologies led to the introduction of two things that would change the world: public transport and planes.
During the Second Industrial Revolution, the existing manufacturing and production methods were improve. For instance, steel replaced iron in the building business. It was strong and it was cheap. So, it made possible to build rail lines at competitive cost and spread transportation. Steel also facilitated the construction of ships, skyscrapers and larger bridges.
Steel displaced iron because it was stronger and cheaper
Although the Second Industrial Revolution happened just a few years after the first Industrial Revolution, it was as big of a leap forward as its predecessor. If you are reading this now, surely you can't imagine a world without electricity! But at the time of the Second Industrial Revolution, this was the norm.
Faraday started playing with the idea of electricity. Then, a few years later, Edison and Swan perfected their design of a lightbulb which was practical for home use.
This, in addition to the appearance of the first efficient commercial electrical generators in the 1870s, made public electricity possible.
Swan took his incandescent lightbulbs to England. The English used Swan's lightbulbs to light Mosley Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. So, this was the first electrical street lighting installation in the world. Then, Swan gifted the Savoy Theatre in London with 1,200 of his lightbulbs. Thus making it the first public building to be lit entirely by electricity.
Mosley Street and the Savoy Theatre set the stage for the first large-scale power station. It was located at the Holborn Viaduct in London. Then followed the power station at Pearl Street in New York. Afterwards, Sebastian de Ferranti thought of "stepping down" high-voltage alternating current. De Ferranti's idea enabled the assembly line and mass production.
