ECON 3R03 Lecture Notes - Mass Production, Cedilla, Interchangeable Parts
4 Apr 2013
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Idea of the railroad originates with richard trevithick, inventor of the high pressure engine. Initially, railway cars were pulled by horses in industrial complexes; later, the horses were replaced by engines. The idea of a railroad as a public transportation device took two decades to successfully implement. Sailing ships equipped with auxiliary steam engines and paddlewheels. 1833: first steam powered crossing of the atlantic. After world war 2, all the sailing ships were gone. Innovations: screw propeller (designed by the french mathematician bernoulli), the marine steam engine, shift to steel hulls. Oak hulls: maximum length = 250 feet. Resistance increases with the square of the length, volume with the cube of the length, so greater size is advantageous. More efficient to have a big as ship as possible. 1858: brunel"s great eastern is 700 feet long. The great eastern brunel = paddle wheel steamery. 1800: london-calcutta return can take two years.
