Unearthing the Past: Exploring Coal Mining in the British Industrial Revolution

In today's video, we'll be diving into the history of coal mining and its crucial role during the British Industrial Revolution. We'll explore its impact on the economy, urbanization, transportation, and the lives of everyday people. So, buckle up as we go back in time and discover how coal fueled a revolution and forever changed the world!
As British inventor Frederick Albert Winsor installed the first-ever gas streetlights along Pall Mall, London, he could not have anticipated how his simple vision would spark a revolution that would spread across British cities, America, and even Paris. The demand for coal soared, helping to develop the thriving British economy and laying the groundwork for the modern industrial world that we know today. But coal mining's legacy extends far beyond just its role as a fuel source.
Join us as we delve into the invaluable benefits of coal during the Industrial Age, including its impact on agriculture, iron and steel production, transportation, and lighting. Then, we'll take a closer look at the dark side of coal mining and the challenges faced by miners, both young and old. Finally, we'll discuss how the fight for improved working conditions eventually led to game-changing regulation in the coal industry.
From the revolutionary steam engines to the astonishing Great Exhibition of 1851, the coal industry undeniably played a pivotal role in Britain's rise to prosperity. Now, let us embark on our journey through history to uncover how coal transformed the lives of millions and became the energy powerhouse that shaped the world.

[@paulnicholson1906]

I used to go to the gas works with my dad when he bought coke for the AGA we had in the kitchen. In the front room we used to use coal but usually only on Sundays.

[@walterbennie816]

Britain from 1800 to 1900. 20,000 Water-wheels decreased in number. Windmills decreased in number. Englishman Thomas Newcomen's 1,500 Atmospheric Pumps disappeared. Scotsman James Watt's 500 Steam Engines increased in number to 10,000,000 !!! For every SINGLE Water-wheel in 1800 we now had an additional 500 Steam Engines in 1900 !!! This WAS the Industrial Revolution. It was a Power Revolution. In just one human lifetime Power availability for the whole country increased by 500 times !!! And it was all due to one SINGLE Invention. James Watt's Invention of the world's first PRACTICAL Steam Powered Engine.

[@wattage-uk9zt]

Savery and Newcomen's Invention ( the Atmospheric Pump) supplied Atmospheric Power. It turned out to be a 70 years long dead-end. Watt's Invention ( the Steam Engine) supplied Steam Power. Watt dumped Newcomen's Atmospheric Power and Arkwright's Water-Power for Steam Power. To achieve that he had to invent a new machine, the world's first High Pressure Steam Powered Engine. Then? An Industrial Revolution! James Watt's Steam Engine WAS the Industrial Revolution.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

It wasn't James Watt. James Watt was vehemently against high pressure steam. All Bolton and Watt engines were atmospheric engines. That is why they were so huge. Richard Trevithick was the first to experiment with high pressure steam and James Watt made a smear campaign against him going as far as to say he should be hung for putting people in danger of high pressure steam. You need to thank Richard Trevithick for the efficient engines. Atmospheric steam engines were very useful and were utilized everywhere. London wouldn't have had fresh water and sewage removal without them but they became a dead end as you said when the metallurgy and engineering eventually allowed more efficient and smaller high pressure engines to be built. But for almost a century since the arival of Newcomen's engine it wasn't even possible to make them even if people wanted to.

[@wattage-uk9zt]

Watt's engines supplied Steam Power, the first PRACTICAL Steam Engines, not Atmospheric Power. He used a condenser to recirculate hot water and at the same time eliminate Atmospheric Pressure. Atmospheric Pressure opposes a Steam Engine. His engines could also work without a condenser. Every Steam Engine uses high pressure Steam. Practical Locomotives didn't appear until well after Watt's death, so he was right to concentrate on other engines, he had his hands full designing them. On a visit to Boulton and Watt's factory Trevithick's grandfather pinched one of their drawings, they had to demand it back again when they found out!

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

@@wattage-uk9zt What James Watt did was separate the condenser from the piston so instead of cooling and reheating the piston it could always stay hot. He made atmospheric engines more efficient but his engines were still atmospheric engines because they did not use steam pressure but used the pressure of the atmosphere to move the piston which happened when the steam cooled. He did not use steam pressure, Richard Trevithick was the first person we know of to do that.

[@wattage-uk9zt]

Steam pushes Watt's piston, that's why he needed a hot enclosed cylinder, so it's a Steam Engine. Natural Air Pressure pushes Newcomen's piston, that's why he needed an open to the Atmosphere cylinder, ( the cylinder is open at the top ). So it's an Atmospheric Pump. It doesn't need to be hot or cold, Air is a gas at normal temperatures. Newcomen's Steam is only used to create a vacuum so Air Pressure can push the Piston. Watt's Engine needed to be hot to stop the Steam from condensing and have it push the Piston.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

@@wattage-uk9zt I know how they work. James Watts's engines also created a vacuum same as Newcomen's but the biggest improvement Watt made was separating the condenser.

[@walterbennie816]

Newcomen and Savery invented the first Atmospheric pump. Watt invented the world's first PRACTICAL Steam Powered Engine. He achieved this by dumping Newcomen's Atmospheric Power and Arkwright's Water-Power for Steam Power. He had to invent a new Engine. This was the Big change, not efficiency. It was a Power Revolution. Take away James Watt's Steam Power and Steam Machinery and you get no Industrial Revolution. No Steam Boats, no Locomotives and no thousands more Steam driven Factories. Just Newcomen's 70 years old Atmospheric Pumps and Arkwright's 2000 years old Water-Power.

[@eddiekulp1241]

Coal then , now, future . World has plenty