Evolution Of Technology In The 1800s

The evolution of technology starting in the 1800s brought a significant social and cultural change. With this, there was a growth in the establishments of cities, crop cultivation and the spread of populations. One of the main driving forces for the emergence of technology was the need for innovations and the urgent development of tools to solve daily problems. For instance, Dr. John Gorrie discovered that a tropical disease such as malaria was favored in hot and humid weather and in order to reduce its incidence, he decided to blow fans over blocks of ice to cool the air. Back in the 1800s, air conditioning systems did not exist but with the recent discoveries in chemistry about how compressed gasses absorb heat from the surroundings when they expand, he was able to develop and construct a steam engine giving rise to the first air conditioner. Following his techniques, years later the refrigerator was invented and it brought changes to the social interactions between individuals. With the possibility of storing larger amounts of food for longer …show more content…
Thus, standardization and interchangeability represented an open door towards the development of mass production and assembly lines. The use of standardized parts to constructs great quantities of a product and the implementation of technology to reduce work time contributed to the economy because less time was invested in the assembly lines which subsequently cause a drop in the prices of goods. This favored globalization, the integration of world economies and the trade of products among nations. Undoubtedly, the use of technology has shaped the modern word and change the way society interacts in many aspects, “technology largely determines the way in which people use their habitat and the extent to which they can benefit from the potential resources it may contain” (p.