Victorian+Age+3+Science+and+Innovation

 Science & Technology  Sewage Systems  Designed by Joseph Bazalgette in 1858, one of the greatest engineering feats in the Victorian Era was the sewage system in London. The sewer system was built over 82 miles, and linked with over 1,000 miles of street sewers. After this innovation was completed, Bazalgette created the Thames Embankment, which was composed of housed sewers, water pipes, and the London Underground (the transit system created to serve the citizens of London). While Bazalgette was designing the sewer systems, London’s water supply network was improved and expanded, and in the 1880’s a gas network for light and heating was invented. Foundations of Science  During the Victorian Era, the foundations of science were established, developing the scientific principles that are used in modern day science. While the professionalism of university science was increased, the study of natural history became more popular among Victorian scientific minds. The study of natural history was demonstrated and advanced most powerfully by Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution that he established by publishing in his book, //On the Origin of Species// in 1859. Gas Lighting  Although previously invented in the early 1800’s, gas lighting became common during the Victorian era in industries, homes, public buildings, and the streets. When the incandescent gas mantle was invented in the 1890’s, light output was greatly improved, and ensured its existence all the way up until the 1960’s. Hundreds of gasworks were created and spread throughout towns and cities across the country. Incandescent lights were introduced to the London streets in 1882, although it took years before they were widely installed.

Photography  The Victorian Age, a time of great innovation, produced a new way in preserving events through images. The British Royal Academy in association with William Henry Fox Talbot first announced the discovery of the ability to use light to obtain images on paper. About 20 years later, British inventor Thomas Sutton patented the SLR plate camera, the common camera design used today. Later that year the first reproducible color photograph became common. Fifteen years later photojournalism, a type of photography used to illustrate the life of the lower class and factory work exposing the poor conditions, was starting to emerge. Finally the flash was invented and most citizens owned handheld cameras at the end of this time period.

Railroads The invention of the railroad was extremely detrimental in means of transportation of both peo ple and goods.. The first railroad was opened in 1852, the Stockton and Darlington. Although it only started off at a slow four miles per hour, it was the first working engine that made daily life so much easier. Almost as soon as the first railroad emerged, innovation began working hard on said railways. In about five years, the average speed of the trains went from 5 MPH to around 30 MPH. This made marketing more widespread and improved trade immensely. Nearing the 20th century, Victorian England had over 20,000 miles of railroad. The invention of the railroad was one of the biggest improvements to life in England in all of the Victorian Era.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 126%;">Steamships <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Going almost hand in hand with the railroad, the steamship impacted the members of the communties so much. It took the land travel to the canals and the rivers. The discovery of steam-powered transportation changed the way we looked at the world. By 1838 ships were crossing the Atlantic ocean entirely by steam power. This made trade with the Americas and Africa possible in less time and for less money. Steam was virtually costless and much less damaging for the enviornment than burning coal. By the mid 1800s, the parts for steamships were being mass produced and travel by water was becoming more and more common. Both the invention of the railroad and the steamship changed the way people lived in Victorian England and eventually spread to the rest of the world.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 126%;"> Medicine <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;"> During the Victorian Era, life expactancy was much shorter than it is today. During the 1800s, scientists began to realize the importance of diseases and bacteria. Before the invention of common medicines, more herbal, homemade remedies were used. But even though some scientists began to understand germs and bacteria, they did not know how to handle most of it, nor understand fully what they did. The profession of "doctor" grew immensely in number during this time, and became much more like the medical doctors we see today. In addition to the doctors, nurses and midwives were also trained much more during the Victorian period. Some of the medicines used during this time were opium, Laudanum (liquid opium in alcohol), and wine. Laudanum was used s both a sleeping medicine and painkiller. Not much headway was made into the world of immunizations until the mid 20th century, but the Victorian scientists worked towards figuring out what causes some illnesses and how to make patients feel better.

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