The Second Industrial Revolution (1850-1914)

After 1850 the pace of innovation accelerated and shifted to new industries:

• Steel: Mass-produced steel via the Bessemer process became the structural material of modernity

• Chemicals: Synthetic dyes, fertilizers, explosives, and pharmaceuticals (Germany became the world leader) • Electricity: Thomas Edison (incandescent light bulb, 1879) and Nikola Tesla (alternating current) made electricity practical. Electric lighting and motors transformed factories and homes. • Internal combustion engine: Karl Benz (1885) developed the first practical gasoline-powered automobile. Henry Ford's Model T (1908) and assembly line (1913) made cars affordable to the middle class. • Petroleum: Oil drilled commercially in Pennsylvania (1859). Petroleum became the dominant fuel for transportation and a basis for chemicals. • Mass production: Interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney for muskets) and assembly lines (Ford for cars) allowed faster, cheaper manufacturing.