The Science Museum (UK) exists to promote public understanding of the history and contemporary practice of science, medicine, technology and industry. The Museum's world-renowned collections are constantly refreshed by active acquisition and occasional endowments such as the magnificent Wellcome Collection of the History of Medicine--one of the world's outstanding records of the emergence of modern scientific and industrial civilization.
British industry expanded rapidly in the years after 1780. At the vanguard were the cotton masters, whose methods set a precedent for factory production. In this seminar, Ben Russell of the Science Museum looks at the factors affecting the use of the rotative steam engine in the cotton industry, and considers some of the alternatives that were available. Russell demonstrates how technological improvements, as well as business considerations, shaped the use of steam power through the nineteenth century.
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Ben Russell reviews energy and fossil fuel use in contemporary society and considers available alternatives, such as wind energy, whose use may be far more sustainable in the long term.
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