Technical discoveries of the 18th century table. Scientific discoveries and technical inventions in Russia in the 18th century
“In Russia there are too many Kulibins, too few Korolevs, and no Fords at all” (Forbes.ru)
You can often hear that we live poorly, poorly and wretchedly. Even on the basis of this, conclusions are drawn that the Russian people are somehow special, stupid and mediocre. In this article I want to bring brief descriptions life and deeds of inventors who lived on the territory of Russia from the 16th to the 20th century in order to use a clear example the best people to see why it is not profitable and honorable to create something, to strive for something.
Even more decisive was the invention of the machine, which influenced the occupation and greatly changed the procedures of government. In most technologies and industries, there are daily innovations, but only a few of them can be defined as inventions. The production of any product - from a cup to a skyscraper - has as its starting point the activity of one or more designers; each time these and their employees are faced with new problems, the solution of which may require some degree of dissociation from previous practice.
16th – 17th centuries
Vyrodkov Ivan Grigorievich(?-1563/1564) - Russian military engineer, clerk, builder of the Sviyazhsk fortress, creator of the technology for making fortresses upstream of the river, river rafting and quick assembly of the fortress. Participated in the capture of Kazan. In 1563/1564 Vyrodkov was executed due to denunciation .
Andrey Chokhov(about 1545 - 1629) - an outstanding Russian cannon and bell maker, foundry worker. For more than 60 years he worked in Moscow at the Cannon Yard, where he created a large number (more than 20 are known according to documents) of heavy guns, including the Tsar Cannon (1586). The first dated works of Andrei Chokhov date back to 1568, the last - to 1629.
On the other hand, the implementation of a product or machine - often from an invalid idea - requires frequent innovations, which can be considered as the result of "initial intuition"; they improve the original design without changing its character and make it feasible. If, during the development of an invention, new concepts of remarkable originality and importance are introduced, they are also classified as inventions. An example is James Watt's steam engine, which essentially improved Thomas Newcomen's "atmospheric" engine - without changing the structure - by introducing a separate condenser, the replacement of the wooden part with cast iron being a simple novelty of the original model. less specific than innovation.
Postnik Yakovlev(XVI century, also Posnik) - Russian architect from Pskov, who in 1555-1560, together with the architect Barma, created the St. Basil's Cathedral, or the Intercession Cathedral “on the ditch”, on Red Square in Moscow. He also built the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin. According to legend, he was blinded.
Inventors of the 18th century.
Kulibin Ivan Petrovich [ 10 (21).4.1735, Nizhny Novgorod, - 30.7 (11.8).1818, ibid] Russian self-taught mechanic. Born into the family of a small merchant. He created watches, optical instruments, bridges, and invented a searchlight. Kulibin made (1791) a scooter-cart, in which he used a flywheel, brake, gearbox, rolling bearings, etc.; the cart was set in motion by a person pressing the pedals. In the same year, he developed the design of “mechanical legs” - prostheses (this project was used by one of the French entrepreneurs after the War of 1812). In 1793 he built an elevator that raised the cabin using screw mechanisms. Created an optical telegraph for transmitting conditioned signals over a distance (1794). In 1801 K. was dismissed from the academy and returned to Nizhny Novgorod. Here he developed a method for moving ships upstream of rivers and in 1804 built a “water boat”, work on which he began back in 1782. Author of many other projects (a device for boring and processing the internal surfaces of cylinders, a machine for extracting salt, a seeder, various mill machines, a water wheel of an original design, a piano, etc.). In the last years of his life, Kulibin was in extremely difficult financial conditions.
The authors of the first fundamental inventions are unknown. The Greeks and Chinese passed down the names of mythical heroes who taught people various techniques, but control of fire predates the Prometheus myth by hundreds of thousands of years. Inventions were probably the first discoveries that allowed men to distinguish themselves from animals. They probably realized the utility of fire and the power of eating meat before inventing fire suppression systems and tools for killing animals. In the distant past, the production of every new artifact, the adoption of every new Procession always led to invention.
Polzunov Ivan Ivanovich
Russian heating engineer, one of the inventors of the heat engine, creator of the first steam power plant in Russia. In 1763, Polzunov developed a design for a 1.8 liter steam engine. With. (1.3 kW) - the world's first two-cylinder engine with the combination of the cylinders on one common shaft, i.e., an engine that is universal in its technical application. Polzunov also designed new installation for driving blower bellows of melting furnaces. An installation with a record-breaking power of 32 hp at that time. With. (24 kW) for the first time in factory production technology made it possible to completely abandon water wheels. He died of consumption without waiting for the test run of his steam engine.
The domestication of animals and the beginning of agriculture involve the invention of tools and methods, and although it is generally accepted that the invention of methods of using fire was accidental, their As a result of a series of fundamental inventions - boats and vehicles, wheels, formal architecture - they had the first "social" inventions, such as a city - Fortified state, written and computing systems. The existence of at least three centers of origin for invention is obvious, but it is difficult to determine whether the various inventions were "spontaneous generations" in different places or spread from a single center.
Cherepanov Efim Alekseevich and Miron Efimovich
Cherepanov Efim Alekseevich and Miron Efimovich, Russian mechanical engineers, father and son. Serfs of the Demidov breeders. Efim Cherepanov and his wife received their freedom in 1833, Miron Ch. and his wife - in 1836. In the 1810s. At Demidov's factories they developed and implemented machine tools, steam engines, and developed the first steam locomotive in Russia.
Of course, in the oldest times some of them, like the wheel, were not widespread. After many millennia during which civilizations left no written evidence of their inventions, around 500 BC. Even the Romans, like the Greeks, admired technical skills and understood that technical progress improved the human condition. However, in classical societies, engineers and manufacturers were never taken into account, and the processes of technological change were never considered in general terms.
The economic life of the Roman Empire was gradually changed by technical innovations that the Romans themselves were hardly aware of, since they came from outside their regions. Rabbit archers can be considered a typical example of these innovations, which spread from Central Asia to barbarian Europe and consequently to the Roman Empire. This diffusion process continued with even greater consequences during the High Middle Ages. A major breakthrough in the history of inventions occurred when the new techniques derived from them were no longer intended for everyone, but only for some skilled craftsmen.
The Cherepanovs paid great attention to training specialists from the children of serfs. In the spring of 1833, in the premises of the Vyisky Mechanical Institution, which became the advanced technical center of the Nizhny Tagil Demidov factories, a Higher Factory School was opened for senior class students of the Vyisky School who showed aptitude for technology. Myron taught mechanics there.
Specialization manifested itself mainly in two ways: in the social invention of the "factory" and in the invention of machines powered by hydraulic power. The introduction of relatively expensive hydraulic machines allowing large-scale production with a reduced workforce.
However, even in the imperial age the use of hydraulic power remained an exception and was limited mainly to milling. The idea that the institution of slavery discouraged inventors and prevented the spread of new inventions is now rejected by scholars, who believe that the worst obstacle was caused by the lack of consideration in which technology was practiced by the Greeks and Romans. While the hydraulic wheel was always in use after the fall of the Roman Empire, the social invention of the "factory" was abandoned for a long time, although some religious communities may have had such an organization in the past. there is no news about technical inventions though Agriculture and military practices were changed by innovations from the East, such as heavy plows, horseshoes, and braces.
Restrained in encouragement, gratitude and praise, the Demidov breeders repeatedly noted the merits of E. A. and M. E. Cherepanovs. They and their families were granted freedom. They received a high salary for those times and had their own two-story stone house. The work of Efim Alekseevich and Miron Efimovich was repeatedly noted with large rewards; they were presented with a personalized silver vase, an expensive ring, and other valuable gifts.
However, the "inventive not" broke down, as evidenced by the passage from "Roman architecture into Romanesque and then into" Gothic architecture - not without "influence in this" latter case, the previous model of Islam - as well as the introduction. new type ship on a traditional boat in the first evidence of literary INNOVATION there is a connection that has always existed, from Archimedes to von Braun, among inventions and war: the connection is evident in late Roman work on military affairs, in the writings of Ruggero Bacone, Texaurus Guido da Vigevano and in military affairs Roberto Valturio.
The life and work of the Cherepanovs embodied best qualities Russian people: talent, intelligence, hard work, love for the Fatherland.
Andrey Konstantinovich Nartov(1693-1756), Russian scientist, mechanic and sculptor, state councilor, member of the Academy of Sciences (1723-1756), inventor of the world's first screw-cutting lathe with a mechanized support and a set of replaceable gears. He worked under the patronage of Peter I. A.K. Nartov died in St. Petersburg on April 16 (27), 1756. After his death, large debts remained, since he invested a lot of personal funds in scientific and technical experiments.
However, in the Medieval West, the diffusion was more significant than the original inventions. No technologically backward society ever progressed without borrowing from more advanced neighboring civilizations. From China came great inventions that would later be used as proof of the superiority of the modern over the ancient: the magnetic compass. , paper, printing, pyric powder. The adoption of these foreign methods in Europe involved a process of adaptation and a series of secondary inventions: firearms and European printed books were actually different from their previous Chinese counterparts.
Having examined the fate of Russian engineer-inventors of the 16th-18th centuries, we can conclude that only those who were kindly treated by the tsar (like Nartov) or factory owners (like the Cherepanovs) had a successful life and engineering activity. If the favor and tutelage of the rulers could not be achieved, then most of the developments and ideas remained unrealized, and the fate of the inventor was tragic (Vyrodkov, Polzunov, Kulibin).
Therefore, equivalent processes are needed for technological development in modern world. Technological development in China - which before the fall of the Roman Empire was comparable to that in the Mediterranean basin - continued much faster over the next millennium than in Europe and Islam. Achieving excellence in various arts has been mythically associated with certain ancient dynasties; despite numerous and continuous technical innovations, the Chinese, like their modern Westerners, were alien to the idea of continuous progress in inventions.
Best regards, Volosozhar.
To be continued (inventors of the 19th - 20th centuries).
The era of the New Time has a certain imprint of previous historical eras, in particular, the commissioners noted that in this era there is increased attention to the development of science and technology, to knowledge and progress. For the first time, it was in the era of modern times that technological progress, scientific progress, technical progress became the most important for the progress of human society.
As highlighted by Needham, although the inventive activities of the East and the West can be compared, and although the result of Chinese inventions adapted to the European context, there are significant differences between the two civilization influences prior to inventive processes and the spread of inventions. Italian scholars may have been attracted to Chinese revolver libraries, but not the prayer wheel. The diversity of languages and scripts allowed the printing arts to follow different paths in the two cultural areas.
Time did not have the same value in the East and in the West, so the Chinese, when building mechanical watches, never produced portable watches. Already at the end of the Middle Ages, large blast furnaces were built in the West, large cannons were merged, and printing began to spread, always in the perspective of mass production, alien to the Chinese. Needham and others have highlighted some systematic differences between the methods followed by the Chinese and those adopted by Westerners to obtain the same technical result: For example, the Chinese prefer crank pedals and rotation around a vertical axis to rotate around a horizontal axis.
Corresponding economic, social, and political developments are beginning in this regard.
16th century.
1530 The first cookbook is published in Augsburg. All delicious recipes become available to readers, and now everyone in different cities can cook according to these recipes.
When was printing invented? Although science says that this inventor did not actually have a hand in this, he was simply the owner of a workshop in Nuremberg, 1550.
It is not easy to explain the reasons for these differences. In general, they can be attributed partly to the diversity of religious and philosophical systems of East and West, to the specific character of the Chinese state and to in different ways development economic activity in both civilizations.
Although Islam played an important role, primarily as a means of spreading Chinese inventions to Europe, some original inventions were exported to the West, especially Spain. These inventions are essentially related to the mechanical tradition of the Greeks, with the exception of architecture, however Islam also showed remarkable abilities in chemistry and methods of using fire, as evidenced by the many Arabic-speaking technical words in many European languages. The most remarkable development in this field was the invention of brilliant polychrome ceramics, from which it came to the West through a series of secondary inventions, majolica ceramics, brought to such perfection in Central Italy.
1544 - a refinery of sugar appeared in England.
The lathe in the form of a lathe ladder in 1568 became widespread in England and other countries.
Galileo - built a telescope in 1590 that magnified images...
By this time, alchemy appeared.
For the first time, the state showed its attitude to the development of science and technology at the beginning of the next century, the 17th century.
Naturally, economic and social factors also influenced this change. Europeans were greedy for exotic goods, they ascribed high status to traders and manufacturers, leaving them a lot of freedom, and they saw a change. Craftsmen had a flexible mentality, open to imitation and experimentation, were ambitious, driven by a strong spirit of emulation, and enjoyed the support of the ruling class. But the most important factor was perhaps the idea of progress.
The origins of modern industrial civilization must be sought in the late Middle Ages. Some improvements on previous inventions allowed the use of charcoal in the iron fusion process and the use of fossil carbon as fuel for domestic and industrial use; In addition, the steel industry also emphasized the use of hydraulic power. The inventions and refinements that made man available to this new source of heat, cheap and seemingly inexhaustible, had incalculable consequences.
17th century.
In 1619, Jacob 1 Stuart for the first time granted a patent to one of the English inventors for the use of coal in metallurgy for the production of cast iron and iron. From this moment, the patent system begins to count, an extremely important system for the development of scientific and technical knowledge and new technologies in the West. The fact is that for the first time, the inventor is now guaranteed to earn his living for his inventions using this patent system. it gradually took root in the 18th century and in other countries and contributed to the activity of inventive thought.
Many industries in northern Europe removed charcoal, without which the invention of the steam engine would not have been found practical application. These changes concerned, in particular, the introduction of new methods into mechanical and metallurgical processes, for example for the manufacture of watches, firearms and scientific instruments.
By the end of the eighteenth century, the effects of inventions on manufacturing had fundamentally changed the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in North-West Europe. The poor living conditions that had long characterized certain areas of large cities and some mountainous areas were reproduced in the new industrial metropolises, and occupational diseases had long been recognized, and the geographical concentration of some activities dates back to the late Middle Ages. Short life expectancy and poor quality of life are not new to the poor, and new urbanization pauperism has become a mass phenomenon.
1619 - the most important patent at that time for the use of coal in metallurgy to produce metal. Why? England was a very developed country and on the eve of the revolution it produced 3 million tons of coal, i.e. 80% of all pan-European coal production. Therefore, this patent enriched the inventors.
From the beginning of the 17th century to the mid-19th century, the history of invention, technological and technical thought goes through 3 stages in Europe.
Stage 1 - 16th-early 17th centuries - 30-40s of the 18th century. At this stage, the manufacturing technique prevails and the elements of future working machines are born. ...(end of side)
The second stage of scientific and technological development of Europe begins from the 1730-40s of the 18th century and until the end of the 18th century. During these approximately 50-60 years, technology was formed that became the starting point for the industrial revolution. This signifies a kind of technological revolution for the 18th century.
The technical revolution for the 18th century consists of 2 events: the creation of working machines that perform technological functions instead of human hands, and the creation of a universal steam engine, which becomes necessary for the transition to the next stage.
The next stage of scientific and technological development is the end of the 18th century - 60-70s of the 19th century. At this stage, the development of machine-based factory production technology was carried out. Those. the whole system of working machines was powered mainly by steam engines.
Let's take a closer look at stage 1 - from the 1730s-40s of the 18th century.
From point of view modern man- backward economy, backward manufacturing production. English authors showed that the economy during this period in European countries was highly energy-saturated.
Approximately up to 600 thousand wind and water mills operated, including wheels with a diameter of up to 10-12 meters. In fact, for every 23 workers there was 1 propulsion unit - water or wind.
For the first time, the first devices, specialization of tools begins in textile production. Production various types Yarns and fabrics require various special techniques and tools. This is where diversification comes from, i.e. a variety of tools used for carding, spinning, weaving, etc.
The presence of mechanical engines, water or wind, contributes to the development of turning art in the form of lathes or primitive lathes. The fact is that bone, wood or metal is fixed in a rotating spindle, and the cutter is moved by hand. This is how Peter 1 sharpened his products in a turning workshop.
The presence of these powerful water engines allows the development of metalworking. In Germany and Sweden at the beginning of the 18th century, water shears were invented that could cut strip iron and steel wire.
From the beginning of the 18th century, in Switzerland and other German states, and then throughout Europe, cannon barrels began to be cast and drilled, first vertically and then horizontally.
At the same time, the first attempts to create a new engine - a steam engine - began. A very primitive steam engine was first invented by Blas Decarai in Spain in 1556. And by the end of the 17th - mid-18th centuries, steam engines were already in operation, including those imported to Russia from the West, although with low efficiency (efficiency factor), about 1%.
These steam engines were used in particular for draining docks and mines in Kronstadt. And in the Urals.
This water, wind engine - the question arose about transferring this energy of movement to impellers, tools, etc. Therefore, by the middle of the 17th century, chain transmission (as in a bicycle) was improved. From the mid-2nd half of the 18th century, belt drives (tensioned belts) and all kinds of gears and gears, which transmit the energy of movement, began to be widely used.
And at the beginning of the 18th century, in 1710, roller bearings were invented, and in 1734, ball bearings, which made it possible to transmit movement with the least loss of energy.
At the same time, the first pre-working machines appeared. First in Holland and in the German lands.
17th century - a machine is created in Utrecht that automatically spins ropes.
In Nuremberg in 1685, a machine was created that automatically makes nails with heads from wire. Before this, nails were forged individually in forges.
However, very serious centuries-old traditions have developed in these territories, which means that artisans are opposed to the introduction of these machines, which sharply accelerate labor productivity and leave artisans without a market. Therefore, initially these cars are prohibited and publicly burned.
And in England, which by this time had already done away with these traditional workshop restrictions, these machines were met with a bang. And English, more competitive products enter European markets, and force Europeans to reconsider their attitude regarding the introduction of working machines.
From the 1730s-40s of the 18th century, the 2nd stage of the development of science and technology began.
Textbooks highlight the year 1733– A mechanical shuttle was invented in England.
In 1738, the first spinning machine was invented by Waed. This spinning machine is considered the first working machine in the history of science and technology.
2nd half of the 18th century – 1764. James Hargreaves invents a spinning wheel that spins fine yarn and names it "Jenny" after his daughter.
A mechanic invents a spinning wheel that spins coarser cloth and calls it "billy".
And in 1769, the famous mechanic Richard Unclyde “married” “billy” and “jenny”, combined these 2 inventions into one spinning machine, connected it to an engine, and the result was a spinning machine that was powered by a water or wind engine.
Towards the end of the 1770s of the 18th century, Crowton invents a spinning machine, which spins from 400 to 500 spindles.
In this way, the technology that is necessary for the transition to the next phase of scientific and technological progress is created.
In connection with this technique, in 1785, the Englishman Cartwright created the first version of the loom.
In 1792, it was improved and it marked the beginning of weaving factory production.
The problem of raw materials arises. The fact is that cotton is grown in America and India on plantations. In America they use slave labor. But slave labor is unproductive, cotton is expensive, and raw materials are scarce. As a result, spinning and weaving production becomes unprofitable.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to invent a mechanical cleaning machine, which was carried out by the American Samuel Eli in 1793. He invents a cotton gin that increases productivity 500 times.
Important advances in metalworking: the lathe mill becomes a lathe when Henry Monsley invents the slide in 1794. Caliper – removes chips.
In the mid-18th century in France, a planing machine was created.
Invention of the sewing machine. Singer only improved in the 19th century sewing machine, and began to be invented in the mid-18th century.
The invention of a universal steam engine, without which large factories cannot begin to operate. In Russia, this attempt was carried out in 1763 by Polzunov, and in England a little later by Watt in 1764. He improved it and created it in its final version in 1784. The invention of Watt's double-acting steam engine truly led to a revolution in the English economy.
By the end of the 18th century, the introduction of this machine gave an increase in the national product of England by 11% by 1800. Because the efficiency of Watt's steam engine was no longer 1%, but 4%.
From the end of the 18th century, the 19th century - the last, 3rd stage of scientific and technological progress begins, which is determined by the features of the creation of machine production.
This is affected by the specificity of the market capitalist economy, which forces us to invent and, unlike our socialist country, introduce these scientific and technical innovations. Because in a market economy, if a person does not implement, then it is disastrous for him.
Why are products produced in a market capitalist economy? First of all, for humanitarian reasons: to feed, put on shoes, clothe, etc. But if I produce products, then I want to make a profit. This is the incentive that makes me work.
But if I don’t apply this, then another entrepreneur will come, use these new products, overtake me, and I will go bankrupt.
These 2 incentives help accelerate scientific and technological progress.
First of all, it comes in the textile and weaving industry, where sophisticated machines are used. This leads to the fact that the whole world is already dressed, shod, and with fabrics that are not home-made, manufactured, but factory-made.
And there is a demand for cars. And this is already a requirement for the development of the metallurgical and mechanical engineering industries. Therefore, in the 19th century, the engineering industry began to actively develop.
Steam hammers and rolling mills appeared.
Entire factories, huge production facilities, which are equipped with powerful metalworking machines and machine tools. These are turning, milling, grinding, planing machines. They allow you to replace manual labor with machine labor.
In the USA, where wood was plentiful, a similar factory production system covered not only metalworking, but also the production of various things from wood.
In the development of agricultural engineering, England was at one time the leader, and then the palm went to the United States, where the agricultural sector received the greatest development.
Improvements in metallurgy lead to the emergence of new methods of metal smelting.
1856 - Bessemer converter.
The open-hearth furnace was finally invented in 1864, which dramatically increases metal smelting.
Intensification is also taking place in non-ferrous metallurgy.
The peculiarity of this 3rd period of scientific and technological progress is that a revolution occurs in transport and communications.
In Russia there were the Cherepanov brothers who tried to put a steam engine on wheels. The peculiarity of the Russian economy is that here it is necessary not only to invent, but to implement, which is very difficult here. Therefore, the steam engine comes to us not through Polzunov, but from England from Watt. That’s why steam locomotives come to Russia from the West.
A Scotsman in 1803 invents a steam locomotive that first runs through the streets without rails, then it is put on rails.
Transport revolution, creation railways, modern steam locomotives belong to George Stephenson, his steam locomotive "Rocket" in 1829. Even Mikhalkov wrote poems about this. The locomotive transports 90 tons of cargo at a speed of 38 km/h. This is the beginning of a profitable commercial use railways in transport.
From this moment on, the construction of railways in Europe and the USA begins in increasing geometric progression.
1840 – 8 thousand km of railways.
1870 - 210 thousand km of railways were built.
Robert Fultop - invented the steamboat. In 1803, he suggested that Napoleon install a steam engine on his ship. But Napoleon underestimated this invention. We know the result. The inertia of technical thought and insensitivity led to the destruction of the Spanish and French sailing fleets, and it was not possible to defeat England.
1807 - Fulton moved to America and built a steamship called the Catherine Clermont. This is the beginning of the commercial operation of steamships.
After 20-30 years, hundreds and thousands of steamboats in the USA were already running along the Mississippi and other rivers, filling all of America.
In 1819, the American sailing and steam ship Savannah visited Europe, including St. Petersburg.
By the middle of the 19th century, coastal Western countries equipped their fleets to a large extent with these steamships. Russia didn't have time. We see the results in the Crimean War.
Development of communication. Very often we in Russia invent something, but our inventions do not work. But they come to us from the West, and it goes with a bang.
The first electromagnetic telegraph, attempts to create it were made in Russia by the scientist Schilling, in the 1820s. And the electromagnetic telegraph of Stevens and, accordingly, Morse came to us from Germany and America.
In 1835, the electromagnetic telegraph was invented in Morse's workshop, and accordingly the Morse code, which made it possible to transmit information through it.
In 1844, Morse built the first telegraph line, which connected Washington and Baltimore (the capital of Maryland), and telegrams began to arrive along this line. Hence the beginning of the commercial use of the telegraph, which is typical for all countries.
Example: the telegraph appeared in Russia in 1858 and 89 telegrams were transmitted per year. And in 1861 - 232 thousand telegrams.
The telegraph was transferred between America and Europe. And the first such line was created in 1868 on the eve of the American Civil War. However, high pressure and insulation deficiencies led to the fact that this line began to work intermittently and died out. Therefore, a reliable trans-Atlantic telegraph appeared in 1866.
Various inventions in the military field: the invention of nitroglycerin, shrapnel..., ballooning. All this led to the fact that the development of science, technology, and technology significantly contributed to the rise of material production in the world.
From 1800 to 1870, world production increased 4.5 times.
By 1870, there were up to 20 million workers worldwide employed in industry and transport.
Accordingly, world trade volumes increased 8 times.