transformation of production and society, 1760-1840, originating in Britain
steam engine, spinning jenny, power loom, iron smelting with coke
shift from manual labor and animal power to mechanized energy systems
factory system replaced cottage industry, urbanization accelerated
fossil fuels (coal, then oil) as primary energy source
railways, telegraphs, mass production, standardized parts
population explosion, colonial expansion, labor movements
preceded by the Renaissance, led directly to the Information Age
redefined the relationship between knowledge, energy, and material transformation