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        The Bessemer Steel Process Changed Our Landscapes

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White,‌ ‌Wilson‌ ‌Process‌ ‌paper‌ ‌ ‌

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The‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌Steel‌ ‌Process‌ ‌and‌ ‌How‌ ‌it‌ ‌

Transcends‌ ‌the‌ ‌World’s‌ ‌Landscape‌ ‌

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Wilson‌ ‌White‌ ‌

Junior‌ ‌division‌ ‌

Individual‌ ‌website‌ ‌

Process‌ ‌Paper:‌ ‌466‌ ‌words‌ ‌ ‌

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 ‌     Steel‌ ‌is‌ ‌ubiquitous‌ ‌in‌ ‌modern‌ ‌life‌ ‌and‌ ‌much‌ ‌cheaper‌ ‌than‌ ‌wood,‌ ‌making‌ ‌steel‌ ‌a‌ ‌very‌ ‌

favorable‌ ‌choice‌ ‌for‌ ‌house‌ ‌building,‌ ‌ship‌ ‌building,‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌making‌ ‌of‌ ‌automobiles‌ ‌in‌ ‌mass‌ ‌

production.‌ ‌I‌ ‌chose‌ ‌the‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌process‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌topic‌ ‌because‌ ‌when‌ ‌I‌ ‌took‌ ‌a‌ ‌STEM‌ ‌class‌ ‌last‌ ‌

semester,‌ ‌I‌ ‌realized‌ ‌just‌ ‌how‌ ‌important‌ ‌steel‌ ‌has‌ ‌been‌ ‌on‌ ‌all‌ ‌of‌ ‌our‌ ‌designs‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌

build.‌ ‌Also‌ ‌I‌ ‌saw‌ ‌a‌ ‌bridge‌ ‌in‌ ‌Los‌ ‌Alamos‌ ‌called‌ ‌the‌ ‌Omega‌ ‌bridge,‌ ‌and‌ ‌I‌ ‌wondered‌ ‌where‌ ‌the‌ ‌

steel‌ ‌came‌ ‌from‌ ‌for‌ ‌that‌ ‌bridge.‌ ‌

In‌ ‌conducting‌ ‌my‌ ‌research,‌ ‌I‌ ‌interviewed‌ ‌a‌ ‌structural‌ ‌engineer‌ ‌by‌ ‌email.‌ ‌He‌ ‌was‌ ‌

unfamiliar‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌Steel‌ ‌Process.‌ ‌But‌ ‌he‌ ‌knew‌ ‌how‌ ‌steel‌ ‌impacted‌ ‌our‌ ‌way‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌

build‌ ‌our‌ ‌infrastructure.‌ ‌My‌ ‌most‌ ‌important‌ ‌sources‌ ‌were‌ ‌newspaper‌ ‌articles,‌ ‌documents,‌ ‌

pictures,‌ ‌and‌ ‌a‌ ‌letter.‌ ‌I‌ ‌also‌ ‌looked‌ ‌for‌ ‌documents‌ ‌Mr.‌ ‌H.‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌wrote‌ ‌himself‌ ‌as‌ ‌primary‌ ‌

sources.‌ ‌I‌ ‌found‌ ‌maps‌ ‌showing‌ ‌steel‌ ‌usage‌ ‌before‌ ‌and‌ ‌after‌ ‌the‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌Steel‌ ‌Process‌ ‌in‌ ‌

1864‌ ‌specifically‌ ‌railroads.‌ ‌The‌ ‌newspaper‌ ‌articles‌ ‌were‌ ‌very‌ ‌important‌ ‌because‌ ‌they‌ ‌showed‌ ‌

what‌ ‌the‌ ‌society‌ ‌thought‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌new‌ ‌steel,‌ ‌they‌ ‌thought‌ ‌of‌ ‌it‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌resource‌ ‌that‌ ‌they‌ ‌could‌ ‌build‌ ‌a‌ ‌

very‌ ‌strong‌ ‌infrastructure‌ ‌on.‌ ‌These‌ ‌are‌ ‌my‌ ‌most‌ ‌important‌ ‌sources‌ ‌because‌ ‌I‌ ‌used‌ ‌them‌ ‌in‌ ‌my‌ ‌

website,‌ ‌and‌ ‌because‌ ‌it‌ ‌shows‌ ‌how‌ ‌barriers‌ ‌are‌ ‌broken‌ ‌by‌ ‌the‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌Steel‌ ‌Process.‌ ‌

‌Inexpensive‌ ‌steel‌ ‌broke‌ ‌barriers‌ ‌transforming‌ ‌our‌ ‌daily‌ ‌lives‌ ‌by‌ ‌making‌ ‌our‌ ‌living‌ ‌better,‌ ‌our‌ ‌

transportation‌ ‌better,‌ ‌and‌ ‌most‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌we‌ ‌live‌ ‌would‌ ‌be‌ ‌much‌ ‌different‌ ‌without‌ ‌mass‌ ‌

amounts‌ ‌of‌ ‌steel.‌ ‌The‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌steel‌ ‌process‌ ‌broke‌ ‌many‌ ‌barriers‌ ‌by‌ ‌not‌ ‌only‌ ‌building‌ ‌

railroads‌ ‌but‌ ‌also‌ ‌skyscrapers‌ ‌that‌ ‌are‌ ‌more‌ ‌than‌ ‌nine‌ ‌stories‌ ‌tall.‌ ‌When‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌steel‌ ‌came‌ ‌

out‌ ‌in‌ ‌1856‌ ‌it‌ ‌was‌ ‌a‌ ‌life‌ ‌changing‌ ‌event‌ ‌not‌ ‌only‌ ‌in‌ ‌England‌ ‌and‌ ‌America‌ ‌but‌ ‌the‌ ‌entire‌ ‌world‌ ‌

which‌ ‌broke‌ ‌several‌ ‌hurdles,‌ ‌including‌ ‌buildings,‌ ‌trains,‌ ‌transportation,‌ ‌and‌ ‌railroads.‌ ‌The‌ ‌

Bessemer‌ ‌steel‌ ‌process‌ ‌impacted‌ ‌so‌ ‌many‌ ‌lives‌ ‌by‌ ‌making‌ ‌items‌ ‌such‌ ‌as‌ ‌keychains,‌ ‌utensils,‌ ‌

and‌ ‌anything‌ ‌else‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌think‌ ‌of‌ ‌leads‌ ‌down‌ ‌to‌ ‌steel‌ ‌making‌ ‌steel‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌ ‌important‌ ‌item‌ ‌

White,‌ ‌Wilson‌ ‌Process‌ ‌paper‌ ‌ ‌

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in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world.‌ ‌Look‌ ‌around‌ ‌you‌ ‌right‌ ‌now‌ ‌there‌ ‌is‌ ‌more‌ ‌than‌ ‌likely‌ ‌something‌ ‌made‌ ‌out‌ ‌of‌ ‌steel.‌ ‌

This‌ ‌process‌ ‌also‌ ‌broke‌ ‌barriers‌ ‌by‌ ‌being‌ ‌able‌ ‌to‌ ‌change‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌look‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌that‌ ‌

something‌ ‌could‌ ‌be‌ ‌made‌ ‌or‌ ‌built.‌ ‌We‌ ‌use‌ ‌steel‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌in‌ ‌most‌ ‌everything‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌make‌ ‌or‌ ‌do‌ ‌and‌ ‌

even‌ ‌moving‌ ‌around.‌ ‌This‌ ‌is‌ ‌why‌ ‌the‌ ‌Bessemer‌ ‌Steel‌ ‌Process‌ ‌broke‌ ‌barriers.‌ ‌

‌I‌ ‌chose‌ ‌a‌ ‌website‌ ‌category‌ ‌because‌ ‌I‌ ‌had‌ ‌many‌ ‌pictures‌ ‌making‌ ‌my‌ ‌project‌ ‌very‌ ‌visual.‌ ‌

Some‌ ‌of‌ ‌my‌ ‌most‌ ‌important‌ ‌sources‌ ‌were‌ ‌pictures‌ ‌or‌ ‌written‌ ‌documents‌ ‌like‌ ‌letters,‌ ‌diagrams,‌ ‌

newspaper‌ ‌articles,‌ ‌and‌ ‌books.‌ ‌Creating‌ ‌a‌ ‌website‌ ‌allowed‌ ‌me‌ ‌to‌ ‌show‌ ‌how‌ ‌the‌ ‌process‌ ‌

changed‌ ‌throughout‌ ‌history‌ ‌and‌ ‌show‌ ‌the‌ ‌importance‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌things‌ ‌that‌ ‌it‌ ‌affected.‌ ‌The‌ ‌

Bessemer‌ ‌steel‌ ‌process‌ ‌broke‌ ‌so‌ ‌many‌ ‌barriers‌ ‌that‌ ‌I‌ ‌had‌ ‌to‌ ‌narrow‌ ‌it‌ ‌down‌ ‌to‌ ‌how‌ ‌it‌ ‌changed‌ ‌

the‌ ‌landscapes‌ ‌because‌ ‌I‌ ‌felt‌ ‌like‌ ‌this‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌one‌ ‌that‌ ‌sums‌ ‌it‌ ‌up‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌of‌ ‌them‌ ‌the‌ ‌best.‌ ‌

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