Which invention is characterized as an 'invention of utility' established to solve the clear problem of societal lighting in the early 1800s?

Answer

The manufactured town gas industry

The development of manufactured town gas, produced through the pyrolysis of bituminous coal by figures like Murdoch and Winsor, is cited as the clearest example of an 'invention of utility.' This entire industrial effort was focused on solving a specific, pressing societal need: providing a reliable, distributed source of light and heat for civic use, supplanting candles and oil lamps. The invention involved creating the apparatus—retorts, mains, and purifiers—to chemically transform a raw carbon source (coal) into a usable, measured fuel. This contrasts sharply with the development of modern liquid fuels, which are framed as inventions of 'refinement and optimization' applied to existing, low-value byproducts.

Which invention is characterized as an 'invention of utility' established to solve the clear problem of societal lighting in the early 1800s?

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