Spinning Jenny

Spinning Jenny ( or just Jenny ) is the name of the first industrial spinning machine for spinning wool into yarn. The machine was similar at first glance however, a spinning wheel with up to 100 spindles; she worked in contrast, similar to the hand spindle after sedimentation.

The Jenny applies, with its high increase in productivity compared to the spinning wheel as a milestone of the industrial revolution and the history of technology.

The inventor of the spinning jenny was the weaver James Hargreaves from England in 1764. The innovation made ​​the spinning process much more productive. With it, a spinner could just supply a Weber with starting material. Previously, the ratio had stood at four to eight spinners and weavers.

The Spinning Jenny quickly spread throughout the textile industry, because, in contrast to many other textile machines could still be driven by human muscle power. The work process was, however, quite demanding: the actual, separate from the subsequent winding up of the finished yarn spinning of the fibers was carried simultaneously on all spindles. In addition, the spinner could no longer make the supply of fibers with his own fingers, but had to develop a feeling for the behavior of their own machine that worked here with claw-like pincers on the site. Thus, the claims rose significantly on the qualifications of the spinner.

In the following decades to replace more powerful spinning machines such as the water frame, the spinning mule and the mule the Spinning Jenny. These were always driven by an alien energy source as the first waterwheel and later the steam engine.

The origin of the name is unclear. Some sources report that Hargreaves had a daughter (or a woman ) named Jenny, who had overturned a traditional spinning wheel and Hargreaves as to his invention ( and its name ) inspired. According to the Church's birth registers were called but neither one of his daughters or his wife Jenny. "Jenny" was, however, at this time, a short form of "engine" (English for " engine"), which could have led to the name "Spinning Jenny ".