The history of inventions includes everything that has been created by man over thousands of years of existence, but we want to highlight the most important inventions of mankind. Along with human physiology, his intellect has also evolved ...
Of course, it is very difficult to choose the most important and necessary from the huge number and variety of human inventions, but we still made our rating of the 12 most important inventions in the history of mankind. For those who don’t have enough, read, for example, the article “100 Great Inventions”, where a lot of things are painted - from a chop and fire to fiber optic communication lines and orbital space stations.
12. Gunpowder and firearms
There are many persistent opinions that gunpowder was invented in China. Its appearance led to the invention of fireworks and early firearms. Since the beginning of time, people have divided territories and defended them, and for this they always needed some kind of weapon. First there were sticks, then axes, then bows, and after the advent of gunpowder, firearms. Now many types of weapons have been created for military purposes, from simple pistols to the latest intercontinental missiles that are launched from a submarine. In addition to the army, weapons are also used by civilians both for their own protection and protection of anything, and for hunting.
11. Car
It is difficult to imagine the modern world without cars. People ride them to work, to the country, on vacation, for groceries, to movies and restaurants. Different types vehicles are used to deliver goods, build structures, and for many other purposes. The first cars looked like carriages without horses and did not move at a very high speed. Now there are both simple cars for the middle class, and luxury cars that stand like a house, accelerating to 300 kilometers per hour. The modern world simply cannot be imagined without a car.
10. Internet
To create the Internet humanity went long years, inventing new and new means of communication. Just 20 years ago, just over 100,000 people had the Internet, and now it is available in almost all more or less large settlements. Through the Internet, you can communicate both by letters and visually, you can find almost any information on the Internet, you can work through the Internet, order products, things and services. The Internet is a window to the world through which you can not only receive information, communicate and play, but also earn money, make purchases and read this site.
9. Mobile phone
Some 15 years ago, in order to communicate with someone at a distance, you had to go home and call a landline phone or look for the nearest phone booth and coins or tokens for the call. If you were on the street, and you urgently needed to call an ambulance or firefighters, you had to scream in the hope that someone from the nearest houses would hear and call where you needed to, or quickly run and look for a phone to call. Even children always had to go around friends and personally find out if they would go for a walk or not, since even at home many did not have a telephone. Now, almost anywhere you can call anywhere. A mobile phone is the freedom to communicate, wherever you are.
8. Computer
The computer has now replaced for many such items as a TV, video or DVD player, telephone, books and even a ballpoint pen. Now with the help of a computer you can write books, communicate with people, watch movies, listen to music, find necessary information. What am I telling you, you yourself know everything! In addition to domestic use, computers are used for various research and development, facilitating and improving the work of many enterprises and mechanisms. The modern world is simply impossible to imagine without computers.
7. Cinema
The invention of cinema was the beginning of the cinema and television that we have today. The first motion pictures were in black and white and without sound, appearing only a few decades after photography. Cinema today is an incredible spectacle. Thanks to hundreds of people working on it, computer graphics, scenery, make-up and many other ways and technologies of cinema can now look like a fairy tale. Television, portable video cameras, surveillance cameras, and in general everything connected with video exists thanks to the invention of cinema.
6. Phone
A simple landline phone is higher than a mobile phone in our ranking because for the time when the phone was invented, it was a huge breakthrough. Prior to the telephone, communication was possible only by letters by mail, telegraph or carrier pigeons. :) Thanks to the phone, people no longer had to wait several weeks for an answer to a letter, they didn't have to go somewhere or go somewhere to say or find out something. Creating a telephone not only saved time, but also energy.
5. Light bulb
Before the invention of the electric light bulb, people sat in the dark in the evenings or lit candles, oil lamps, or some kind of torches, as in ancient times. The invention of the light bulb made it possible to get rid of the danger posed by lighting "devices" using fire. Thanks to the electric bulb, the rooms began to be illuminated well and evenly. Now we understand what great importance has a light bulb only when we turn off the electricity.
4. Antibiotics
Before the invention of antibiotics, some diseases that are now treated at home could kill a person. The development and production of antibiotics began actively in late XIX century. The invention of antibiotics has helped man overcome many diseases that were previously considered incurable. Back in the 30s of the 20th century, dysentery claimed tens of thousands every year. human lives. There was also no cure for pneumonia, sepsis, typhoid. A person could not defeat pneumonic plague in any way, it always led to death. With the invention of antibiotics, many severe illness we were not afraid.
3. Wheel
At first glance, you would not say that the wheel is very important invention, however, thanks to this particular device, many other inventions were created, such as a car or a train. The wheel significantly reduces the energy costs for moving the load. Thanks to the invention of the wheel, not only transport was improved. Man began to build roads, the first bridges appeared. Everything from carts to airplanes is powered by a wheel. Even elevators and mills work thanks to the wheel. If you think a little, you can understand the full scale of the use of this simple ancient invention and all its importance.
2. Writing
In second place in our rating is the second most ancient and frequency of use method of transmitting information. Thanks to writing, we can learn history, read books, write SMS, learn new information and learn. Ancient writings found in Egyptian and Mexican pyramids provide insight into the way of life of ancient civilizations. Now we need writing for almost everything. Office work, holidays interesting book, entertainment at the computer, learning - all this is possible thanks to writing.
1. Language
The first place is occupied by the most ancient and frequently used method of transmitting information. Without language, there would be nothing. People simply could not understand each other, as it was many thousands of years ago, when humanity was still at the first stages of its development. Today there are thousands of languages with dozens of dialects each. Most of them are no longer used, many are used in distant corners of the world by various tribes. Thanks to language we understand each other, thanks to it we develop as a civilization and thanks to it you can learn about the 12 most important inventions of man!
What do you think of the achievements of our civilization can be considered the most useful, necessary, relevant? In principle, one can argue a little on this topic, but there are immutable truths against which, as they say, “you can’t argue”. Not so long ago it was large-scale study, during which residents different countries asked about what they consider to be the most important invention in the history of mankind. The survey results are expected, although there were some surprises. So let's start from the very end.
10. Alcohol
Yes, alcohol is indeed one of the top ten inventions. Despite the fact that it was created about 12 thousand years ago (if not earlier), alcohol is more popular now than ever. And it's not even that alcohol intoxicates or helps to relax, no - thanks to alcoholic beverages our ancestors survived before. Why? The fact is that the specific microflora of beer, wine, and other not very strong alcoholic beverages served as a kind of filter against pathogenic bacteria and viruses. I want to say that beer and wine in the Middle Ages could be drunk without much fear of catching the plague or cholera. But water, even crystal clear, is quite dangerous.
Well, of course, without alcohol, no one will dance naked to their own tunes in karaoke. But this is so, a lyrical digression.
9. Internet
Yes, the World Wide Web is only in ninth place, which made me very happy. For the most part because the Internet is still not available to everyone and not everywhere, unfortunately. True, the Internet continues to become cheaper and more widespread. The entire modern world would look different without the Web.
8. Birth control
Despite the fact that some contraceptives have already celebrated their ten thousandth anniversary, modern contraceptives help all of humanity survive. Without condoms, pills, coils and other medical miracles, we would already live in a world where not diamonds, but food is a rarity.
7. Antibiotics
Of course these medical preparations are not very useful for our health, but the harm they cause cannot be compared with the harm caused to humans by the pathogens of plague, cholera, tuberculosis and other epidemic diseases. We no longer consider influenza to be something dangerous, but even at the beginning of the century, the “Spanish flu” mowed down millions of people. With antibiotics, humanity has secured itself from many diseases, and forever.
6. Anesthesia
Yes, anesthesia is also a very important invention. After all, how can one carry out those most complex surgical operations that doctors already know how to perform if anesthesia is not used? Surgery would be practically impossible without this invention. I tested it myself.
5. Print
The Gutenberg printing press is considered one of the most important achievements person. After all, before the advent of printed books, they had to be written and rewritten. Naturally, handwritten books were extremely few in number and only available to very wealthy people. Thanks to the Gutenberg printing press, you are now reading what is written in this article - if it were not for the printing press, then, most likely, an extremely limited part of the population would be taught to read and write.
4. Sewerage
Without this familiar invention, urbanization would not have been possible. As far as I heard, even in the center of enlightened France in the 17th century, sewage simply poured into the street. Yes, from the window. Then rats, then infection and epidemics with millions of deaths. So sewage can be considered more useful than antibiotics. By the way, toilet paper also considered very useful invention civilization.
3. Tools
What could we do with our bare hands if not for tools? Starting from a hammer and ending with an electron microscope - all these devices are put at the service of man. We can say that without tools, a person is a slow and inept animal. Imagine ancient man who lived during the glaciation period, who would not have created tools for finishing skins or, for example, a bow with arrows, so no one would have come up with. It is unlikely that we would now argue here about inventions.
2. Cooking
Yes, cooking can also be considered an invention - this also includes the invention of methods for making fire. Thermal processing of food not only makes it tastier, but also helps to get rid of microorganisms, viruses and bacteria, some of which are not only useful, but extremely harmful.
1. Language
Of course, it is language that is the main invention of man. Communication would be impossible without letters, words and sentences. Our ability to communicate, whether written or verbal, is nearly impossible without language. No one knows how many thousands of years this invention has been, but apparently, more than tens of thousands of years. No technologies and other inventions could have been born if it were not for speech and language.
Over the entire existence of our planet, hundreds of thousands of amazing things have been created. It is enough just to look around - everything that we see appeared as a result of painstaking human labor. And among this variety it is impossible to objectively determine the best invention of mankind. However, there are results of large-scale social surveys and opinions of scientists on this topic. It is quite possible to be guided by them when studying it.
Discovery from the past
The best inventions of mankind, which are more correctly called discoveries, were discovered thousands of years ago. Now they are an integral part of our lives.
In the first place, of course, fire. It was his development that became turning point When people understood what fire was and how to use it, they began to develop their activity at night, protect themselves from predators and cook a variety of (at that time) food. Many have maintained it in caves for years, preventing it from fading away. After all, the path to independent production of fire was very long.
There is even an opinion that thanks to fire, the process of evolution began to go faster. After all, upright Homo erectus cooked starchy food on it, consuming which they ensured the rapid assimilation of polysaccharides, which contribute to the intensive development of the brain.
Writing
This is definitely also the best invention of mankind. You don't even need a persuasive speech to prove this statement. After all, it was the emergence of writing that marked the beginning of the development of civilization and contributed to the exchange of knowledge between various nations and cultures. Although it all started in the distant 9000-7000 years. BC, from the early pictograms of Western Asia (Syrian region).
Paper is also considered one of the most important inventions of mankind. Writing made it possible for people to save any information received. And paper gave access to it to millions of people. Indeed, before its invention, all materials intended for writing were very expensive. Paper appeared, by the way, in 105 BC. She was created. In the future, his invention was improved, as was the method of paper production.
Book
Many say that it is she who is the best invention of mankind. The book, however, deserves such a status. Let now many perceive it as a work of printing in binding. But this is only because people are used to books.
In fact, each of them is a separate small world. It is the book that is the conductor of information through the ages, the pride of mankind and its heritage. It's verbal and historical experience, secrets and pleasure. By reading books, people become more educated and intellectually savvy, enrich their lexicon learn to think and analyze. They improve as individuals with capital letter. It's just a pity that in our age modern technologies people forget about books and don't read as much as they used to.
Electricity
Speaking of a period closer to our time, it would be logical to start with it. In terms of scale, this is truly the most important and best invention of mankind. Electricity, however, is not something that was created by human hands. After all, this is not a thing, but a set of phenomena that are due to movement and interaction. electric charges. But in this case, electricity has a modern understanding.
Its first functional source was created in the 18th century. Then it was possible to invent a volt column - a device for obtaining a discharge.
And, it must be said, many people interviewed said that they believe greatest creation human ... an electric light bulb. You can understand why. Day gives way to night, but life does not stop, due to the fact that in our life there are means of lighting - light bulbs. Their first prototype was invented by the German watchmaker Heinrich Goebel in 1854. After 26 years, the light bulb was improved by the American inventor Thomas Edison. It was he who gave our world a switch, a base and a cartridge. The tungsten filament was invented in 1890 by electrical engineer Alexander Lodygin, who also suggested filling light bulbs with an inert gas.
Ball pen
In fact, it is not at all surprising that this thing has been wormed its way among such large-scale discoveries. According to the results of a survey given in the UK, it turned out that most people believe that it is the ballpoint pen that is the best invention of mankind. This simple and everyday thing was created by a Hungarian journalist named in 1938. It is important to note that he was assisted by his brother Georg, who was a chemist by profession.
First, the inventors patented the ballpoint pen in Hungary. But then the second began. World War. In this regard, the brothers moved to Argentina and patented the invention there. After some time, they sold the right to manufacture ballpoint pens a company called Eversharp. They were paid $1,000,000, which was a huge amount for those days.
Since 1943, the mass production of ballpoint pens has been carried out, which today are indispensable stationery that every person uses.
Internet
It is unlikely that people will object to the fact that the World Wide Web is the best invention of mankind. It radically changed my life modern man. The population of the planet has learned about such things as video communication, distant work, games, instant communication with an interlocutor in another part of the Earth, online broadcasts and much more.
Without a doubt, the Internet is the best invention of mankind. Now ~4 billion people use it, and this number is increasing daily. And it all started in 1962. It was then that Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider introduced the world to the first detailed concept of a computer network. Five years later, work began on the creation of the ARPA Net Internet network. And the first server was installed on 09/02/1969. And already on October 29, two months later, a communication session was held between two computers located at a distance of 640 kilometers.
From that moment on, the Internet began to develop rapidly. Within a few months, newsgroups, mailing lists, and bulletin boards appeared. And today, the Internet has almost everything.
Creations from the "zero"
After brief digression in history, you can tell about the best inventions of mankind in the 21st century. started new era created in 2001. Now it is the basis of all LED displays.
In 2002, a breakthrough in medicine was made, marked by the creation of an artificial retina. Then, the following year, engineering engineers developed an interface for mentally manipulating objects.
2004 was marked by two amazing inventions at once. The world saw a neutron microscope and a bionic eye.
A year later, a robot was created that could create copies of itself. And in 2006, self-healing coatings and paints were introduced to mankind.
There were no discoveries in 2007, but in 2008 the world learned about a passive microelectronic element that can change its resistance depending on the charge flowing through it. They called him a memristor.
In the next two years, four more discoveries were made. For the first time, thought was transmitted to the Internet, a biological 3D printer was created, LG specialists developed an ultra-mobile PC, and biologists brought out the first living cell whose DNA was replaced with an artificial one. All this was really amazing. Much surprises even now. That is why it is so difficult to determine the best invention of mankind.
Until the middle of the "tenths"
The year 2012 was also marked by large-scale developments. Then an air display was created, a helmet virtual reality and developed a method for the production of special soluble electronics.
In 2013, it was possible to establish laser space communication. And in 2014, they invented a MEMS nanoinjector and a less significant, but funny thing - smart chopsticks. Then, in 2015, a "sleeping" bacterium (a robotic nano-device) was introduced to the world. It performs the functions of an ultra-sensitive humidity sensor, due to the presence of special nano-structures on the surface.
Last years
I would like to complete the story by designating the TOP 10 best inventions of mankind for the past, 2016.
The first place is taken by the floating light bulb Flyte, which manages to float and rotate due to electromagnetism. It glows thanks to the inductive resonating connection.
The second place is rightly occupied by the Tesla solar roof, which converts the radiation of the sun into electricity.
The next amazing invention is the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 auto-lacing shoe. The dream of all fans of the film "Back to the Future" has become a reality.
In fourth place is the intelligent multifunctional alarm clock Hello Sense, which monitors sleep cycles and gives the command to wake up at the most convenient moment for its owner.
Also in 2016, there were Eagle 360 tires that rotate in all directions, a “smart” toothbrush, and even dishes for people with cognitive problems. In addition, the world saw a powerful and sweet potato enriched with vitamin A, and a tiny Dji Mavic Pro drone equipped with a 4K camera.
So, this is a small part of what can be said about the most amazing and important inventions of mankind. Of course, in the entire history of its existence, tens of thousands of times more discoveries have been made. And you can be sure that over time this number will increase many times over.
Every year or decade there are more and more scientists and inventors who give us new discoveries and inventions in various fields. But there are such inventions which, once invented, by the most huge way change our way of life, moving us on the path of progress forward. Here are just ten great inventions that have changed the world we live in.
List of inventions:
1. Nails
Inventor: unknown
Without nails, our civilization would surely collapse. It is difficult to establish the exact date of the appearance of nails. Now the approximate date of the creation of nails is in the era bronze age. That is, it is obvious that nails could not have appeared before people learned how to cast and form metal. Previously, wooden structures had to be built using more complex technologies, using complex geometric structures. Now the construction process has become much easier.
Until the 1790s and early 1800s, iron nails were made by hand. The blacksmith would heat a square iron bar and then beat it on four sides to create the sharp end of the nail. Machines for making nails appeared between the 1790s and the early 1800s. Nail technology continued to evolve; After Henry Bessemer developed the process to mass-produce steel from iron, the iron nails of yesteryear gradually fell out of favor, and by 1886, 10% of nails in the US were made from mild steel wire (according to the University of Vermont). By 1913, 90% of the nails produced in the US were made from steel wire.
2. Wheel
Inventor: unknown
The idea of a symmetrical component moving in a circular motion along an axis existed in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe separately in different periods time. Thus, it is impossible to establish who and where exactly invented the wheel, but this great invention appeared in 3500 BC and became one of the most important inventions of mankind. The wheel facilitated work in the areas of agriculture and transportation, and also became the basis for other inventions, ranging from carriages to clocks.
3. Printing press
Johannes Gutenberg invented the manual printing press in 1450. By 1500 in Western Europe Twenty million books have already been printed. In the 19th century, a modification was made, and the iron parts replaced the wood ones, which speeded up the printing process. The cultural and industrial revolution in Europe would not have been possible were it not for the speed with which the printing press made it possible to distribute documents, books and newspapers to a wide audience. The printing press allowed the development of the press, and also gave people the opportunity to educate themselves. The political sphere would also be unthinkable without millions of copies of leaflets and posters. What can we say about the state apparatus with its endless number of forms? All in all, a truly great invention.
4. Steam engine
Inventor Story by: James Watt
Although the first version of the steam engine dates back to the 3rd century AD, only in early XIX century with the advent of the industrial age appeared modern form internal combustion engine. It took decades of design, after James Watt made the first drawings, according to which the combustion of fuel releases high-temperature gas and, as it expands, puts pressure on the piston and moves it. This phenomenal invention played a decisive role in the invention of other mechanisms such as automobiles and airplanes that changed the face of the planet we live on.
5. Bulb
Inventor: Thomas Alva Edison
The invention of the light bulb was developed during the 1800s by Thomas Edison; he is credited with the title of the main inventor of a lamp that could burn for 1500 hours without burning out (invented in 1879). The idea of the light bulb itself does not belong to Edison and was expressed by many people, but it was he who managed to choose the right materials so that the light bulb burned for a long time and became cheaper than candles.
6. Penicillin
Inventor: Alexander Fleming
Penicillin was accidentally discovered in a petri dish by Alexander Fleming in 1928. The drug penicillin is a group of antibiotics that treats several infections in humans without harming them. Penicillin was mass-produced during World War II to rid military personnel of STDs and is still used as the standard antibiotic against infections. It was one of the most famous discoveries made in the field of medicine. Alexander Fleming received in 1945 Nobel Prize, and the newspapers of the time wrote:
"To defeat fascism and liberate France, he made more whole divisions"
7. Phone
Inventor: Antonio Meucci
For a long time it was believed that Alexander Bell was the discoverer of the telephone, but in 2002 the US Congress decided that Antonio Meucci had the right to primacy in the invention of the telephone. In 1860 (16 years earlier than Graham Bell), Antonio Meucci demonstrated an apparatus that could transmit voice over wires. Antonio called his invention Telektrofon and applied for a patent in 1871. This set the stage for one of the most revolutionary inventions that almost everyone on our planet has in their pockets and on their desks. The telephone, which was later also developed as mobile phone, has had a vital impact on humanity, especially in the areas of business and communication. The expansion of audible speech from inside one room to the whole world is a feat unparalleled to this day.
8. Television
Zworykin with an iconoscope
Inventor: Rosing Boris Lvovich and his students Zworykin Vladimir Konstantinovich and Kataev Semyon Isidorovich (not recognized as a discoverer), as well as Philon Farnsworth
Although the invention of television cannot be attributed to one person, most people agree that the invention modern television was the merit of two people: Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (1923) and Philon Farnsworth (1927). It should be noted here that in the USSR Kataev Semyon Isidorovich was engaged in the development of a TV using parallel technology, and Rosing described the first experiments and principles of operation of electric television at the beginning of the 20th century. Television was also one of greatest inventions, which have been developed from mechanical to electronic, from black and white to color, from analog to digital, from primitive models without a remote control to intelligent, and now all to 3D versions and small home theaters. People usually spend about 4-8 hours a day watching TV, and this has greatly affected family and social life and also changed our culture beyond recognition.
9. Computer
Inventor: Charles Babbage, Alan Turing and others.
The principle of the modern computer was first mentioned by Alan Turing and later the first mechanical computer was invented in the early 19th century. This invention has really done amazing things in more areas of life, including philosophy and culture. human society. The computer helped to take off the high-speed military aircraft, put spacecraft into orbit, control medical equipment, create visual images, store vast amounts of information, and improve the functioning of automobiles, telephones, and power plants.
10. Internet and World Wide Web
Map of the entire computer network for 2016
Inventor: Vinton Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee
The Internet was first developed in 1973 by Vinton Cerf with the support of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). Its original use was to provide a communications network to research laboratories and universities in the United States and to expand overtime work. This invention (along with the World Wide Web) was the main revolutionary invention of the 20th century. In 1996, over 25 million computers were connected via the Internet in 180 countries, and now we even had to switch to IPv6 to increase the number of IP addresses, since IPv4 addresses were completely exhausted, and there were about 4.22 billion of them.
The World Wide Web, as we know, was first predicted by Arthur C. Clarke. However, the invention was made 19 years later in 1989 by CERN employee Tom Berners Lee. The web has changed the way we think about various areas, including education, music, finance, reading, medicine, language, etc. The web is potentially superior all the great inventions of the world.
Two decades ago, people could not even dream of such a level of technological development as it exists today. Today to fly halfway the globe, it only takes half a day, today's smartphones are 60,000 times lighter and thousands of times more powerful than the first computers, today's performance Agriculture and life expectancy are high as never before in human history. Let's try to figure out which inventions have become the most important and, in fact, changed the history of mankind.
1. Cyanide
Although cyanide seems controversial enough to include on this list, this chemical has played a role important role in the history of mankind. While the gaseous form of cyanide has caused the deaths of millions of people, it is this substance that is the main factor in the extraction of gold and silver from ore. Because the world economy was tied to the gold standard, cyanide is an important factor in the development of international trade.
2. Plane
Today, no one doubts that the invention of the "metal bird" had one of the greatest impacts on human history by radically reducing the time needed to transport goods or people. The invention of the Wright brothers was enthusiastically received by the public.
3. Anesthesia
Until 1846, any surgical procedure was more like some kind of excruciating torture. Although anesthetics have been used for thousands of years, they early forms were only alcohol or mandrake extract. The invention of modern anesthesia in the form of nitrous oxide and ether allowed doctors to safely operate on patients without the slightest resistance from them (after all, patients did not feel anything).
4. Radio
The origins of radio history are highly controversial. Many claim that Guglielmo Marconi was its inventor. Others claim that it was Nikola Tesla. In any case, these two people have done a lot to enable people to successfully transmit information through radio waves.
5. Phone
The telephone has been one of the most important inventions in our modern world. As with all major inventions, there is still debate about who invented it. One thing is clear: the US Patent Office granted the first telephone patent to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This patent served as the basis for future research and development of electronic sound transmission over long distances.
6. World Wide Web
Although everyone thinks that this is a completely recent invention, the Internet existed in archaic form in 1969 when the United States military developed the ARPANET. But relatively modern form The Internet only came about thanks to Tim Berners-Lee, who created a network of hyperlinks to documents at the University of Illinois and created the first World Wide Web browser.
7. Transistor
Today it seems that picking up the phone and calling someone in Mali, the US or India is very easy, but it would not be possible without transistors. Semiconductor transistors, which amplify electrical signals, have made it possible to send information over long distances. The man who pioneered this research, William Shockley, is credited with creating Silicon Valley.
8. Atomic clock
While this invention may not seem as revolutionary as many of the previous points, the invention of the atomic clock was crucial in the advancement of science. Using microwave signals emitted by varying energy levels of electrons, atomic clocks and their accuracy have made possible a wide range of modern modern inventions, including GPS, GLONASS, and the Internet.
9. Steam turbine
The steam turbine of Charles Parsons literally changed the development of mankind, giving impetus to the industrialization of countries and making it possible for ships to quickly overcome the ocean. In 1996 alone, 90% of electricity in the US was generated by steam turbines.
10. Plastic
Despite widespread use in our modern society plastic, it appeared only in the last century. The waterproof and highly pliable material is used in almost every industry, from food packaging to toys and even spaceships. While most modern plastics are made from petroleum, there are increasing calls to go back to the original version, which was partly organic.
11. Television
Television had a long and legendary story which began in the 1920s and continues to this day. This invention has become one of the most popular consumer products around the world - almost 80% of families have a TV.
12. Oil
Most people do not think at all when they fill the tank of their car. Although people have been extracting oil for millennia, the modern oil and gas industry emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. After industrialists saw all the advantages of oil products and the amount of energy generated by burning them, they raced to make wells for the extraction of "liquid gold".
13. Internal combustion engine
Without the discovery of the efficiency of combustion of petroleum products, the modern internal combustion engine would not have been possible. Given that it has begun to be used literally everywhere: from cars to agricultural combines and mining machines, these engines have allowed people to replace back-breaking, painstaking and time-consuming work with machines that can do this work much faster. The internal combustion engine also gave people freedom of movement since it was the one used in automobiles.
14. Reinforced concrete
The boom in the construction of high-rise buildings happened only in the middle of the nineteenth century. By embedding steel reinforcing bars (reinforcing bars) into concrete before it was poured, people were able to build reinforced concrete artificial structures many times larger in weight and size than before.
Today on planet Earth there would be many less people without penicillin. Officially opened by the Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928, penicillin was one of the most important inventions/discoveries that made the modern world possible. Antibiotics were among the first drugs that were able to fight staphylococci, syphilis and tuberculosis.
16. Refrigerator
Harnessing heat was perhaps the most important discovery to date, but it took many millennia. Although people have long used ice for cooling, its practicality and availability has been limited. In the nineteenth century, scientists invented artificial refrigeration using chemical substances. By the early 1900s, almost every meatpacking plant and major food distributor was using artificial refrigeration to preserve food.
17. Pasteurization
Half a century before the discovery of penicillin, a new process discovered by Louis Pasteur, pasteurization, or heating food (originally beer, wine, and dairy products) to a temperature high enough to kill most spoilage bacteria, helped save many lives. Unlike sterilization, which kills all bacteria, pasteurization only reduces the number of potential pathogens to a level that makes most foods edible without fear of contamination, while still preserving the taste of the food.
18. Solar battery
Just as the oil industry sparked a boom in industry as a whole, the invention of the solar battery allowed people to harness a renewable form of energy to a much greater extent. effective way. The first practical solar battery was developed in 1954 by Bell Telephone scientists, but today the popularity and efficiency of solar panels has increased dramatically.
19. Microprocessor
Today, people would have to forget about their laptop and smartphone if the microprocessor had not been invented. One of the most widely known supercomputers, ENIAC, was built in 1946 and weighed 27,215 tons. Intel engineer Ted Hoff created the first microprocessor in 1971, putting all the functions of a supercomputer into one tiny chip, making portable computers possible.
20. Laser
The stimulated light emission amplifier or laser was invented in 1960 by Theodor Meyman. Modern lasers are used in a variety of inventions, including laser cutters, barcode scanners, and surgical equipment.
21. Nitrogen fixation
Although it may seem overly pompous, nitrogen fixation, or fixation of molecular atmospheric nitrogen, is "responsible" for the explosion of the human population. By converting atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, the production of highly effective fertilizers was made possible, which increased agricultural production.
22. Conveyor
Today it is difficult to overestimate the importance of assembly lines. Before their invention, all products were made by hand. The assembly line or conveyor allowed the development of large-scale production of the same parts, greatly reducing the time it took to create a new product.
23. Oral contraceptives
Although the pill and the pill has been one of the main methods of medicine that has been around for thousands of years, the invention of the oral contraceptive has been one of the most significant innovations. It was this invention that became the impetus for the sexual revolution.
24. Mobile phone / smartphone
Now, many of you are probably reading this article from your smartphone. Thanks to Motorola, back in 1973, they released the first wireless pocket mobile phone, which weighed as much as 2 kg and took as much as 10 hours to recharge. To make matters worse, at that time one could only chat quietly for 30 minutes.
25. Electricity
Most modern inventions would simply be impossible without electricity. Pioneers such as William Gilbert and Benjamin Franklin laid the initial foundation upon which inventors such as Volt and Faraday launched the second industrial revolution.
