This is one of those subjective lists that some people will agree with and some will disagree with. I understand, because all the great and significant inventions will not fit in one rating. I chose those that, in my opinion, are the most significant for the modern world. Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments.
Modern plumbing
Plumbing devices and communications are used to remove wastewater and provide buildings and structures clean water. In places where people live compactly, for example, apartments in high-rise buildings, you can’t do without them at all. Without this invention, we would still live in small, dirty cities, with low-rise buildings. A high-rise building will not function without engineering networks and plumbing. Can you imagine the modern world without all this?
The printing press, apart from manuscripts, was the first known means communication and information transfer. His discovery was a real scientific breakthrough. Johannes Gutenberg attributes the invention of the first printing press to one of the ancient civilizations Western Europe. Screw presses for olives and wine have been known in Europe since Roman times, and presses for binding handwritten books were also in use. It was this technology that was converted for printing. Thanks to this invention, it was possible to produce printed products on an industrial scale.
In 1769, the French mechanic Nicholas Joseph Cugnot invented the very first self-propelled road vehicle. But this "self-propelled carriage" was powered by a steam engine. In 1885, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first car powered by an internal combustion engine. In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler took over the experience with the internal combustion engine, improved it and patented it. It is this patent that is recognized as the prototype of the modern engine, and later it served as the basis for the world's first four-wheeled vehicle.
Back in 2500 BC. e. people used pesticides to prevent damage to crops. The first known pesticide is simple sulfur dust, which was used by the Sumerians about 4,500 years ago. By the 15th century, toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, and lead were being used to kill pests. And in 1939, Pavel Müller discovered that DDT was a very effective insecticide. It quickly became the most widely used pesticide in the world. However, in the 1960s, it was discovered that DDT had killed off many of the birds that ate the fish that lived in the waters near the crops, and DDT posed a huge threat to biodiversity.
Thomas Savery, an English military engineer and inventor, patented the first steam engine in 1698. Newcomen invented the atmospheric steam engine based on James Watt's 1712 invention, a huge breakthrough in the industrial revolution. His Centrifugal Governor kept the engine running at the required speed, and became such a simple and elegant modification of the first patent that it can rightly be considered one of best ideas of all time.
In 1837, Charles Babbage was the first to make sense of reality and develop a fully programmable mechanical computer, which he called the "Analytical Engine". Due to limited funding and lack of support, Babbage never built his analytical apparatus. Large-scale automated data processing was first performed for the US Census in 1890. To do this, a number of machines were produced, designed by Hollerith and manufactured by the Tabulating Recording Corporation, which later became IBM.
The transistor is the fundamental unit of microcircuits that controls the operation of computers, cell phones and other inventions of modern electronics. On December 16, 1947, William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain invented the first transistor at Bell Labs. This work was carried out as part of an arms race to produce a pure information transmission device. It was used in radar units as a frequency mixer element in a microwave radar receiver.
The plastic consists of organic condensation or additive polymers, and may also contain other substances to save or partially change its properties. There are several natural polymers. The first plastic made from a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde. Moreover, the first viable and cheap synthesis methods were invented by Leo Hendrik Baekeland in 1909, and the product is known as Bakelite. Subsequently, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide (nylon stockings), polyesters, acrylic, silicone, polyurethane were among the many grades of plastics with great commercial success.
electricity, voltage
Electricity has always existed, but the system of devices needed to create and distribute this power has become the greatest invention. These devices were first developed and designed by Edison. He effectively converted electricity into a tradable commodity, and his Pearl Street station became the world's first power station. Nikola Tesla's discovery of alternating current (AC) made it possible to transmit electricity over long distances, leading mankind to the technologies we know today. Now every person, in any part of the world, can connect to the network to power any device, from a light bulb to a computer.
Immunization / Antibiotics
Three centuries ago, almost one in two died from infectious diseases. When the plague broke out in 1347, it wiped out almost half of Europe in just 2 years. Smallpox affecting residents North America, shortened indigenous people by about 90 percent within a century. Back in 1800, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the West. It is unlikely that anyone died of old age then, infections were one of the reasons for such reverence for the elders. Today, old age is no longer so rare, many people live to be 70 years old. Yet 73 percent of people die of heart failure, cancer, and stroke because new drugs are needed.
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Mankind has come an incredibly long, sometimes dangerous way to climb to the top. modern development. Today it is difficult to surprise us with technical innovations. We rarely think about what preceded the development of modern high technology, allowed a person to soar like a bird in the sky, create rockets, master space, confidently look to the future. However, do not forget that without past successes in our lives there would be no Internet, computer, favorite TV, car and a lot of other equipment, without which we cannot imagine our lives today. Let's not forget that we are indebted to today's achievements and those to come the greatest minds human - scientists, inventors, workers who helped to bring to life the most incredible, fantastic ideas. Let's recall the ten most significant inventions that contributed to revolutionary technological breakthroughs in the history of human development.
List of inventions:
Electricity - greatest invention, without which there would be many successes and achievements in all areas of human activity. Today it is impossible to believe, but without electricity, we could "hang" in the era early medieval, where instead of the usual lamps, light bulbs, televisions, telephones, there would be candles, smoking torches and the mournful singing of the wind for long winter evenings. There would be no computer, the Internet and many other unique achievements from the world of high technology. Electricity was first described in detail in 1600 by the Englishman William Gilbert, although attempts were made to study this phenomenon as far back as Ancient Greece. Two centuries later, Alessandro Volta demonstrates to the world the first galvanic cell, the prototype of a modern battery, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, at the end of the 19th century Edison invented the first electric light bulb with a long service life, and in Germany the first power station was launched to serve the population. With each century, a person is moving further and further along the path of knowledge and progress, expanding the horizons of civilization thanks to great discoveries and inventions, among which electricity occupies one of the leading places.
I wanted to know last news, listen good music- and now, out of habit, the hand reaches for the radio receiver familiar to everyone. And few people thought who deserved the merit of the invention of the radio. In the countries of the post-Soviet space, A. Popov is considered the inventor of radiotelegraphy, and May 7 has become an annual holiday. It was on this day, 1895, that the scientist demonstrated his invention and made the first communication session. The right to be called the creator of such a device is also disputed by scientists from other countries, including Nikola Tesla, G. Marconi. It should be noted that the invention is based on the discoveries of other great predecessors. So, M. Faraday in 1845 discovered the electromagnetic field. The presence of electromagnetic waves was demonstrated in 1885 by G. Hertz. In 1885, T. Edison patented a method for transmitting electrical signals. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the appearance a large number broadcast stations, radio becomes the leader among the media mass media. Radio communication continues to develop, new frequencies are mastered, data is transmitted over the Internet.
The book is known to be a source of knowledge. It is able to store the most valuable information accumulated by mankind for thousands of years. The first books were written by hand on papyri. Later, the Chinese invented paper, the technology of printing books from printed boards was first invented in the 9th century. also Chinese. In the 11th century, a method of printing from type-setting was invented in China. Later this process was improved. In Korea, instead of clay letters, bronze ones began to be used. In the XIV - early XV centuries. book printing is rapidly spreading in Europe. The German I. Gutenberg proposed a new process for printing books from movable typesetting. Around 1445, Gutenberg began printing books in a manner that continued until the end of the 18th century. The manual printing press was invented, and printing houses began to appear later. Gutenberg's invention accelerated the process of printing books dozens of times, made it possible to produce books of any size, they became available to all segments of the population. The Age of Enlightenment came with the invention of printing.
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, who invented it is still a matter of controversy. 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 it was Tim Berners-Lee who created the web of hyperlinks to documents at the University of Illinois and created the first World Wide Web browser in its relatively modern form.
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 paragraphs, 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 the 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 spacecraft. Although most modern plastics are made from petroleum, there are increasing calls today to return to 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 the 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 (rebars) 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 assembly line allowed for 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.
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 the physiology of man, 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.
12
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 and 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
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 those standing like a house, accelerating to 300 kilometers per hour. Modern world It's just impossible to imagine without a car.
10
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
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 the right place 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. Mobile phone is the freedom to communicate wherever you are.
8
The computer today has replaced for many such items as a TV, video or DVD player, telephone, books, and even 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
The invention of cinema was the beginning of the cinema and television that we have today. The first ones were black and white and without sound, they appeared 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, 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
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
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
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
At first glance, you can’t say that the wheel is a very important invention, but it was thanks to this device that many other inventions, such as the car or train, were created. 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, moves thanks to the 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
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, vacation interesting book, entertainment at the computer, learning - all this is possible thanks to writing.
1
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 exist with dozens of dialects in 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 man! ;)
From time to time revolutionary inventions change our world beyond recognition, and not always for the better.
For example, because of smartphones, people stopped communicating live, and plastic bags spoil the view when the wind blows them around.
This is especially true for third world countries and those on the path of development. In short, for half the Earth.
However, the wheel and the World Wide Web are quite useful inventions. Everything is not so clear.
10. sailboat
Ancient Mesopotamia, 6000 B.C. e.
The Age of Sail is an era that brought global trade and transport links between continents into our lives.
Another confirmation of this is the phenomenon archaeological culture Ubeida. It is generally accepted that within a vast area in the Middle East there was an intensive interaction of the Eneolithic societies, as a result of which there is a certain similarity of the features of material culture.
Simply put, the same ceramics are found in different peoples. These people were clearly trading with each other.
Probably the sailors Ancient Mesopotamia sailed the Tigris and Euphrates, linking the peoples who inhabited the region.
9. Wheel
Like a sailboat, the wheel has revolutionized transport, trade and exciting tourism. It is not known for certain where exactly it was invented, but Mesopotamia or Asia of the era early bronze are the most likely candidates.
8. Nail
Ancient Egypt, 3400 B.C. e.
The Egyptians were famous not only for the pyramids. The ancient inhabitants of the Nile Delta also came up with one of the basics of carpentry and construction - an elegant but strong nail.
Three millennia later, the Romans were the first to mass-produce nails, which they forged from blanks of iron.
7. Soap
Ancient Mesopotamia, 2800 BC e.
The improvement of hygiene and sanitation is the merit of soap. This reduced the likelihood of an epidemic and led to an increase in the urban population.
The first domestic toilet appeared in Skara Brae, Scotland in 3000 BC.
Around the same time, "cleansing soaps" were invented in ancient Mesopotamia. And "soaps" were made from wood ash and animal fat.
6. Counting board
Ancient Mesopotamia, 2700 BC e.
This thing is the forerunner of electronic calculators and computers. The abacus appeared in Mesopotamia about 4,700 years ago, only to disappear in the age of mechanics and electronics.
The Sumerians used abacus to calculate based on their relatively complex numerical system.
This "smart" gadget played a key role in international trade And financial system ancient world.
5. Compass
China, 206 B.C. e.
The invention of this contraption has fundamentally changed the way navigators navigate the sea. Ultimately, it may have even brought the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries closer.
It is known for certain that it was invented as a tool for divination. The Chinese did not use the compass as a navigational instrument until the 11th century.
4. Paper
China, 105 B.C. e.
The invention of paper was crucial because it allowed for more efficient sharing of knowledge, record keeping and storage of information.
Despite the fact that the ancient Egyptians made writing material from algae as early as the 4th century BC (papyrus), the Chinese still created paper in the form that we know today.
The technology for the manufacture of "classic" paper from cellulose raw materials was developed by the minister-advisor imperial court Tsai Lun.
3. Powder
China, 142
It may have been invented much earlier, but the first mention of it is found in a Taoist treatise written by the alchemist Wei Boyang in 142 AD.
Gunpowder had a great influence on world history by changing the way war is waged. Until now, black powder is the basis of many modern species weapons.
2. Mechanical watches
China, 725
Another super-know-how from China. The world's first "mechanical chronometer" was assembled by an astronomer, mathematician, inventor, engineer and Buddhist monk during the Tang Dynasty. His name was Yi Xing. He was assisted by military engineer Liang Lingzan.
The clock was part of a bronze celestial globe. On the surface of the device were engraved images of the constellations and the celestial equator.
Such a gadget is called an "armillary sphere". It is used to determine equatorial or ecliptic coordinates. celestial bodies relative to the earth.
The sphere was probably created on behalf of the imperial court in order to facilitate the process of divination. solar eclipses in connection with the reform of the calendar.
1. Printing press
Holy Roman Empire, 1440
Johannes Gutenberg's seminal invention helped cheapen books so much that they became accessible to many segments of the public, not just the elite.
Gutenberg really ushered in the era of the mass media. The significance of his invention cannot be overestimated.
0° Thermometer
Republic of Venice, 1612
Modern medical diagnostics, Scientific research, industrial processes and much more - require accurate measurement of degrees of heat.
In 1592, Galileo Galilei developed the thermoscope, the progenitor of all modern thermometers.
However, the first thermometer familiar to our eyes was created by the Venetian doctor Santorio in 1612.
