Great inventions and discoveries of the twentieth century

Great inventions that influenced mankind in the 20th century.

Steam engine: promoted the development of the whole industrial revolution.

Traditional horsepower or water power cannot provide the power needed for industrial revolution, and the development of steam engine energy has brought more effective and powerful power to the world. Although the ancients began to explore this aspect in the 2nd century BC, it was not until Watt's steam engine was put on the market that the commercial value of the steam engine was really opened. Many historians believe that the development of the steam engine is one of the most important inventions of the industrial revolution, because the appearance of the steam engine promoted the development of metallurgy, coal mines and textiles. The appearance of steam engine and the mechanization of textile industry increased the iron consumption of industry. Because Britain is rich in iron ore and coal mines, the increase in demand has stimulated the improvement of iron smelting technology and coal mining industry and accelerated the pace of industrialization. 1804 steam engine train and 1807 steam engine boat greatly improved the transportation conditions and assisted the development of the industrial revolution.

Telephone: Opening a New Chapter in the History of Human Communication

"Mr. Watson, please come at once. I need help!" This is the first sentence that alexander bell, the inventor of the telephone, successfully transmitted by telephone on March 1876. Since then, the telephone was born, and the history of human communication has opened a new chapter.

1973 realized the dream of wireless communication in new york, USA. At that time, the first practical mobile phone in the world was large and weighed 1.9 kg, which was a veritable "mobile phone". Today, 26 years later, the world's smallest mobile phone was born. It is only as big as a pager and much lighter than the first generation of mobile phones.

1964 is another important turning point in the history of human communication. This summer, thousands of viewers around the world watched the live broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan via satellite for the first time. This is the first time in human history to watch things happening thousands of miles away through TV screens at the same time. People not only lamented the spectacular opening ceremony and various competitions of the Olympic Games, but also marveled at the progress of science and technology. All this is due to the geosynchronous satellite invented by harold rosen.

1in the summer of 969, the embryonic form of the internet appeared in the United States. It consists of four computer websites, one in the University of California and the other three in Nevada. 1972, the experimenter sent the first email on the experimental network for the first time, which marked the beginning of the combination of internet and communication. In the 1990s, the Internet began to be used for commercial purposes. 1995 ushered in the first climax of network development, known as the International Internet Year. Driven by the wave of e-commerce, the Internet will have a far-reaching impact on human society in the 2 1 century.

Cars: keep pace with the times.

Cars have changed the whole traffic situation of human beings, and they have become the symbol of every industrial power.

Cars have gone through such a history: 177 1 year, France Lianzhu designed a steam engine tricycle; 1860, French Renault made a car engine with gas as fuel; 1885, Ben Ci and Daimler completed the locomotive of high-speed gasoline engine and the tricycle of two-stroke gasoline engine respectively, and successfully commercialized them. 1908, Ford of the United States mass-produced Model T cars with assembly lines, with low price, high safety performance and high speed. Cars began to spread; 19 12 years, Cadillac launched an electronic ignition starter to make women fall in love with cars. 1926, Daimler Ben Ci, the world's first automobile manufacturing company, was established; 1934, the first front-wheel drive car came out; 1940, many automobile manufacturers stopped production because of the war, and European automobile manufacturers began to turn to the production of military vehicles; In 1950s, Volvo's caravans in Germany became the most popular cars as soon as they were launched. 1970-2000, Japanese cars were popular in Asia, and ultra-high-tech small cars from Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan invaded the European and American markets, rewriting the monopoly of European and American brands.

In fact, the invention of the automobile greatly improved the mobility of human beings, and broadened their horizons and pursued freedom in the 20th century. Of course, the development of the automobile industry has also brought about problems such as land resources occupied by the road network, air pollution, high ticket prices, etc. But in any case, the automobile is indeed leading human beings forward and running forward.

Television: the "devil" created by human beings themselves

Modern people can eat and drink for a day, but they can't watch TV for a day.

The idea and theory of TV appeared as early as 1870. 1884, German inventor Paul? Pukov designed a "scanning disk" with holes. When the disk rotates, these holes divide the scene into small points, which are then converted into electrical signals, and the receiver at the other end recombines the signals into the same but rough image as the original image. 1926, the scot John Beaumond made a camera with Pukov's "big disc".

It was Rakimir Zokin, who immigrated from Russia to the United States, and Philo farnsworth, who was born in Utah, who really made TV with stable pictures. 1939 Expo, the world's first truly clear television broadcast, television was really born.

A big step in the history of human space.

American astronaut Armstrong famously said when he landed on the moon, "For an individual, this is just a small step; For mankind, this is "a big step firmly in the hearts of people on earth." "

1969 At 4 o'clock on July 20th, 500 million TV viewers around the world saw a "black" picture, and a voice from outer space came from the depths of the picture: "Houston, this is Jinghai base, and the eagle cabin has landed!" Next, Armstrong and Aldrin, two astronauts on the Apollo 1 1 spacecraft in the United States, asked the Houston Space Center, "We don't want to rest for four hours, we want to land on the moon immediately." Houston replied: "Agree to land on the moon immediately!" Then Armstrong turned his back outward and began to climb down the ninth ladder slowly. 500 million people around the world have seen this scene.

Landing on the moon is indeed a great progress in human space science and technology, because as Colonel Cernan, the last man to land on the moon, said, "Looking at the earth from the moon, I can't see any national boundaries. I think the earth is a whole, and my whole heart will be open. "

Computer: the hope of the future of mankind

1On February 4th, 946, representatives of the US military, government departments and famous scientists crowded together in a room at the University of Pennsylvania. When an army general gently pressed the button, the machine that occupied the whole three walls immediately lit up, and people applauded warmly and cheered loudly: "Eniak is alive!" " "Congratulations to Chief Engineer Arcot." ENIAC "is the first computer in the world.

Gene: The Eternal Password to Solve Life

10 years ago, the scientific community predicted that 2 1 century would be the century of genetic engineering. What is the main course of human genetic engineering? 1866, Austrian geneticist Father Mendel discovered the genetic law of living things. 1868, Swiss biologist Friedrich discovered that the nucleus has two parts: acidity and protein. The acidic part was later called DNA；; 1882, when German embryologist Walter Fleming was studying salamander cells, he found that the nucleus contained a large number of divided linear objects, that is, later chromosomes. 1944, American researchers proved that DNA is the genetic material of most organisms, not protein; 1953, American biochemist Watson and British physicist Crick announced the discovery of the double helix of DNA, which laid the foundation of genetic engineering. 1980, the first transgenic mouse was born; 1996, the first cloned sheep was born; 1999, American scientists cracked the sequence map of the 22nd human genome. The future plan is to prescribe drugs for related diseases according to the genetic map.

These things were invented in the 20th century.

190 1 year radio

In the early 20th century, few people could imagine that electromagnetic waves could travel any meaningful distance without any metal wires or cables as conductors. So how do radio signals travel along the surface of the earth? Of course, it can shoot straight off the horizon. But Guillermo Marconi believes that radio waves can travel along the surface of the earth if some conditions are provided. 1895, in his birthplace of Italy, he sent out a radio signal, which passed 1? 5 miles; Six years later, that is, 190 1 year 12 February 12 year, Marconi, who was only 27 years old, created a miracle. He tied the radio antenna firmly to a flying kite and sent a Morse code "S". It flew about 2000 miles across the Atlantic. This signal was sent from Huzhen, Polder, Cornwall, England, and reached St. John's in Newfoundland in less than 1 second. Marconi heard three faint ticks. This is the voice of the birth of the communication industry and the first shock wave of the arrival of the electronic age. This era includes radio broadcasting, television and mobile phones-so this is a discovery that will open our imagination.

1903 aircraft

Orville Wright and wilbur wright were able to fly their plane made of wood, wires and cloth for 59 seconds before sunset. However, few newspapers are willing to comment on this matter, because the idea that humans fly into the sky to become contemporary Daedalus and Icarus is considered absurd by most sober people. But once successful, the development of this undertaking is extremely rapid. In fact, it was only after 15 years that various parts of modern aircraft were manufactured, if not all, then at least ideas about them had been born.

1907 plastics

After learning about the invention of plastic, the happiest thing in the world is the elephant. For hundreds of years, everything from the handle to billiards has been made of ivory. 19 In the 1980s, the supply of ivory gradually decreased and billiards rose, which once triggered a crisis. Phelan and Cowland, the largest billiards producers in the United States, can't wait to offer a gold prize worth $65,438+0,000 pounds-a considerable prize-to recruit any "invention genius" who can provide synthetic products instead of ivory.

Until 1907, the Belgian inventor Leo Baekeland, who had made huge profits by inventing photographic paper for taking fast-moving photos, accidentally invented the compound of phenol and formaldehyde. This innovative pure synthetic plastic-phenolic plastic has the functions of heat protection, electricity protection and corrosion protection. Not only is it good for billiards, but one of the great benefits of plastic is its versatility. Everything from telephones to toilets, ashtrays to airplane parts is made of plastic. By 1968, if young graduates want to find a job in a promising and successful industry, they must listen to one word-plastic.

1928 penicillin

People call penicillin the most contribution medicine in this century, and its inventor is British bacteriologist alexander fleming. 1928, in a bacterial culture experiment, the inventor happened to find that a mold later called penicillin was devouring the bacteria he cultivated in a Petri dish. According to Fleming's research results, after ten years' efforts, researchers at Oxford University in England finally found a way to refine this mold and put it into medical experiments. 1943, in order to treat soldiers injured in World War II, the Allies began to put penicillin into industrial production. For more than half a century, penicillin has saved countless lives, prompting people to pay attention to the research and development of antibiotic family.

1923 TV set

The inventor of TV set is john baird, a British electronic engineer. In 1923, he applied for a patent for a device that can generate 8 lines of images. The first TV set was sold at the end of 1930. 1932, BBC broadcast the first standardized TV program in the world. Since then, mankind has begun to step into the television era. Today, people use satellites and other channels to spread TV signals to every corner of the earth.

1942 nuclear weapons

The atomic age began at 1942. In order to defeat the Axis fascism, the highest authorities of the United States decided to launch the Manhattan Project aimed at developing atomic weapons. At the end of the year, as part of the Manhattan Project, the first nuclear reactor was built and put into operation under a sports facility of the University of Chicago. 1On July 6th, 945, a mushroom cloud rose from the Atomic Energy Research Center in Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA, and the world's first atomic bomb exploded successfully. On August 6th and 9th of that year, the United States dropped two atomic bombs named "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The Japanese emperor then announced his unconditional surrender. The atomic bomb seems to have made great contributions to the victory of World War II, but mankind has lived in the shadow of terrible atomic weapons ever since.

1943 computer

Computer is the foundation of human society entering the information age, but it was born because of war. 1943, in order to decipher the German code, the British mathematician alan turing designed the first electromechanical computer named "Giant". Although it is only an imaginary computer for decoding, it initiated the development of computer technology, which is changing with each passing day. 1947, the transistor computer came out; 1959, the integrated circuit computer was born; 1970, computer produced large-scale integrated circuits; Since 1980s, a new generation of microcomputers have mushroomed. On this basis, mankind has ushered in a new network era.

1953DNA

1953 On February 28th, the famous British geneticist francis crick announced that he had "discovered the secret of life". Crick and his American colleague james watson devoted themselves to the research of life science for many years, and finally found the molecular structure of DNA double helix which determines the inheritance of life from the nucleus, and deciphered the genetic codes of human beings, plants and animals. This discovery initially revealed the secret of life, promoted the research and treatment of various diseases, and also promoted human research on improving food structure. In the first 20 years of the next century, it is possible for human beings to eliminate gene defects through gene therapy, and then overcome fatal sexual dysfunction such as cancer, heart disease, hemophilia and diabetes. Undoubtedly, the research results of DNA molecular structure have played a great role in studying life and treating diseases, but it also makes people face the moral crisis caused by it. For example, the development of cloning technology has given mankind a difficult problem.

1954, Contraceptives:

1954, American doctor gregory pincus invented the contraceptive pill, which is a mixture of two hormones that inhibit ovulation in women. Contraceptive pill is listed as one of the greatest scientific achievements in the 20th century because it liberates women from passive childbearing. From then on, women can control their own fertility, decide whether to have children according to their own wishes, and decide when to get pregnant according to their own situation. More importantly, it breaks the shackles that imprison women's sexual freedom, gives women the right to go out of the family and participate in social work, and finally expands women's influence in social politics, economy and culture.

1957 artificial satellite

1957 10 10 On 4 October, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial earth satellite in human history to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the victory of the October Revolution, marking the beginning of the space age. 1961April 2, Soviet astronaut Gagarin went into space in a spaceship and became the first person to go into space. 1969 On July 20th, two American astronauts landed on the moon in a spaceship. Satellites can transmit TV and radio program signals, and also provide services for aviation, Hainan Airlines, weather forecast and scientific and technological information, thus greatly "shrinking" the earth. In order to further explore the mysteries of the universe, human beings have placed many detectors on the main planets of the solar system, and grand plans to build an international space station are also in the pipeline.

1967 organ transplantation

From 65438 to 0967, South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard successfully performed the first heart transplant. Since then, with the development of medicine and medical equipment, medical scientists have gradually solved the problems of organ infection and successfully transplanted limbs, liver, skin, retina and even testicles. The medical community believes that the next frontier technology of organ transplantation is brain cell transplantation, which can cure medical ills such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In the next century, medical scientists will devote themselves to solving the problem of xenotransplantation and transplanting organs from other animals into human bodies.

1978 IVF:

Louise Joy Brown, a British girl, is the first test-tube baby in the world. Now she is 2 1 year old. At that time, her mother's egg and her father's sperm successfully mated in a test tube and gave birth to her. Since then, in vitro pregnancy technology has been continuously developed and perfected, and 1984 embryo freezing technology has been successfully tested; From 65438 to 0990, the experiment of embryo transfer technology was successful. The successful cultivation of IVF has given great hope to infertile couples, but it has also aroused people's concern about a moral issue. For example, if a woman gives birth to a child through a test-tube baby in her fifties or sixties, the old man may die while the child is still underage. So who will raise the orphan?