The most significant invention of the 20th century. Twelve Greatest Inventions of the 20th Century
The 20th century was rich in all kinds of discoveries and inventions, which in some ways improved and in others complicated our lives. However, if you think about it, there weren’t many inventions that truly changed this world. We have collected some of the very best inventions, after which life will never be the same.
20th century inventions that changed the world
Aircraft
People made the first flights on lighter-than-air vehicles (aeronautics) back in the 18th century, it was then that the first balloons filled with hot air appeared, with the help of which it was possible to fulfill the long-standing dream of mankind - to rise into the air and soar in it. However, due to the inability to control the direction of flight, dependence on weather and low speed balloon in many ways it did not suit humanity as a means of transport.
The first controlled flights on heavier-than-air vehicles occurred at the very beginning of the 20th century, when the Wright brothers and Alberto Santos-Dumont independently experimented with light gliders equipped with motors. It was these aircraft that became the prototype of passenger airliners, which over decades connected countries and continents and allowed the world to become truly global, significantly speeding up the movement of passengers over long distances and becoming one of the most important inventions 20th century.
Antibiotics
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered that samples contaminated with the common green mold Penicillium , Colonies of staphylococcus bacteria do not develop. It became obvious that the fungus secretes a substance that has a detrimental effect on bacterial cells. This accidental discovery, made in the 20th century, became one of the most significant in the history of medicine, as it helped to isolate first penicillin (1938), and then other antibiotic substances, with the help of which deadly bacterial diseases were cured.
Unfortunately, the advent of antibiotics also led to some Negative consequences who also changed the world. The widespread and not always justified use of antibiotics leads to the fact that known bacteria mutate, taking on forms that are resistant to drugs. This phenomenon poses a danger to humanity because it complicates the treatment of bacteria infected with resistant forms and requires lengthy and expensive research to find new antibiotics.
Nuclear weapon
In August 1945, the most powerful explosions in the history of the planet were heard in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the United States of America tested the first nuclear weapon, opening a new page in the history of means of destruction. Long years of studying radioactive materials have borne fruit; humanity has managed to split the atom and obtain a source of energy with colossal destructive power. In 1949, nuclear weapons were tested for the first time by the Soviet Union. In subsequent years, Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea joined the “nuclear club.” The emergence of nuclear weapons and the very rapid increase in their number in the process cold war marked the beginning of a new era - from now on, humanity could virtually destroy the planet in a matter of hours, turning it into a desert unsuitable for habitation by most organisms.
However, despite all the potential danger of a new type of weapon, many researchers believe that its presence rather played a positive role in the history of the planet, since since its appearance, members of the nuclear club have never waged large-scale wars among themselves. The most dangerous weapon on the planet has become a kind of insurance against military conflicts, because now “everyone will lose” in it. This factor will be the most powerful deterrent argument in all conceivable international conflicts for many years to come.
Semiconductor electronics
For a long time, one of the main components of electronic devices were vacuum tubes, the use of which significantly limited the capabilities of technology: the tubes took a long time to heat up to reach operating parameters, were large in size, had low reliability and very high heat generation.
Work on the development of devices based on semiconductor elements began in the 1920s, however for a long time their use was not widespread. Even during the Second World War, when the need for computers, radio stations were as high as ever, they were still manufactured primarily on a tube basis. The first bipolar transistor was created in 1947, and the first MOS transistor, which forms the basis of all modern electronics, was created in 1960. Both types of transistors were based on semiconductors, which opened up practically limitless possibilities to improve electronics and microprocessors. Today almost anyone household appliance, even children's Railway battery-powered or mixer, have a microcircuit inside the body based on semiconductor elements. And for all electronic and computing devices, from calculators to laptops, semiconductor elements form the basis of the design. The performance of the elements of a modern audio player or TV (not to mention smartphones or computers) far exceeds the tube-based computers that occupied several rooms in research laboratories half a century ago.
Spacecraft
The first spacecraft - artificial satellite Earth - was successfully launched in 1957, approximately 25 years after the start of the Soviet space program. From that moment on, man began to explore not only the planet, but also the nearest space. 4 years later, Yuri Gagarin, the first cosmonaut in human history, became a hero of the whole world. Human spaceflight and the visit to the moon (first accomplished by US astronauts in 1969) are considered among the most significant achievements of mankind.
In addition to the invaluable contribution to science made by space programs USSR, USA and some other countries, the launch of spacecraft forever changed many areas of life of ordinary people. Satellite Internet, INMARSAT communications, GPS navigation, Google Maps photographs, images of celestial objects from the Hubble telescope, weather forecasts - this is just an incomplete list of what we owe to one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century - spacecraft, launched by a person.
Internet
The birthday of the Internet is considered to be October 29, 1969, when a communication session was held between the first two nodes of the ARPANET network, located at a distance of 640 km - at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). Within 4 years, thanks to the transatlantic cable, the network became international, connecting the USA, Great Britain and Norway.
Today it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the World Wide Web. Today, the number of people regularly using the Internet reaches 2.5 billion people. Another proof that thanks to her the world has changed beyond recognition is that today the largest companies in the world are not railway monopolies, oil giants, automakers and banks, but IT corporations like Apple, Google and Microsoft, which are still 40 years away no one heard back.
What invention of the 20th century do you consider the most important?
Many new things were invented in the 20th century. New construction projects were built, military equipment was developed, and space was explored. Let's try to note the most outstanding inventions and buildings that were made in the twentieth century and left a significant imprint on the history of mankind.
1. Titanic
This famous cruise ship of the British company White Star Line, the largest of its time, was launched on May 31, 1911. The construction of such a large steamship aroused truly enormous interest among people. Still would! Its length was as much as 268.83 m, its width reached 28.19 m, and its height reached 54 m. The liner could carry 2,556 passengers and another 892 crew members.
On April 2, 1912, the Titanic successfully passed sea trials on the water and a few days later set off on its first voyage. Only very wealthy people could get on board the ship, because... the ticket price reached 4,350 dollars (this is about 60 thousand at the modern exchange rate). But, unfortunately, the Titanic's maiden voyage turned out to be its last.
On April 10, 1912, she set sail from the port of Southampton with 1,316 passengers and 891 crew on board. The ultimate goal the trip was supposed to be the Irish port of Cobh... But on April 14, 1912, the ship crashed after colliding with an iceberg, as a result of the disaster more than 1,500 people died, only 704 survived....
2. Vostok spaceship
A real breakthrough in space exploration was human flight into outer space! It’s nice to know that Soviet scientists were the first to succeed in this matter. Spaceship Vostok, intended for flights in low-Earth orbit, was designed under the leadership of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
Only one cosmonaut could be on board the ship, and the flight duration was no more than five days. The launch of the first manned spacecraft took place on April 12, 1961, piloted by Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. “Vostok” made one revolution around our planet, spending 108 minutes on it.
3. Sydney Opera House
Perhaps the most striking symbol of Australia, besides the kangaroo, is the famous Sydney Opera House. This architectural structure(area 2.2 hectares), built in 1973, is recognized as one of the outstanding examples modern architecture(it is also called an architectural wonder of the world).
More than $100 million was spent on construction, and the construction itself lasted more than 15 years! In addition to the opera hall itself, there is also a concert hall, drama and chamber theater halls, several restaurants and a reception hall. The theater can accommodate 1,507 people at the same time. Here is the world's largest mechanical organ with ten thousand pipes.
4. First computer
IN modern world It's hard to imagine life without computers. But just recently, some 50-60 years ago, the creation of such a machine as a computer seemed like a pipe dream. After World War II, in 1946, the world learned about the creation in the United States of the first electronic computer, ENIAC, the development of which took more than half a million dollars and three years of time.
The chief designer was Charles Babbage, who went down in history as the inventor of the first prototype of a computer. The machine was enormous: it weighed about 28 tons and absorbed about 140 kW of energy. The computers that were invented before him were a kind of prototype of ENIAC. Although he himself, whose power is equal to thousands of adding machines, was first called an “electronic calculator.”
5. Nuclear weapons
Sooner or later, humanity would learn to create weapons of mass destruction, which actually include nuclear weapons. The United States was the first to achieve success in this area. Project to create atomic bomb, which was called the Manhattan Project (led by Leslie Groves), was carried out on July 16, 1945.
The first atomic bomb weighed 2722 kg, the power reached 18 kt in TNT equivalent. The creation of such weapons led to tragic consequences: explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For a relatively short time, the United States had a monopoly in this matter. Already in 1949, on August 29, near the city of Semipalatinsk, the first Soviet nuclear device, codenamed “RDS-1,” was tested at a test site.
The presence of nuclear weapons in the USSR made it possible to maintain parity between the two states. Currently global community tries to protect himself from this type of weapon and tries to prevent its further spread, as well as try to destroy what has already been created.
Twelve
greatest inventions of the 20th century
The twentieth century was primarily a century of technology. Five of those marked France Press the greats achievements relate to the field of medicine and biology. Seven - to physics and technology: aviation, television, fission atomic nucleus, computer, laser, space flights and the Internet.
Aviation
In 1903, bicycle manufacturers the Wright brothers made the first ever powered flight. In 1930, British engineer Frank Whittle registered a patent for jet engine. As a result of independent research, in 1939 the German company Heinkel created the first jet aircraft, the He-178.
In 1949, Britain's Comet I, the first passenger jet, began flying - the predecessor of the famous Boeing 747, which two decades later made international travel fast, comfortable and cheap. Today, aviation engineers predict the future of megaplanes capable of carrying up to 700 passengers, the reincarnation of supersonic Concordes and, somewhat more fantastically, flying cars.
A television
The Scottish engineer John Logie Bird has the greatest right to be considered the father of television. In 1923, he filed a patent for a device that created an eight-line image, resulting in sales of what was later dubbed the “television set” in the 1930s. In 1932, the British BBC began regular television broadcasting for the first time in history. Today, television reaches anywhere on the earth - through relay stations or radio relay lines, via cables or satellites. Philosophers are still debating whether this is a blessing or a disaster for civilization.
Penicillin
The miracle drug of the century was discovered in 1928 by Scottish researcher Alexander Fleming, who noticed that mold was killing a culture of bacteria he had grown. It took a decade before this discovery became widespread. Scientists from the University of Oxford have found a way to clean up mold, which has made it possible to begin using it for medical purposes. Began in 1943 industrial production penicillin, significantly accelerated by the Second World War. Penicillin saved countless lives and gave birth to an entire family of antibiotics.
Nuclear fission
The atomic age began in 1942, when the Manhattan Project facility at the University of Chicago exceeded the critical mass threshold. The first explosion of an atomic bomb took place on July 16, 1945 at the Los Alamos test site, New Mexico. Two bombs, one uranium and one plutonium, exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki the following month. After the war, rivalry between the USSR and the USA dragged the world into a dangerous arms race. Today, in developed countries, nuclear energy is widely used for peaceful purposes.
Computer
The first electromechanical computer, Colossus, was created by British mathematician Alan Turing in 1943 to break Nazi encryption codes. Subsequent inventions made the computer smaller and increased its speed thousands of times. The transistor (1947), integrated circuit (1959), and microprocessor (1970) speeded up data processing. The hard drive (1956), modem (1980), and mouse (1983) made this data more accessible. The future lies with computers built into wrist watch, and behind refrigerators, reminding the owner that the house has run out of milk.
Birth control pills
Created in 1954 by American doctor Gregory Pincus, these pills - a mixture of two hormones that suppress ovulation - made a real revolution in social sphere and sexual relationships. Women gained effective control over pregnancy, gaining the opportunity to choose when to have children. Women's rights to work and sexual freedom were protected, leading to unprecedented political and economic emancipation.
DNA
On February 28, 1953, British scientist Francis Crick announced to his friends in the Cambridge pub The Eagle: “I have discovered the secret of life!” Crick and the American James Watson discovered that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the carrier of heredity.
Unraveling the genetic code of humans, animals and plants has made it possible to increase resistance to disease and improve the quality of food. In the coming decades, humanity is expected to gain the ability to gene therapy for cancer, heart disease, hemophilia, diabetes and many other dangerous diseases.
Laser
This device is based on the theory of radiation stimulation, formulated by Albert Einstein back in 1917. But it took 40 years before Gordon Gould, a doctoral student at New York's Columbia University, turned the idea into reality. The discovery embroiled Gould in a 30-year battle over patent priority. Meanwhile, his discovery has found countless applications, from welding and medicine to computers and video.
Organ transplantation
The key date is 1967, when South African doctor Christian Barnard performed the world's first human heart transplant. As related branches of medicine developed, reducing the rejection of transplants, doctors mastered the replacement of hands, intestines, skin, retinas and even testicles. Today on the agenda is a brain cell transplant, which will cure Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and “xenotransplantation” - the transplantation of animal organs into humans.
Test tube baby
Louise Brown turned 21 this year. A young Englishwoman became history's first "test tube baby" - grown from an egg removed from the mother's body and fertilized. This technology has given many previously childless families hope for procreation.
Space flights
The space age began on October 4, 1957 with the launch of the first Soviet satellite. The first man in space was USSR citizen Yuri Gagarin in 1961. In 1969. American astronauts landed on the surface of the Moon. Later, countries went into space Western Europe, China and Japan.
Today, satellites are used to establish cheap and high-quality telephone communications, television and data transmission. And also for navigation, weather forecasting and obtaining scientific data. Unmanned vehicles travel to other planets. In the near future, it is planned to create long-term habitable stations in low-Earth orbit.
Internet
In 1969, the world's first transfer of switched data packets between two remote computers was carried out in Southern California. The Pentagon's secret project became a worldwide social and cultural phenomenon thanks to the easy-to-use and intuitively transparent ideology of hyperlinks and transitions without a single central database, developed in 1989 by the British Tim Bernes-Lee.
Today the number of Internet users has reached 183 million; by 2003, according to some estimates, it may exceed a billion.
The list, as you can see, is quite impressive. The people of the 20th century did not waste the 100 years allotted to them in vain. And yet, the main discovery of the second millennium occurred long before our century. The inventor of printing, Johannes Gutenberg, is recognized as the Man of the Millennium. However, this is not the opinion of France Press, but of the Sunday Times.
Gazeta.Ru
In December 1903, the first controllable aircraft was created by the Wright brothers, called Flyer 1. It was not a story, but its main feature was the developed new theory of flight “on three axes of rotation.” It was this theory that allowed aircraft manufacturing to develop further, focusing the attention of scientists not on the installation of more powerful parts, but on the efficiency of their use. Flyer 1 stayed in the air for almost a minute, flying 260 meters.Computer
The invention of the computer and the first full-fledged programming language is credited to the German engineer Konrad Zuse. The first fully functional computer was presented to the public in 1941 and was called the Z3. It should be noted that the Z3 had all the properties that computers have today.After the war, the Z3, like its predecessors, was destroyed. However, its successor Z4 survived, from which sales of computers began.
Internet
Initially, the Internet was conceived by the US Department of Defense as a reliable channel for transmitting information in case war broke out. Several research centers were commissioned to develop the first network, which eventually were able to create the first Arpanet server. Over time, the server began to grow, and more and more people connected to it scientific workers for information exchange.The first remote connection (at a distance of 640 km) was made by Charlie Cline and Billy Duvalley. This happened in 1969 - this day is considered the birthday of the Internet. After this operation, the sphere began to develop at tremendous speed. In 1971, a program for sending electronic mail was developed, and in 1973 the network became international.
Space exploration
The turning point in the 20th century relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union was developments in space exploration. The first artificial satellite was launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957.The first scientist who put forward the idea of creating a rocket traveling between planets was K. Tsiolkovsky. By 1903, he managed to design it. The main thing in his development was the speed of the aircraft he created, which is used to this day in rocket science.
The first vehicle to visit was the V-2 rocket, launched in the summer of 1944. It was this event that laid the foundation for further accelerated development, demonstrating the great capabilities of missiles.
Over the past few centuries, we have made countless discoveries that have helped to significantly improve the quality of our Everyday life and understand how the world around us works. Assessing the full importance of these discoveries is very difficult, if not almost impossible. But one thing is for sure - some of them literally changed our lives once and for all. From penicillin and screw pump to X-rays and electricity, here is a list of 25 greatest discoveries and inventions of mankind.
25. Penicillin
If Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming had not discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1928, we would still be dying from diseases such as stomach ulcers, abscesses, streptococcal infections, scarlet fever, leptospirosis, Lyme disease and many others.
24. Mechanical watch
Photo: pixabay
There are conflicting theories about what the first ones actually looked like. mechanical watches, but most often researchers adhere to the version that they were created in 723 AD by the Chinese monk and mathematician Ai Xing (I-Hsing). It was this seminal invention that allowed us to measure time.
23. Copernican heliocentrism
Photo: WP/wikimedia
In 1543, almost on his deathbed, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus unveiled his landmark theory. According to the works of Copernicus, it became known that the Sun is ours. planetary system, and all its planets revolve around our star, each in its own orbit. Until 1543, astronomers believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe.
22. Blood circulation
Photo: Bryan Brandenburg
One of the most important discoveries in medicine was the discovery of the circulatory system, which was announced in 1628 by the English physician William Harvey. He became the first person to describe the entire circulatory system and properties of the blood that the heart pumps throughout our body from the brain to the tips of the fingers.
21. Screw pump
Photo: David Hawgood / geographic.org.uk
One of the most famous ancient Greek scientists, Archimedes, is considered the author of one of the world's first water pumps. His device was a rotating corkscrew that pushed water up a pipe. This invention advanced irrigation systems to new level and is still used in many wastewater treatment plants.
20. Gravity
Photo: wikimedia
Everyone knows this story - Isaac Newton, the famous English mathematician and physicist, discovered gravity after an apple fell on his head in 1664. Thanks to this event, we learned for the first time why objects fall down and why planets revolve around the Sun.
19. Pasteurization
Photo: wikimedia
Pasteurization was discovered in the 1860s by French scientist Louis Pasteur. It is a heat treatment process during which pathogenic microorganisms are destroyed in certain foods and drinks (wine, milk, beer). This discovery has had a significant impact on public health and development. Food Industry worldwide.
18. Steam engine
Photo: pixabay
Everyone knows that modern civilization was forged in factories built during the Industrial Revolution, and that it all happened using steam engines. The steam engine was created a long time ago, but over the last century it has been significantly improved by three British inventors: Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen and the most famous of them, James Watt.
17. Air conditioning
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev / wikimedia
Primitive climate control systems have existed since ancient times, but they changed significantly when the first modern electric air conditioner was introduced in 1902. It was invented by a young engineer named Willis Carrier, a native of Buffalo, New York.
16. Electricity
Photo: pixabay
The fateful discovery of electricity is attributed to the English scientist Michael Faraday. Among his key discoveries, it is worth noting the principles of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. Faraday's experiments also led to the creation of the first generator, which became the forerunner of the huge generators that today produce the electricity we know in everyday life.
15. DNA
Photo: pixabay
Many believe that it was the American biologist James Watson and the English physicist Francis Crick who discovered it in the 1950s, but in fact this macromolecule was first identified in the late 1860s by the Swiss chemist Friedrich Maischer Miescher). Then, several decades after Maischer's discovery, other scientists conducted a series of studies that finally helped us clarify how an organism passes its genes to the next generation and how the work of its cells is coordinated.
14. Anesthesia
Photo: Wikimedia
Simple forms of anesthesia, such as opium, mandrake and alcohol, have been used by people for a long time, and the first mention of them dates back to 70 AD. But pain management moved to a new level in 1847, when American surgeon Henry Bigelow first introduced ether and chloroform into his practice, making extremely painful invasive procedures much more tolerable.
13. Theory of relativity
Photo: Wikimedia
Including two related theories of Albert Einstein, special and general theory relativity, the theory of relativity, published in 1905, transformed the entire theoretical physics and astronomy of the 20th century and eclipsed the 200-year-old theory of mechanics proposed by Newton. Einstein's theory of relativity has become the basis for much of the scientific work of our time.
12. X-rays
Photo: Nevit Dilmen / wikimedia
German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen accidentally discovered X-rays in 1895 when he observed fluorescence produced by a cathode ray tube. For this pivotal discovery, the scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901, the first of its kind in the physical sciences.
11. Telegraph
Photo: wikipedia
Since 1753, many researchers have experimented with establishing long-distance communication using electricity, but a significant breakthrough did not come until several decades later, when Joseph Henry and Edward Davy invented the electrical relay in 1835. Using this device they created the first telegraph 2 years later.
10. Periodic table of chemical elements
Photo: sandbh/wikimedia
In 1869, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev noticed that if you arrange chemical elements Based on their atomic mass, they are conditionally arranged into groups with similar properties. Based on this information, he created the first periodic table, one of the greatest discoveries in chemistry, which was later nicknamed the periodic table in his honor.
9. Infrared rays
Photo: AIRS/flickr
Infrared radiation was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1800 when he studied the heating effect of different colors of light by using a prism to separate the light into a spectrum and measuring the changes with thermometers. Today infrared radiation used in many areas of our lives, including meteorology, heating systems, astronomy, tracking heat-intensive objects and many other areas.
8. Nuclear magnetic resonance
Photo: Mj-bird / wikimedia
Today, nuclear magnetic resonance is continually used as an extremely accurate and effective diagnostic tool in the medical field. This phenomenon was first described and calculated by American physicist Isidor Rabi in 1938 while observing molecular beams. In 1944, for this discovery, the American scientist was awarded Nobel Prize in physics.
7. Moldboard plow
Photo: wikimedia
Invented in the 18th century, the moldboard plow was the first plow that not only dug up the soil, but also stirred it, which made it possible to cultivate even very stubborn and rocky ground. Without this weapon Agriculture, as we know it today, would not have existed in northern Europe or central America.
6. Camera obscura
Photo: wikimedia
The predecessor of modern cameras and video cameras was the camera obscura (translated a dark room), which was an optical device used by artists to create quick sketches while traveling outside their studios. A hole in one of the walls of the device served to create an inverted image of what was happening outside the chamber. The picture was displayed on the screen (on the wall of the dark box opposite the hole). These principles have been known for centuries, but in 1568 the Venetian Daniel Barbaro modified the camera obscura by adding converging lenses.
5. Paper
Photo: pixabay
The first examples of modern paper are often considered to be papyrus and amate, which were used by ancient Mediterranean peoples and pre-Columbian Americans. But it would not be entirely correct to consider them real paper. References to the first production of writing paper date back to China during the reign of the Eastern Han Empire (25-220 AD). The first paper is mentioned in chronicles dedicated to the activities of the judicial dignitary Cai Lun.
4. Teflon
Photo: pixabay
The material that keeps your pan from sticking was actually invented completely by accident by American chemist Roy Plunkett when he was looking for a replacement refrigerant to keep food safe. home life. During one of his experiments, the scientist discovered a strange, slippery resin, which later became better known as Teflon.
3. Theory of evolution and natural selection
Photo: wikimedia
Inspired by his observations during his second voyage of exploration in 1831-1836, Charles Darwin began writing his famous theory of evolution and natural selection, which, according to scientists around the world, became a key description of the mechanism of development of all life on Earth
2. Liquid crystals
Photo: William Hook / flickr
If the Austrian botanist and physiologist Friedrich Reinitzer had not discovered liquid crystals during testing physical and chemical properties various cholesterol derivatives in 1888, today you would not know what LCD televisions or flat panel LCD monitors are.
1. Polio vaccine
Photo: GDC Global / flickr
On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Jonas Salk announced that he had successfully tested a vaccine against polio, a virus that causes a severe chronic disease. In 1952, an epidemic of the disease diagnosed 58,000 people in the United States and claimed 3,000 innocent lives. This spurred Salk on a quest for salvation, and now the civilized world is safe at least from this disaster.