Inventions and Discoveries

A fact-by-fact look at inventions throughout history, from flint

tools and the wheel to the Internet and beyond.

• Comprehensive details on inventions that changed the world.

• Geological discoveries and medical breakthroughs.

• Full-color photographs.

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INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES

32

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK....................................................................................4

TIMELINE – AN AMAZING STORY............................................................6• Timeline: 250,000 BC STONE TOOLS to 1770 STRUCTURE OF WATER• The first clocks • The atomic clock

TIMELINE continued .....................................................................................................8• Timeline: 1794 THE COTTON GIN to 1943 COLOSSUS• Invention of printing • Invention of photography

TIMELINE continued...............................................................................10• Timeline: 1946 CARBON DATING to 2004 A NEW PLANET • Nuclear power • Mathematics

EARLY INVENTORS...................................................................................................12• Timeline of early inventions • Early farming • Metals • Invention of writing • Invention of painting • Invention of pottery • Papyrus paper

NATURAL WORLD......................................................................................................14• Timeline of discoveries • Dinosaur discoveries • Charles Darwin• Homo Erectus • Continental drift • The story of DNA

SCIENCE ALL AROUND.........................................................................................16• Elements discovery timeline • Periodic table • The first microscope • A new carbon • High energy collisions • Lasers • The story of genetic engineering • Electricity timeline

EXPLORING SPACE...................................................................................................18• Space discoveries timeline • Rocket pioneers• Invention of the telescope • Solar System discoveries• Hubble space telescope • Life on Mars • It came from space

HUMAN BODY ...............................................................................................................20• Discovery timeline • Blood • Human genome project • Discovering the human body

MEDICINE.............................................................................................................................22• Medical timeline • The stethoscope • Antiseptic surgery • Alexander Fleming • Discovering X-Rays • First test-tube baby • Edward Jenner • Surgical timeline

EARLY INDUSTRY.......................................................................................................24• Textiles timeline • The Jacquard loom • Muntz metal• The story of mass production • The construction industry • Invention of dynamite • Otis safety elevator • Fantastic plastic • Iron and steel timeline

ENGINE POWER ...........................................................................................................26• Road vehicle timeline • Invention of the engine • Henry Ford • Oil • Steam power • Super steam• Fastest on four wheels • On the road timeline

PLANES AND BOATS ...............................................................................................28• Aircraft timeline • The first flight • Orville and Wilbur Wright• Inventing the jet engine • Test pilots • Balloon inventors • First submarine • Ship innovations • Invention of the hovercraft • Longitude

COMMUNICATIONS .................................................................................................30• Telegraph and telephone timeline • Chappe’s telegraph• Morse code • Invention of the postage stamp • Alexander Graham Bell • Invention of direct dialing • Mobile phones and text messaging • Video phones

COMMUNICATIONS continued....................................................................32• Radio timeline • Guglielmo Marconi • Portable radios• Clockwork radio • John Logie Baird • Satellites• The electronic television pioneers • Television timeline

HOME AND FASHION............................................................................................34• Home inventions timeline • Invention of the Dyson• Toilet inventions • The light bulb • Invention of jeans • Invention of athletic shoes • Baby fashion • Nylon • The Mackintosh • Invention of the bra

LEISURE AND TOYS.................................................................................................36• Recorded music timeline • Musical inventions • Edison’s phonograph • The Walkman • Digital music• Toys and games • Invention of basketball • Inventing special effects • At the movies timeline

FOOD AND DRINK ....................................................................................................38• Growing food timeline • Inventing the sandwich • Coca-Cola • Louis Pasteur • Clarence Birdseye • Inventing cornflakes• Invention of the chip • Chocolate chip cookies by accident • Chocolate discovery and invention timeline

THE COMPUTER............................................................................................................40• Computers timeline • Ancient computer (abacus) • The first computers • Key developments • Inventions for the computer • Computers all around • Alan Turing

INTERNET AND COMPUTER GAMES ...................................................42• Internet timeline • Tim Berners-Lee • Inventing the Internet• Invention of email • Mosaic web browser • Pong • Computer games timeline • A fast-growing invention

ROBOTS .................................................................................................................................44• Robotics timeline • Robot security guard • Domestic robots• Cyber pets • Inventing hazbots • Invention of mini-robots • Robots in space • George Devol

INVENTORS.......................................................................................................................46• A–Z inventors listing • Archimedes • Galileo • Da Vinci • Newton • Gutenberg • Montgolfier brothers • Morse• Braille • Edison • Eastman • Curie • Einstein • Fermi • Crick and Watson

INVENTIONS.....................................................................................................................52• A–Z inventions listing • Inventor Words of Wisdom• What is a patent? • Famous patents • Patent problems • It seemed like a good idea at the time... • Concrete furniture

GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................................58

INDEX .......................................................................................................................................60

CONTENTS

This edition published in the United States in 2006 by School Specialty Publishing, a member of the School Specialty Family.

Copyright © ticktock Entertainment Ltd 2005 First published in Great Britain in 2005 by ticktock Media Ltd. Printed in China.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a central retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by

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Nationality: Scottish-born AmericanProfession: Teacher and inventor

Biographical information: Bell leftschool at 14 and trained in thefamily business of teaching elocution(public speaking). His family movedto Canada in 1870. He trainedpeople in his father’s system ofteaching deaf people to speak.

Most famous inventon: Workingat night with his assistant, ThomasWatson, he made the first workingtelephone in 1876.

Inventors at work: The telegraphalready used electricity to conveymessages over long distances. Thetelephone had to turn sound intoelectricity and back again. Making it work was a challenge, which Belland Watson solved by hard work overmany months.

Eureka moment: The first wordsspoken on a telephone were, “Mr. Watson, come here, I wantyou!” Bell was testing out his newlyinvented telephone when he spiltsome chemicals on his clothes andcalled to his assistant for help.

T E L E G R A P H &T E L E P H O N E

TIMELINE

1794 – Chappe’s telegraphClaude Chappe begins theconstruction of his telegraphacross France.

1825 – Electro-magnetThe electro-magnet is invented.This is vital for the later inventionof the telegraph.

1837 – Five-needletelegraph

William Fothergill Cooke andCharles Wheatstone invent the five-needle telegraph. It works bysending an electric current alongwires that move two of the fiveneedles, either left or right, sothat they both point to one letterat a time.

1842 – Fax machineThe fax machine is invented byAlexander Bain, a physicist.

1843 – Morse telegraphMorse demonstrates his telegraphto the American Congress, andthey give him $30,000 to build atelegraph line from WashingtonD.C.to Baltimore, a distance of 40 miles.

1844 – Morse’s messageMorse sends the first message on the new telegraph line. It reads, “What hath GodWrought.”

1858 – Atlantic cableA cable is laid between America and Britain so thattelegraphs can be sent across the Atlantic. The cable failswithin a month.

1860 – First telephoneGerman teacher Philipp Reisinvents a simple telephone. Reisbuilds just 12 telephones beforehe dies. One of Reis’s telephonesreaches a student at EdinburghUniversity. That student student isAlexander Graham Bell.


TIMELINE

1861 – The pantelgraphThe first fax machine is sold. It is called the Pantelgraph.

Telegraphs can be sent from one end ofAmerica to the other.

1865 – Public faxThe first public fax service opens in France, used to send photographs tonewspapers.

1866 – Atlantic cableThe ship, the Great Eastern, lays asecond cable along the Atlantic seafloor.

1876 – Bell’s telephoneAlexander Graham Bell invents the firstsuccessful telephone.

1878 – Thomas EdisonAmerican inventor Thomas Edison hasalso been working on a telephone, butBell beats him to it. Edison invents amicrophone that makes the voice of theperson speaking much clearer to thelistener.

1880 – First pay phoneThe first pay-phones opened in NewYork.

There are now nine separate cablesbetween America and Britain.

1892 – Direct-dialThe first direct-dial telephones becomeoperational.

1915 – First Atlantic callFirst telephone calls across the Atlantic.

1936 – COAXIAL CABLEThe first coaxial cable is laid. This allowsmany telephone messages to pass alongthe same cable.

1963 – 160 MILLIONThe number of telephones in the worldreaches 160 million.

1988 – FIBER-OPTIC CABLEThe first fiber-optic cable is laid acrossthe Atlantic. Now, telephone messagesare carried on pulses of light.

When the American colonies declared their

independence in 1776, it took 48 days for the

news to cross the Atlantic. The arrival of the

telegraph in 1843 and the telephone in 1876 meant that

news could get to anywhere in the world almost instantly.

The beginning of radio communication in 1896 meant that

sounds could travel vast distances without the need for

cables. When television arrived in 1936, moving pictures

and sounds had the capability to be seen by millions at

the same time anywhere in the world.

COMMUNICATIONS

1973 — First mobile callThe first call made on a mobile phoneis made in April by Dr. Martin Cooper,general manager of Motorola. He callshis rival, Joel Engel, the head ofresearch at Bell Laboratories.

1992 — First textThe first text message is sent. It isreported that the message, “MerryChristmas,” was from Neil Papworth ofVodaphone.

2000 — Camera phoneThe camera phone is created by Sharp

in Japan. It is called the J-Sh04.

August 2001The first month that over one billiontext messages are sent by mobilephone.

• In the early1800s, postage in Britain wascharged bydistance and thenumber of sheetsin a letter. Therecipient paid forthe postage not the sender.

• In 1837, retired Englishschoolteacher Rowland Hill wrotea pamphlet calling for cheap,

standard postage rates,regardless of distance.

• The British Post Officetook up Hill’s ideas,and, in May 1840, issued the first adhesive postage stamps.

• The stamps were printed withblack ink and become known asPenny Blacks.

• Samuel Morse invented Morsecode in 1838. He first got theidea for the code in 1832 whenhe was told about experimentswith electricity.

• Morse’s idea was to develop acode based on interrupting theflow of electricity so that amessage could be heard.

• Morse code works very simply.Electricity is either switched onor off. When it is on, it travelsalong a wire. The other end ofthe wire the electric current caneither make a sound or beprinted out.

• A short electric current, a dit,is printed as a dot and a longerdah is printed as a dash.

• In 1793, France was at war. A quick way to warn of an invasion was needed. In 1794, Claude Chappe invented the telegraph.

• Chappe’s telegraph used two arms at the top of a tall tower.Ropes and pulleys moved thearms into different positionseach representing a letter.

• The towers were positioned 6 to 20 feet apart, and themessages were read by peopleusing telescopes.

• At first, telephone connectionswere made by operatorspushing plugs into sockets.

• In 1889, in Kansas City,undertaker Almon Strowgerdiscovered that his localoperator was married to a rival undertaker and wasdiverting his calls to herhusband.

• Strowger invented the firstautomatic telephone switch. The remote-controlled switch that could connect one phone to any of several others byelectrical pulses.

CHAPPE’S TELEGRAPH

THE INVENTION OFDIRECT DIALING

THE INVENTION OF THE POSTAGE STAMP

MOBILE PHONES AND TEXT MESSAGINGThe full Morse code is basedon combining dots and dashes

to represent the letters ofthe alphabet.

Wheatstone and Cooke’sfive-needle telegraph.

The main pole of thetelegraph was about

20 feet tall.

Bell experimented for many years with different ways of sendingand receiving spoken messages. This Gallows Frame transmitter

was one of his earliest machines.

•The TIMELINE continues onpage 31.

• See page 48 SAMUEL MORSE

For moreinformation on Edison:

• See page 36 EDISON’SPHONOGRAPH

• See page 49 THOMAS ALVA EDISON

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL 1847 – 1922

MORSE CODE

A • –B – • • •C – • – •D – • •E •F • • – •G – – •H • • • •I • •J • – – – K – • –L • – • •M – –

N – •O – – – P • – – •Q – – • –R • – •S • • • T –U • • –V • • • –W • – –X – • • –Y – • – –Z – – • •

Alexander Graham Bell opens the New York to Chicago telephoneline in 1892.

• The first videotelephone with ascreen for moving pictures wasinvented by AT&T in 1964. It allowed people to look at the people they were calling.

• Using mobile phones to recordvideos started with the creation of3G mobile phones by Dr. IrwinJacobs in 2003.

VIDEO PHONES

54

c 3000 BCWRITINGThe Sumerians of southernMesopotamia invent writing.Mesopotamian texts, still inexistence today, range fromsimple lists to complex stories.

Long before there wereclocks, people relied onregular, natural events tokeep track of time. Theyworked, ate, and sleptaccording to the rising ofthe sun. Over time, peopleinvented many ways totrack the passing of time.

WATER CLOCKS c AD 100 Water ran through this ancientChinese clepsydra, or water clock,over a set period of time. As eachsection of the staircase-like timepieceemptied, people knew an exactamount of time hadpassed.

CANDLE CLOCKS c AD 800When candles were used for tellingthe time, they were often divided upinto sections that each took an hour to burn.

SUNDIALSFor hundreds of years, people haveused sundials to tell the time. The sundial’spointer casts ashadow onto ascale markedon the flat base.The scale shows thehours of the day.

PENDULUM CLOCKSIn the 1650s, there was a greatbreakthrough in timekeeping when aDutch scientist, Christiaan Huygensbuilt the first pendulum clock.

Huygens designed a mechanismthat used the swingof a pendulum tocontrol the rotationof weight-drivengearwheels insidethe clock. This use of the pendulum had originally beenthought of bymathematicianGalileo Galilei.

6

c 250,000STONE TOOLSPaleolithic (Early Stone Age)human beings make simplestone tools, like hand axes, byflaking a piece of flint from alarge stone then chippingaway smaller flakes to createsharp edges for cutting.

c 30,000 BCBOWS AND ARROWSCave paintings from 30,000BC onwards show Late StoneAge humans using bows andarrows to hunt animals.Hunters also use a variety of snares and traps.

c 1000 BCGREEK ALPHABETThe ancient Greeks use a 24-letter alphabet adapted from the Phoenician alphabet.Each symbol in an alphabetrepresents a sound rather thana word.

AD 200 ROMAN CENTRAL HEATINGThe Romans heat using centralheating systems calledhypocausts. Heat from fires is drawn into an open spaceunder the floor and then risesupward.

1400CANNONIn Asia, bamboo-tube gunsuse gunpowder to shootarrows. By AD 1400, metalcannons that fire stonecannonballs are in use acrossEurope.

1608TELESCOPEHans Lippershey invents thetelescope. Italian scientist,Galileo, builds his owntelescope in 1609 and makes many new astronomicaldiscoveries.

1770S–1780SSTRUCTURE OF WATERFrench chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier discoversthat water is a chemicalcombination of two gases(hydrogen and oxygen) thatare found in air.

1772–1774OXYGENTwo scientists workingindependently discoveroxygen—Swedish chemistCarl Wilhelm Scheele,around 1772, and Englishchemist Joseph Priestly in1774.

7

9000–7000 BCFIRST FARMERSPeople discover thatdomesticating animals, suchas sheep and goats, gives amore regular meat supplythan hunting. Cultivation ofcrops, such as wheat andbarley, begins.

c 7000 BCMAKING FIRENeolithic (Late Stone Age)people discover how to makefire by using simple tools ftoproduce friction and flints tocause sparks.

c 3500 BCTHE WHEELWheels are first used inMesopotamia (modern-dayIraq) as a turntable formaking pottery. By 3500 BC,wheels are used on primativevehicles.

1756CHEMISTRYThe English scientist JosephBlack discovers the gascarbon dioxide when henotes that a substance inexhaled air combines withquicklime in a chemicalreaction.

c 2000 BCCHARIOTSOn the southwestern fringesof the Asia,the lightweight,two-wheeled, two-horsechariot develops. Chariotsquickly become war vehiclesin civilizations such as Egypt.

c 2500 BCGLASSGlass is made by heatingsand with limestone and woodash. The method for makingglass is probably discoveredby accident.

1455PRINTING PRESSGerman Johannes Gutenbergdevelops movable type anddesigns and builds the firstprinting press. In 1455,Gutenberg prints his first book, a Latin bible.

The atomic clock was inventedby English physicist Louis Essenin the 1950s.

• Atomic clocks use the energychanges that take place inatoms to keep track of time.

• Atomic clocks are so accuratethey lose or gain no more thana second once every two orthree millions years!

THE ATOMIC CLOCK

THE FIRST CLOCKS

Model of a Mesopotamianwheeled-vehicle, c 2000 BC.

An ancient Egyptian wallcarving showing a chariot.

Galileo’s telescope

Tool making dates back even further than this timeline, to Homohabilis, which means handy man, who lived 2 million years ago.

Ever since the Paleolithic people of the Stone Age invented simple tools for

digging and cutting, inventions have changed the way human beings live.

Our natural curiosity about the world around us has led us to search for more

information about our planet and our ancestors. This timeline tracks the last 250,000

years and looks at some of the groundbreaking moments in human history.

• See page 47 GALILEO GALILEI for information on Galileo and pendulums.

Water clock

AN AMAZING STORY

What secrets are still to bediscovered about our planetand our ancestors?

A page from the Gutenberg Bible

The USNBS–4atomicclock.

A flint hand axe, c 250,000

4746

INVENTORSAn inventor is anyone who thinks of something new to make or a

new way to make or do something. We do not know the names of

most of the inventors who have influenced our lives, or exactly

when they made their breakthroughs. But many inventors are famous, and we

even know about the ‘eureka moment’ when they had their brilliant idea.

Nationality: Greek

Profession: Mathematician

Biographical information:Archimedes was born and worked in the city of Syracuse in Sicily,although he studied at Alexandria,Egypt. He was killed when Romansoldiers conquered Syracuse.

Most famous invention: Whilewondering about how to test if a crown was made of pure gold,Archimedes discovered the principleof buoyancy – if an object is placed

in a fluid, it will displace its ownvolume of fluid. This is now knownas Archimedes’ principle.

Eureka moment: Archimedes hadthe original “eureka” moment.Getting into a bath he noticed thatthe water rose up the sides. Hisbody was displacing its own volumeof water. He raced into the street,without any clothes, shouting,“Eureka” (I’ve found it)!

Nationality: EnglishProfession: Mathematician

Biographical information:Newton went to CambridgeUniversity in 1661, but his studieswere interrupted by an outbreak ofplague that closed the university fortwo years. During this period offorced idleness, Newton did most of his best thinking. In 1667,he was appointed professor ofmathematics at Cambridge.

• Most of his work is contained inhis books Principia Mathematica(1687) and Opticks (1704).

Most famous discovery:Newton is best known for his theoryof universal gravitation—that thereis an attractive force between all the objects in the universe, and thisforce is called gravity. Newton used his theory to discover themathematical laws that govern the motion of every object in theuniverse. The movement of anyobject, be it a pick-up truck or aplanet, can be explained andpredicted by what is known asNewtonian physics.

Other discoveries:• A comprehensive theory of light

that explained how lenses workedand how white light could be splitinto colors.

• A system of arithmetic called calculus.

• Newton built a reflecting telescopethat used a curved mirror to givea better image.

Newton Stories:• Newton is supposed to have

thought up the theory ofgravitation after watching anapple fall from a tree.

• While studying light, Newtonpushed blunt needles into thecorners of his eyes to see whateffect squashing his eyeballs hadon his vision.

Nationality: Italian


Biographical information:The son of a musician, Galileo wentto the University of Pisa to studymedicine, but eventually became a professor of mathematics. During the 1630s, Galileo wasarrested and imprisoned by theCatholic Church because of hisscientific views.

Most famous invention:Galileo is widely considered to be the founder of modernexperimental science. Heestablished the principle thatscientific theories should be basedon data obtained fromexperiments.

Eureka moment: Galileo was ableto devise a mathematical formulato describe the motion of fallingobjects. The story that he droppedidentical weights of iron andfeathers from the Leaning Tower of Pisa may not be true, butGalileo did establish that allobjects fall at the same speed, no matter what their weight.

Other discoveries: Galileo wasalso interested in astronomy. He did not invent the telescope,but he built his own in 1609.Galileo was able to observe thecraters on Earth’s moon, hediscovered that Jupiter has fourmoons, and he was the firstperson to describe the rings ofSaturn.

A T O ZINVENTORSFranklin, BenjaminAmerican statesman, scientist andwriter Benjamin Franklin wasfascinated by the discovery ofelectricity. In 1752, convinced thatthunderstorms were electric, heproved it by flying a special kiteinto a storm. The lightning struck thekite and electricity travelled downthe string. Franklin realized thatbuildings could be protected fromthunderbolts if the electricity wasconducted through a metal spike onthe roof of a building to the groundvia a thick wire. Franklin hadinvented a lightning conductor.

Galilei, GalileoGalileo was so intrigued by theswinging of the incense burner inPisa’s cathedral, it inspired him towork with pendulums. Galileomeasured the time it took to makea complete swing and discoveredthat it took the same amount oftime to get back to where itstarted, even when the size of theswing changed. Galileoexperimented with pendulums formany years, but by the time hethought of using a pendulum’s evenswing to keep a clock runningsmoothly, he was old and totallyblind.

Gillette, King CAdvised by a colleague to invent“something that would be used andthrown away,” Gillette invented thedisposable razor blade and newsafety razor. Constantly having tobuy new blades was not popularwith customers, but never having touse a “cut-throat” razor again was!Gillette founded his razor bladecompany in 1903.

Halley, EdmondIn 1717, English astronomerEdmond Halley invented the firstdiving bell in which people couldstay underwater for long periods.Earlier devices, primarily built forattemps to retrieve sunken treasure,had not been successful. Air wassupplied to Halley’s diving bell inbarrels with weights to make themsink.

A T O ZINVENTORS

Appert, FrancoisIn 1810, French chef and inventorFrancois Appert invented thebottling process for storing heat-sterilized food. In 1812, heopened the world’s first commercialpreserved food factory, initiallyusing glass jars and bottles. In 1822, the factory began using tin-plated metal cans.

Biro, Ladislao and GeorgThe ballpoint pen was invented in the late 1930s by Hungarianbrothers Ladislao and Georg Biro.Although the Biro brothers arecredited with the invention of ‘thebiro’, a similar writing instrumenthad been invented in 1888 by US inventor John Loud.

Celsius, AndersIn 1742, the Swedish astronomerAnders Celsius invented theCelsius (or centigrade) scale thatuses 0° for the freezing point ofwater and 100° for the boilingpoint.

Cousteau, JacquesIn 1943, French explorer JacquesCousteau and engineer EmileGagnan connected portablecompressed-air cylinders, via a pressure regulator, to amouthpiece, inventing the aqua-lung. This piece of apparatusgives divers complete freedom toexplore the oceans.

Fahrenheit, DanielIn 1714, physicist DanielFahrenheit invented the mercurythermometer and devised theFahrenheit temperature scale.Fahrenheit had also invented analcohol thermometer in 1709.


Profession: Artist

Biographical information: DaVinci was apprenticed to a sculptorand worked as a painter for therulers of Florence, Milan, andFrance. He produced some famouspaintings, including the Mona Lisa.

Da Vinci filled thousands of pagesof notebooks with drawings andnotes about everything he sawaround him. He studied humananatomy, military engineering, the

flight of birds, and the movementof water.

Most famous invention:Leonardo’s notebooks containeddrawings and ideas which wouldnot be put into practice forhundreds of years, such asparachutes, canals, armored cars,and submarines.

Eureka moment: Da Vincishowed that by drawing what heimagines, an inventor can inspirefuture generations to make thesevisions real.

Galileo, on an Italian 2000 lire banknote.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Sir Isaac Newton

• See page 52ARCHIMEDEAN SCREW

• See page 18 for more information on Galileo’s life and work.

• See page 18 INVENTION OF THE TELESCOPE • See page 18

HALLEY’S COMET

ARCHIMEDES OF SYRACUSE 287–212 BC

The ‘Archimedes Portrait’ byDomenico Fetti, painted in 1620.

GALILEO GALILEI 1564–1642

SIR ISAAC NEWTON 1642–1727

LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452–1519HOW TO USE THIS BOOKJUST THE FACTS, INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES is a quick and easy-to-use way to look

up facts about inventions, inventors, and famous discoveries. Every page is packed with names,

places, dates, and key pieces of information. For fast access to just the facts, follow the tips on

these pages.

TWO QUICK WAYSTO FIND A FACT:

Look at the detailed CONTENTS list onpage 3 to find your

topic of interest.

Turn to the relevantpage and use the BOX HEADINGS to find theinformation box you need.

Turn to the INDEX which starts on page 60 and search for key words relating toyour research.

• The index will direct you to the correct page,and where on the page to find the fact you need.

GLOSSARY• A GLOSSARY of words and terms used in this book begins on page 58.

The glossary words provide additional information to supplement the facts on the main pages.

1

2

JUST THE FACTSEach topic box presents the facts youneed in quick-to-read bullet points.

BOX HEADINGSLook for heading words linked to yourresearch to guide you to the right fact box

PICTURE CAPTIONSCaptions explain the pictures.

BIOGRAPHIESThroughout this book you will find biographiesof famous inventors and scientists detailing allthe key facts about their lives and work.You will also find biographies beginning onpage 46.

6–11 Inventions Timeline 46–51 Inventor Biographies

TIMELINESImportant events are listed in chronological order.For fast access to facts in the timelines,look for key words in the headings.

LINKSLook for the purple links throughoutthe book. Each link gives details ofother pages where related oradditional facts can be found.

• For more informationon Edison:

• See page 36 THEPHONOGRAPH.

• See page 49 THOMAS ALVA EDISON.

1876 – Bell’s telephone…

INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC

c 3000 BCWRITINGThe Sumerians of southernMesopotamia invent writing.Mesopotamian texts, still inexistence today, range fromsimple lists to complex stories.

Long before there wereclocks, people relied onregular, natural events tokeep track of time. Theyworked, ate, and sleptaccording to the rising ofthe sun. Over time, peopleinvented many ways totrack the passing of time.

WATER CLOCKS c AD 100 Water ran through this ancientChinese clepsydra, or water clock,over a set period of time. As eachsection of the staircase-like timepieceemptied, people knew an exactamount of time hadpassed.

CANDLE CLOCKS c AD 800When candles were used for tellingthe time, they were often divided upinto sections that each took an hour to burn.

SUNDIALSFor hundreds of years, people haveused sundials to tell the time. The sundial’spointer casts ashadow onto ascale markedon the flat base.The scale shows thehours of the day.

PENDULUM CLOCKSIn the 1650s, there was a greatbreakthrough in timekeeping when aDutch scientist, Christiaan Huygensbuilt the first pendulum clock.

Huygens designed a mechanismthat used the swingof a pendulum tocontrol the rotationof weight-drivengearwheels insidethe clock. This use of the pendulum had originally beenthought of bymathematicianGalileo Galilei.

6

c 250,000STONE TOOLSPaleolithic (Early Stone Age)human beings make simplestone tools, like hand axes, byflaking a piece of flint from alarge stone then chippingaway smaller flakes to createsharp edges for cutting.

c 30,000 BCBOWS AND ARROWSCave paintings from 30,000BC onwards show Late StoneAge humans using bows andarrows to hunt animals.Hunters also use a variety of snares and traps.

c 1000 BCGREEK ALPHABETThe ancient Greeks use a 24-letter alphabet adapted from the Phoenician alphabet.Each symbol in an alphabetrepresents a sound rather thana word.

AD 200 ROMAN CENTRAL HEATINGThe Romans heat using centralheating systems calledhypocausts. Heat from fires is drawn into an open spaceunder the floor and then risesupward.

1400CANNONIn Asia, bamboo-tube gunsuse gunpowder to shootarrows. By AD 1400, metalcannons that fire stonecannonballs are in use acrossEurope.

1608TELESCOPEHans Lippershey invents thetelescope. Italian scientist,Galileo, builds his owntelescope in 1609 and makes many new astronomicaldiscoveries.

1770S–1780SSTRUCTURE OF WATERFrench chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier discoversthat water is a chemicalcombination of two gases(hydrogen and oxygen) thatare found in air.

1772–1774OXYGENTwo scientists workingindependently discoveroxygen—Swedish chemistCarl Wilhelm Scheele,around 1772, and Englishchemist Joseph Priestly in1774.

7

9000–7000 BCFIRST FARMERSPeople discover thatdomesticating animals, suchas sheep and goats, gives amore regular meat supplythan hunting. Cultivation ofcrops, such as wheat andbarley, begins.

c 7000 BCMAKING FIRENeolithic (Late Stone Age)people discover how to makefire by using simple tools ftoproduce friction and flints tocause sparks.

c 3500 BCTHE WHEELWheels are first used inMesopotamia (modern-dayIraq) as a turntable formaking pottery. By 3500 BC,wheels are used on primativevehicles.

1756CHEMISTRYThe English scientist JosephBlack discovers the gascarbon dioxide when henotes that a substance inexhaled air combines withquicklime in a chemicalreaction.

c 2000 BCCHARIOTSOn the southwestern fringesof the Asia,the lightweight,two-wheeled, two-horsechariot develops. Chariotsquickly become war vehiclesin civilizations such as Egypt.

c 2500 BCGLASSGlass is made by heatingsand with limestone and woodash. The method for makingglass is probably discoveredby accident.

1455PRINTING PRESSGerman Johannes Gutenbergdevelops movable type anddesigns and builds the firstprinting press. In 1455,Gutenberg prints his first book, a Latin bible.

The atomic clock was inventedby English physicist Louis Essenin the 1950s.

• Atomic clocks use the energychanges that take place inatoms to keep track of time.

• Atomic clocks are so accuratethey lose or gain no more thana second once every two orthree millions years!

THE ATOMIC CLOCK

THE FIRST CLOCKS

Model of a Mesopotamianwheeled-vehicle, c 2000 BC.

An ancient Egyptian wallcarving showing a chariot.

Galileo’s telescope

Tool making dates back even further than this timeline, to Homohabilis, which means handy man, who lived 2 million years ago.

Ever since the Paleolithic people of the Stone Age invented simple tools for

digging and cutting, inventions have changed the way human beings live.

Our natural curiosity about the world around us has led us to search for more

information about our planet and our ancestors. This timeline tracks the last 250,000

years and looks at some of the groundbreaking moments in human history.

• See page 47 GALILEO GALILEI for information on Galileo and pendulums.

Water clock

AN AMAZING STORY

What secrets are still to bediscovered about our planetand our ancestors?

A page from the Gutenberg Bible

The USNBS–4atomicclock.

A flint hand axe, c 250,000

1838–1839CELLSIn 1838, German botanistMatthias Schleidendiscovered that of cells. In1839, Schleiden’s friend,physiologist TheodorSchwann, proves that animalsare also made up of cells.

98

1794COTTONIn the USA, Eli Whitneypatents the cotton gin, a machine that combs theseeds out of cotton after ithas been harvested.

1796VACCINATIONBritish doctor Edward Jennerdevelops the process ofvaccination and successfullyvaccinates a small boy againstsmallpox, a devastatingdisease in this period.

1822MECHANICAL COMPUTERCharles Babbage, an inventor and professor ofmathematics, conceives thefirst mechanical computer.

1824BRAILLEFrenchman Louis Brailleinvents an alphabet tthatmade use of rasied symbolsthat can be written and readby the blind. The alphabethas 63 characters.

1825FIRST RAILWAYThe first railway in the world to carry freight andpassengers using steamtraction, the Stockton andDarlington Railway,, beginsoperation on September 27,in England.

1882FIRST POWER STATIONThomas Edison supervises thelaying of mains andinstallation of the world’s firstpower station in New YorkCity. It becomes operationalin September.

1877THE PHONOGRAPHAmerican inventor Thomas Edison invents thephonograph and recordshimself reciting the nurseryrhyme, “Mary had a littlelamb.”

1908THE MODEL TThe first Model T car isproduced by the Ford MotorCompany. Revolutionaryproduction methods will see15 million Model T cars rolloff the Ford assembly lineover the next 19 years.

1876THE TELEPHONEIn March, Scottish-born Americaninventor Alexander Graham Bell isgranted the patent for thetelephone, a device that transmitsspeech sounds over electric wires.

1901MARCONI’S MESSAGEItalian physicist, GuglielmoMarconi creates a worldwidesensation when hesuccessfully sends a radiomessage across the AtlanticOcean on December 12. The message is dot dot dot,Morse code for the letter S.

1903FIRST FLIGHTThe Wright brothers achievethe world’s first poweredflight with their “Flyer”biplane on December 17.The flight covers 120 feetand lasts just 12 seconds.

1900FINGERPRINTINGBritish scientist Francis Galtonand police officer Sir Edward R. Henry devise a system offingerprint classification thatthey publish in June. TheGalton-Henry system is used inthe UK for criminal identificationstarting in 1901.

1941PLUTONIUM (Pu)The synthetic, radioactiveelement plutonium is made atBerkeley, California, by ateam of scientists. Plutonium isused as an ingredient innuclear weapons and as a fuelin some types of nuclearreactors.

1943COLOSSUSDuring World War II, AlanTuring and a team of Britishscientists secretly buildColossus, one of the firstelectronic computers, todecipher top secret messagescreated by the GermanEnigma coding machine.

1927EXPANDING UNIVERSEStudying galaxies outside of the Milky Way, EdwinHubble discovers that thegalaxies seem to be movingaway from the Milky Way.This leads to the theory thatthe universe is expanding.

1926TELEVISIONBritish television pioneer, JohnLogie Baird, demonstrates atelevision system. He presentsfuzzy moving pictures of aface.

1913ATOMIC STRUCTUREDanish physicist Niels Bohrproposes his theory of atomicstructure—that an atomconsists of a nucleussurrounded by a cloud oforbiting electrons arranged ina series of concentric shells.

Thanks to the invention ofphotography, this book isfilled with photographs of inventors and theirinventions.

1826 – First photographIn France, Joseph Niepce producesthe world’s first true photograph (as opposed to shadowgraph). The exposure time is about 8 hours.

1839 – Daguerreotype systemIn France, Louis Daguerredemonstrates his daguerreotypesystem that produces a single positiveimage on a sheet of copper. Exposuretime is 30 minutes.

1841 – NegativesIn England, William Talbot patents his calotype process that produces anegative image from which numerouspositive copies can be made.Exposure time is 2–3 minutes.

1851 – Glass platesIn England, Frederick Archerintroduces glass plates forphotography. Exposure time is a few seconds.

1874 – Film rollIn the USA, George Eastmandevelops roll film, first using paper,

later transparent celluloid. Exposuretime is less than one second.

1888 – Kodak cameraEastman launches the Kodak camera,which produces circular images.

1841 – First color filmIn France, Auguste and Louis Lumièreproduce the first film for colortransparencies.

1942 – First color printsIn Germany, the Agfa Companyproduces the first film for color prints.

1946 – Instant printsIn the USA, Edwin Land introduces a camera that makes instant prints.

THE INVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHYWithout the invention of paperand printing, it would not havebeen possible to create this book!

c 1770 BC — Minoan printingThe Minoans invent the first knownprinting method. They use a writingsystem of 45 symbols, which arepunched into a disk of clay beforebaking it.

c 200 BC — PunctuationPunctuation came from Greek andLatin. Aristophanes of Byzantium, alibrarian at the Library of Alexandria,is the first person to use punctuation.Early Greek writers did not even usespaces between words!

c 100 BC — Invention of paperCai Lun (Ts’ai Lun), a Chinese courtofficial, is credited with the inventionof paper.

c AD 350 — First bookBooks with pages become thestandard way of storing words.

c AD 600 — Block printingPaper is pressed onto blocks on that text has either been carved or handwritten.

1403 — First metal fontKorean King Htai Tjong has the first true font of metal type made.One hundred thousand bronzecharacters are cast.

1455 — First movable typeGerman Johann Gutenberg invents a technique for mass-producingindividual metal letters. The text isassembled letter by letter to make up a page. Then, oil-based ink isapplied to the paper. The type is thenreassembled for the next page.

1464 — Roman typeGerman printers Adolf Rusch, in1464, and Sweynheim and Pannartzin 1465, seeking to avoid the heavy,spiky letters of early type, use a“roman” type, the forerunner of the type this book is printed in.

THE INVENTION OF PRINTING

Cai Lun (Ts’ai Lun) conceived the idea of forming sheets of paper frommacerated tree bark, hemp waste, rags, and fishnets (c 100 BC) .

Slaves work at a Whitneycotton gin.

The Locomotion pulled 28 coal-filled wagons on the new

railway line.

• See page 49 GEORGE EASTMAN

• See page 48 JOHANNES GUTENBERG

A Daguerreotype camera.

An animal cell

Wilbur andOrville Wright

A fingerprint

An expanding universe?

1110

1946–1947CARBON DATINGWillard F. Libby discovers thatthe unstable carbon isotopeC14 decays over time to themore stable C12. This meansthat once-living things can bedated by the amount of C14compared to C12 left in it.

1947THE TRANSISTORWilliam B. Shockley, JohnBardeen, and Walter H.Brattain, invent the transistor—the device that will advanceelectronics and allow for theminiaturization of computercircuitry.

1952DNA DISCOVERIESAmerican biochemists AlfredHershey and Martha Chasedemonstrate that DNAtransmits genetic information. In 1953, Crick and Watsonunlock the structure of DNA.

1967FIRST HEART TRANSPLANTOn December 3, a team, ledby South African heartsurgeon Christiaan Barnard,performs the world’s first hearttransplant in Cape Town,South Africa. The patient livesfor 18 days.

1984DNA PROFILINGAlec Jeffreys invents DNAprofiling, a method ofanalyzing DNA to produce aset of characteristic featuresthat are unique to eachindividual. The process canbe used to identify criminals.

1969SUPERSONIC AIRLINEROn March 2, the Concorde, a passenger aircraft capableof flying at twice the speed ofsound, makes its first test flightpiloted by chief test pilotAndre Turcat.

2004A NEW PLANETOn March 15, NASAannounces the discovery ofSedna, possibly a new planet.Its diameter is 110 miles.

1975MICROSOFTBill Gates and Paul Allen startMicrosoft. The companycreates the operating systemMS-DOS and Windows.These programs willeventually be used on almostevery PC in the world.

1974LUCYDonald Johanson and TomGray discover the mostcomplete Australopithecusskeleton ever found duringexcavations in northernEthiopia. Nicknamed Lucy, thisearly hominid lived 3.2 millionyears ago.

1996DOLLY THE SHEEPA team of scientists workingat the Roslin Institute inScotland succeed inproducing the first evercloned mammal, Dolly, asheep, on July 5.

1991WORLD WIDE WEBInvented by British computerscientist Tim Berners-Lee in1989, the World Wide Webis launched to the world viathe Internet.

2003THE HUMAN GENOMEHuman Genome Projectcompletes the task of readingthe human genome. Thehuman genome is the set ofinstructions to build the bodycontained inside every cell.

2000HUMAN GENOME DRAFT A first draft of the humangenome is published aftermore than 10 years ofintensive effort. It consists ofsome three billion pairs ofnucleotide bases divided intothousands of separate genes.

FISSIONFission is the process by whichthe nucleus of an atom is split intwo releasing a large amount ofenergy. The fission of uraniumatoms was first observed in thelate 1930s.CHAIN REACTIONOn December 2, 1942, a team of scientists led by Enrico Fermiachieved the first controllednuclear fission chain reaction. MANHATTAN PROJECTDuring World War II, a team ofscientists in the USA worked onthe top-secret Manhattan Projectto design and build atom bombs.The first bomb was tested atAlamogordo Air Base, NewMexico on July 16,1945. In the following month, twoatom bombs were dropped onthe Japanese cities of Hiroshimaand Nagasaki.NUCLEAR ELECTRICITYUranium fission can be containedand controlled inside a reactor to produce heat for generatingelectricity. The first atomic powerstation making electricity forhomes and businesses beganoperation in 1956 in England.

NUCLEAR POWER

Place ValueThe use of “0” for zero dates fromc AD 500. This marks theemergence of the decimal systemwe use.

Decimal fractionThough used in China in c AD 200these were not developed in otherparts of the world until c1300–1400.

AlgebraThe word algebra comes from abook by Al-Khwarizmi, an Arabmathematician who lived c AD780–850. The most famousalgebraic equation is Einstein’s:

E=mc2Imperial measuresStandard Imperial Units of distance(for example, the mile) were set byQueen Elizabeth I in 1592.

StatisticsBeginning around 1654, BlaisePascal, a French mathematician,began to work on a theory ofprobability (the chance ofsomething happening).

Metric measuresThe meter, liter, and gram wereadopted by the French in 1795.

Pythagoras’ theoremPythagoras lived c 580–500 BC.His theorem says that the squaredrawn using the longest side of aright angle triangle is equal inarea to the sum of the areas of thetriangles on the other two sides.This theorem is used in navigation,maps, building, and landmeasurement.

DEVELOPMENTS INMATHEMATICS

Archaeologists can determine the age of this Egyptian mummy byusing Willard F. Libby’s discovery of the carbon dating process.

• See page 51 ENRICO FERMI. A hydrogen bomb (more powerful than an atom bomb) was first

tested by the US in 1951.

Alec Jeffreys

Dolly the sheep

World Wide Web

DNA

Bill Gates

Sedna takes over 10,000 years to orbit the sun. Many scientistsdo not yet agree that Sedna is a planet.

Concorde

a

bc

1983HIV VIRUSThe HIV virus that causesAIDS is identified by Frenchscientist Luc Montagnier anda team working at the PasteurInstitute in Paris.

1312

I N V E N T I O NTIMELINE

c 35,000 BC – Advancedstone toolsBurins, engraving tools made from a flint with a sharp edge, are used to decorate bone andwooden items.

Wooden handles are attached tostone tools for the first time makingit possible to hit things harder andto increase the amount of swingachieved with a tool, such as an axe.

c 30,000 BC – RopeRope made from plant fibers is used for making nets and snares forcatching animals.

c 9000 BC – First ovensThe first known ovens, stone or claychambers heated by a fire, are inuse in Jericho in ancient Palestine.

c 8000 BC – Flint miningWhen people can no longer findenough flints on the ground aroundthem for tool-making, they begin tomine or dig for stones under thesurface.

c 7000 BC – Flax and linenThe flax plant is cultivated for itsfibers that can be used to makeropes and linen.

c 6000 BC – Axe headsStones are shaped to create axeheads with straight, sharp edgesand heavy bases.

c 5500 BC – WeavingThe weaving of baskets develops:split bamboo is used in China,straw and flax in the Middle East,and willow in Europe.

c 5000 BC – LeatherAnimal are dried and preservedusing substances, such as urine.

c 5000 BC – GrindstonesGrindstones, two stones that fit together, are used to crush cereal grains. This produces flour that is easier to digest than whole grains.

I N V E N T I O NTIMELINEc 4000 BC – ScalesSimple scales (a length of wood ormetal balanced with pans hungfrom each end) are developed in Mesopotamia.

C 4000 BC – Gold/silverGold and silver are discovered.They are used for makingornaments and as a means of exchange for goods or service.

c 3500 BC – BricksIn the Middle East, bricks are madefrom clay, then fired in a kiln tomake them hard and waterproof.Prior to this, bricks were made frommud and straw, but they sometimesmelted in heavy rain.

c 3000 BC – CottonCotton fabric is invented. People of the Indus Valley (modern-dayPakistan) discover that the silky fibersattached to the seeds of the cottonplant can be woven into a fine fabric.

c 2600 BC – ChairsThe ancient Egyptians use chairs withpadded seats and four legs. (Ancientpeople had probably used manyobjects to sit on before this time, butchairs as we recognize them todayhave been found in ancient Egyptiantombs from this period.)

c 2500 BC – Ink/mirrorsInk for writing is made from sootmixed with glue. Mirrors made fromdiscs of polished bronze or copperare used in ancient Egypt.

c 2000 BC – Wheel spokesMesopotamian craftsmen begin toproduce wheels with a rim, hub,and spokes instead of the heavy,solid plank-wheels previously used.

c 1500 BC – FlagsFlags are invented in China andused in battles. If a leader’s flag iscaptured by the enemy, it means the enemy has won the battle.

c 600 BC – Rotary quernsThe rotary quern is invented. For over 4000 years, corn has beenground by hand using two stones.The rotary quern is a circular stonethat fits into a stone base. The topstone is turned by a wooden handlecrushing the grain between the twostones. It is also known as a handmill.

5000 BC — Scratch plowThe wooden scratch plough is used forbreaking up the soil. The scratchplows are probably pulled bydonkeys.

4000 BC — SickleBone-handled sickles with a flint bladeare used to reap wheat and barley.

3000 BC — ShadufEgyptians use a shaduf (a bucket on a weighted pole) to lift water fromirrigation canals to water their crops.

2000 BC — PollinationThe discovery that there are male andfemale plants makes it easier to selectcrops for size, taste, and disease-resistance by artificial pollination.

AD 500 — Three-piece plowsHeavy, iron, three-piece plows comeinto use. They usually have wheelsand are pulled by large farm horses.The plow helps farmers to workheavier soils and plow faster.

AD 500 — Horse collarThe creation of the horse collarenables a horse to pull a heavyplough without choking.

AD 800 — Crop rotationIn northeastern France, the croprotation system is developed. Onefield is planted in autumn with winterwheat or rye; the second field isplanted the following spring withbarley, peas, or oats (to feed horses);the third field is left fallow. This allowsmore of the field to be cultivated andimproves the soil.

AD 900 —HorseshoeThehorseshoeenableshorsesto pullploughsforlongerperiods.

CHINESE PICTOGRAMSThe ancient Chinese began writingaround 1700 BC. They used adifferent pictogram (symbol) torepresent each word. There werethousands of pictograms.

c 13,000 BCThe first potters discover they canmake useful containers by shaping soft clay by hand, then heating it in a fire to bake it hard.

c 6500 BCThin layers of colored clay, called slip,and natural pigments, such as redochre, are used to decorate pottery.Examples of this innovation have beenfound in the ancient city of CatalHuyuk (now Cumra in Turkey).

4000–3000 BCThe Mesopotamian potters invent thepotter’s wheel. This wheel uses a slowly spinning stone wheel to produce pots with a uniform shape.

Archaeologists study metal artifactsto determine when ancientcivilizations first discovered metalssuch as bronze and iron.

COPPER 8000–6500 BCThe discovery of copper gives earlyhuman beings a practical substitute forstone. Copper is easy to shape.

LEAD 6500 BCEarly metalworkers extract lead byheating lead ore in a hot fire.Decorative lead beads found in Turkeysuggest that lead was considered aprecious material.BRONZE 3500 BCAncient metalworkers melt copper andtin together and create a new metal,called bronze. This new material is

used to make weapons and decorativeitems.

IRON 2000 BCIron is extracted from iron ore (stonecontaining iron) by heating the ore inred-hot charcoal. Iron is hard to melt,so early metalworkers develop newtechniques such as hammering hot ironinto the required shape.

Ancient paintings dating to around 30,000 BC have been found incaves in western Europe.

Prehistoric artists invented painting using paint made from minerals,such as chalk and red iron oxide. They made simple brushes made fromchewed twigs or animal hair and lamps that burned animal fat to lightthe dark interiors of the caves where they worked.

LASCAUX CAVE PAINTINGSThe discovery: Caves containing over 2000 prehistoric paintings

and engravings.Discovered: September 12, 1940Discovered by: Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel

and Simon Coencas, four teenage boys exploring in woods near Montignac in France.

This ancientEgyptian woodenmodel dates toaround 2000 BC. It shows a farmer using a simple scratch plough pulledby oxen.

The artworks in the Lascaux caves in France (above) havebeen dated to around 15,000 BC.

EARLY INVENTORS

• See page 7 FIRST FARMERS

• See page 6 THE GREEK ALPHABET

• See page 6 STONE TOOLS• The TIMELINE continues on

page 13.

THE FIRST WRITINGThe Sumerians (who lived in what is now southern Iraq) had inventedwriting by around 3000 BC. Theyused a piece of reed to makecuneiform symbols (wedge-shapedmarks) in clay tablets. Then, theybaked the tablets to harden them.

A Mesopotamian vase from

3400–3200 BC.

A papyrus reed

EARLY FARMING INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES

DISCOVERING AND INVENTING METAL

THE INVENTION OF WRITING

INVENTION OF POTTERY

PAPYRUS PAPER

THE INVENTION OF PAINTING

The ancient Egyptians invented papyrus, a type of papermade from papyrus reeds that grew by the River Nile.

Fibers from the reeds were squashed together into flatsheets and dried in the sun.

Over thousands of years, early human beings invented and discovered

ways to make their lives more efficient. They developed farming to

ensure a regular supply of food, and they devised tools and simple

machines to make work easier. They also conceived ways of recording their

lives, such as painting and writing, without which it would be impossible to

chart the history of human invention and discovery.

HIEROGLYPHSThe ancient Egyptians alsodeveloped writing soon after 3000 BC. They used hundreds ofpictures, called hieroglyphs, torepresent words and sounds. Theycarved inscriptions on temple walls,painted on the walls of tombs, andwrote on papyrus paper.

1514

Human beings have searched to know more about

their origins and Earth. Today, we know our planet

is 4.5 billion years old, not the 74,832 years

proposed by the French scientist Buffon in 1778.

Paleontologists have discovered and identified the first

animals that lived on Earth. Anthropologists have studied

the fossils of our earliest ancestors. Scientists have

discovered that all plants and animals are made from cells;

we now know that DNA within those cells is the blueprint

for all living things.

1869 – DNA discoveredSwiss graduate chemist JohannMiescher identifies a particularsubstance, deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA), in the nuclei of white bloodcells. The importance of thisdiscovery goes unnoticed for morethan 50 years.

1929 – DNA moleculeIn the USA, Russian-born chemistPhoebus Levene establishes that theDNA molecule is composed of aseries of nucleotides. Each one iscomposed of a sugar, a phosphategroup, and one of four bases:thymine (T), guanine (G), cytosine

(C), and adenine (A).

1950 – Base pairsIn the USA, biochemist ErwinChargaff discovers that the basesare arranged in pairs, and that thecomposition of DNA is identicalwithin species, but differs betweenspecies.

1952 – Genetic codeTwo American scientists, AlfredHershey and Martha Chase,conduct an experiment proving that the DNA molecule is howgenetic information is transmitted.

1952 – DNA analysisIn England, scientists MauriceWilkins and Rosalind Franklinanalyze the DNA molecule using X-rays.

1953 – Shape of DNAWilkins’ and Franklin’s resultsenable the shape of the DNAmolecule to be determined by Frances Crick and James Watson.

1965 – Cell proteinsAmerican biochemist MarshallNirenberg deciphers the geneticcode through which DNA controlsthe production of proteins insidebody cells.

1983 – Polymerase chain reactionAmerican researcher Kary Mullisinvents the polymerase chainreaction (PCR), a laboratory processthat enables scientists to duplicatesmall sections of the DNA moleculemany millions of times in a shortperiod of time.

TIMELINE1902 – ChromosomesAmerican surgeon Walter Suttondiscovers the chromosome theoryof inheritance. He believes thatMendel’s features were controlledin living cells by structures calledchromosomes. The chemicalmessages encoded in thechromosomes are the genes.

1909 – Burgess ShaleAmerican paleontologist Charles Walcott discovers theBurgess Shale fossil site inCanada’s Rocky Mountains. Dating from the Cambrian period, it contains thousands of fossils of marine animals.

1927 – Big BangBelgian priest Georges Lemaitreproposes a forerunner of the BigBang theory: that the universebegan with the explosion of aprimeval atom.

1953 – Age of the EarthFiesel Houtermans and ClairePatterson use radiometric dating to date the Earth at 4.5 billionyears old.

1963 – Plate tectonicsFred Vine and DrummondMatthews discover seafloorspreading. This leads to theestablishment of plate tectonics.

1964 – Big BangArno Penzias and Robert Wilson detect cosmic radiation(radiation coming from space) and use it to confirm the Big Bang Theory.

1980 – Dinosaur extinctionLuis and Walter Alvarez putforward the asteroid impact theoryof dinosaur extinction.

1985 – Ozone depletionScientists of the British AntarcticSurvey discover the depletion ofozone in the upper atmosphere.

1991 – Asteroid impactChicxulub crater in Yucatán ispinpointed as the site of theasteroid impact that causeddinosaur extinction.

TIMELINE1600 – Earth’s magnetismWilliam Gilbert, Elizabeth I’sphysician, realizes that theproperties of naturally magneticminerals, which are already used asrudimentary compasses, reflect themagnetic field of Earth.

1669 – StratigraphyNicolaus Steno establishes the lawsof stratigraphy. Stratigraphydemonstrates that rock beds laiddown horizontally, stacked on oneanother and subsequently contorted.

1735 – ClassificationLinnaeus establishes the binomialclassification of living things, givingeach living thing a genus and aspecies name, for example Homosapiens, and classifying them onhow closely they are related.

1760 – Early geologyGiovanni Arduino classifies thegeological column: Primary with nofossils, Secondary deformed andwith fossils, Tertiary horizontal andwith fossils, and Quaternary loosesands and gravels over the rest. This is basis of modernclassification.

1768 – James CookJames Cook’s voyages to Tahiti,New Zealand, Australia, and laterAntarctica bring an awareness ofthe range of plants and animalsaround the world.

1790s – Dating rocksCanal engineer William Smith notes that different rock stratacontain different types of fossils. He compiles the first geological map (of Great Britain) in 1815, and pioneers the science of datingrocks by their fossils.

1837 – Ice AgeSwiss scientist Louis Agassiz detectsthe Ice Age by observing landformsacross Europe, from Edinburgh toSwitzerland, that must have beenformed when ice caps moved overthe area.

1866 – HeredityAustrian monk Gregor Mendelestablishes the laws of heredity.Both parents provide the featuresfor their offspring, but some featuresare stronger than others, and thechances of particular features beingpassed on can be calculated. Hehas actually discovered genes.

• See page 51 FRANCIS CRICKAND JAMES WATSON

• See the GLOSSARY for scientificterms used in this timeline.

• Scientist Charles Darwin wasintrigued by the variety of birdspecies he observed in theGalapagos Islands.

• In 1837, when ornithologistJohn Gould showed that theislands’ birds were all closelyrelated finches, despite theirdifferences, it led Darwin tosuggest that the various formshad evolved from a singlespecies.

• In 1859, Darwin published On the Origin of Species, abook presenting the theory that animals and plants havenot always looked the waythey do today, but haveevolved from earlier forms, and are still evolving.

Discovery fact:The first known fossils to bediscovered of homo erectus.

NATURAL WORLD

Fossil hunterWilliam Buckland

(1784–1856)

• In 1912, German meteorologistAlfred Wegener proposed thatthe world’s continents wereonce joined together in a single,large landmass he calledPangaea.

• Over millions of years, theindividual continents had driftedapart, but it is still possible tosee how they may have fittedtogether.

• Wegener’s discovery ofcontinental drift was finallyaccepted by scientists in the1960s.

Africa

Homoerectus skull

SouthAmerica

The discovery:The remains of a skull cap andsome teeth with features similar tothose of both apes and humans.Found in caves in Java, Indonesia.Nicknamed “Java man.”Discovered by:Dutch paleontologist, Eugene Duboisin 1891.

• See page 11LUCY (1974)

CHARLES DARWIN HOMO ERECTUS CONTINENTAL DRIFT

• See the GLOSSARY forexplanations of many of

the scientific terms used inthis timeline.

THE STORY OF DNA

INVENTING DINOSAURS• In 1842, English scientist Sir Richard

Owen invented the term dinosauria todescribe the Megalosaurus and two otherfossil animals, Iguanodon andHylaeosaurus, found at the time.

An Archaeopteryx fossil

This illustration of anichthyosaur is based onfossil finds.

THE FIRST DINOSAUR• Fossils of a jawbone and teeth were found in Oxfordshire, England,

around 1815.

• William Buckland studied the fossils that hebelieved were from a large, meat-eating reptile.

• In 1822, Buckland’s colleague James Parkinsonnamed the creature Megalosaurus, meaing big lizard.

A Megalosaurusjawbone

DINOSAUR FOSSILS• In the 1820s, Mary Anning

began a career as a professionalfossil collector on the shores ofLyme Regis in England. Anningsupplied scientists of the periodwith their fossils. During hercareer, she discovered the fossilsof plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, andthe first pterosaur.

DISCOVERING THE DINOSAURS

THE FIRST BIRD• In 1860, 1861, and 1877, the fossils of

a single feather and of two birds werediscovered in the same Jurassic limestonequarry in Solnhofen, Germany. The birdwas named Archaeopteryx. It seemed tobe a transition form between dinosaursand birds.

A DNA molecule

1716

SCIENCE ALL AROUNDScience is the close observation of nature. Although many scientists now

use sophisticated equipment such as lasers and hadron colliders, their

basic technique is the same as taught in every school science class:

observe, investigate, understand, and describe. Potential new discoveries are all

around us. For example, an amazing new form of carbon that scientists had

previously thought impossible was recently discovered in some dirty residue

that had built up around an old electric lamp.

E L E M E N T STIMELINE

1766 – Hydrogen (H)In England, chemist HenryCavendish discovers hydrogen, agas, that he names phlogiston,meaning inflammable air.

1772 – Nitrogen (N)Daniel Rutherford, a medicalstudent in Scotland, is the first topublish details of a new gas. Thegas is named nitrogen in 1790.

1794 – Yttrium (Y)Finnish chemist Johan Gadolinisolates a rare mineral that containsyttrium. This element gets its namefrom Ytterby, Sweden.

1807 – Potassium (K)In England, scientist Humphry Davydiscovers potassium, a new metal,when he applies electricity to amolten mixture of chemicals.

1811 – Iodine (I)The French chemist BernardCourtois accidentally adds too much acid to a batch of seaweed in his father’s saltpeter factory anddiscovers iodine.

1825 – Aluminium (A)Danish physicist Christian Orstedsucceeds in producing a solid lump of aluminium.

1868 – Helium (He)Astronomers Pierre Janssen andNorman Lockyer independentlyidentify a new element, helium, in the atmosphere of the Sun.

1894 Argon (AR)English scientists John Strutt (LordRayleigh) and William Ramsaydiscover the gas argon.

1886 – Germanium (GE)In Germany, chemist ClemensWinkler discovers the elementgermanium, which had beenpredicted by Mendeleev in his 1869 periodic table.

1910 – Titanium (TI)In the USA, metallurgist MatthewHunter is the first to produce theelement titanium in the form of apure metal.

E L E C T R I C I T YTIMELINE

1800 – First batteryItalian physicist Alessandro Voltainvents the first electric battery. Ituses chemical reactions to producean electric current.

1807 – ElectrolysisEnglish scientist Humphry Davyinvents the process of extractingmetals from minerals by electrolysis.He heats the minerals to meltingpoint and then applies an electriccurrent to extract the metal.

1820 – Ampere’s LawFrench scientist Andre Ampereexperiments with magnets andelectricity and discovers themathematical relationship betweenmagnetism and the flow of electricalcurrent.

1827 – Ohm’s lawIn Germany, the physicist GeorgOhm discovers the relationshipbetween resistance and current inan electrical circuit.

1831 – InductionEnglish scientist Michael Faradaydiscovers the laws of induction thatexplain how a variable magneticfield causes electrical current to flowthrough copper wires—the principlebehind both the electric generatorand the electric motor.

1864 – Electricity and magnetism

Scottish mathematician JamesMaxwell discovers four basicequations that describe all therelationships between electricity and magnetism.

1888 – First generatorCroatian inventor Nikola Tesladesigns the world’s first successfulalternating current (AC) generator.Alternating current is morepowerful than the direct current(DC) produced by batteries.

1947 – The transistorIn America, electrical engineersinvent the transistor, the world’s firstsemiconductor device, beginningthe Electronic Age.

To study the structure of atoms,scientists build massive devicesthat use magnetism toaccelerate bits of atomic nucleiso that they crash into eachother at very high speed andbreak apart. The first such device, called acyclotron, was built in the USA in 1933. The latest device, knownas a Large Hadron Collider, islocated on the border betweenFrance and Switzerland.

In 1985, three universityprofessors jointly discovered newform of the carbon molecule.

Instead of just four atoms, likeother forms of carbon, it has 60atoms arranged in a hollow,multisided, geometric shape. Thenew substance, which is incrediblystrong for its weight, has beennamed buckminsterfullerene, andthe hollow shapes are known asbuckyballs.

WHAT IS A LASER?In a laser, a crystal or gas isenergized so that its atoms start toemit light. The light produced by alaser is of nearly uniform wavelengthand the light rays are almostperfectly parallel so that there is verylittle spreading of the beam.

THE FIRST LASERIn 1960, scientist Theodore Maimanbuilt the first laser (Light Amplificationby Stimulated Emission of Radiation).It used a rod-shaped crystal ofsynthetic ruby to produce a verybright, very narrow beam of light. Gaslasers were invented a few monthsafter the ruby laser.

LASER BEAMS ON THE MOONIn the 1970s, lasers were used tomeasure the exact distance betweenthe Earth and the moon. The narrowbeam of a laser was bounced offreflectors which had been put on themoon’s surface by Apollo astronauts.

LASERS ALL AROUNDToday, tiny semiconductor devicessmaller than a pinhead produce thelaser light that readsthe digitalinformationencoded ontoCDs and DVDs.

In 1869, Russian chemist Dmitri Meldeleev discovered that theelements can be placed in ascending sequence of atomic size,arranged across a periodic table of rows and columns. Elements withsimilar physical or chemical properties are located near to each other.

Meldeleev’s original periodic table had gaps that predicted the existenceof undiscovered elements. These gaps have since been filled.

THE FIRST MICROSCOPEIn the Netherlands, in 1668,Anton van Leeuwenhoekconstructed the first workingmicroscope.It had a small, convex lens andcould magnify around 200 timesthe original size. The entireinstrument was only 4 incheslong. The user held it up to theeye.

DISCOVERING BACTERIAIn 1674, Van Leeuwenhoek wasthe first person to observe protozoafrom ponds. In 1676, he examinedbacteria from his own mouth.

Single,tiny lens

Specimenis placedon sharppoint

An experiment showing anintense ruby laser beampenetrating two prisms.

HIGH ENERGYCOLLISIONS

A NEW CARBON

• See page 12DISCOVERING AND INVENTING METAL

• See page 52INVENTORS AT WORK for more

microscope inventions.

THE INVENTION OF THE MICROSCOPEVAN LEEWENHOEK’S

MICROSCOPE

THE PERIODIC TABLE

Focus adjusted byturning screws.

LASERS

Dr. Ian Wilmut and Dolly the sheep.

The nucleus isremoved from

the egg.

The adult sheepto be cloned

An unfertilizedegg

The new cellstarts to divide

like a normal cell

The cloneis born

Cells are removedfrom the adult sheep

One cell is fused with the

egg

1954 – GENETIC CODERussian physicist George Gamow isthe first to suggest that the DNA basesT, G, C, and A form a genetic codethat looks like CGCTGACATCGT, etc.

1966 – FROG CLONINGIn England, biologist John Gurdonclones frogs from cells taken from theintestines of a tadpole.

1971 – RESTRICTION ENZYMESIn the USA, molecular biologistsDaniel Nathans and Hamilton Smithdiscover restriction enzymes that canbe used to cut the DNA molecule intoshort strands.

1972 – RECOMBINANT DNAAmerican scientist Patrick Bergsucceeds in splicing together strands ofDNA to produce recombinant DNA(DNA that has been recombined froma number of different strands). Thismarks the beginning of true geneticengineering.

1994 – GM CROPSIn the USA, a rot-resistant tomatobecomes the first genetically modified(GM) crop to be approved for sale tothe public.

1996 – CLONED MAMMALIn Scotland, a team of scientists led byIan Wilmut succeed in producing Dollythe sheep, the world’s first clonedmammal.

Dolly the cloned sheep had noimmediate practical value, but thecloning technique is vital. If, forexample, scientists can geneticallyengineer a cow to produce milk thatcontains life-saving drugs, then theycan use the cloning technique to makethousands of identical cows.

• See page 14 TIMELINEfor Gregor Mendel’s discovery

of heredity.

THE STORY OF GENETIC ENGINEERING

• See page 15THE STORY OF DNA

• See the GLOSSARY for scientificterms used in this timeline.

• See the GLOSSARY fora detailed definition of a

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE.

MAKING DOLLY THESHEEP• The nucleus was removed

from an unfertilized egg.

• Next, a cell from an adultsheep was fused with theegg by passing an electriccurrent through the two.

• They became one cell whichthen behaved like afertilized egg and began todivide.

• Finally, the cell wasimplanted into anotherfemale sheep where itdeveloped normally into anembryo.

SOLAR SYSTEM DISCOVERIES

1918

Some of the planets in our solar system have been known for many years, while others were discovered more recently. Both astronomers on Earth and space probes have added to the long list of solar system discoveries.

1150 – Chinese rocketsGunpowder propelled rockets areinvented by the Chinese.

c 1900 – TsiolkovskyRussian scientist KonstantinTsiolkovsky suggests using rocketswith stages that can be jettisoned toget large objects into space.

1926 – Goddard’s RocketAmerican Robert Goddardexperiments with different fuels. In 1926, the first rocket to use aliquid propellant was launched fromGoddard’s Aunt Effie’s cabbage patch.

1920s–1930sGerman Herman Oberth developsmuch of the modern theory forrocket and spaceflight. Germanscientist Werner von Braunproduces the V2 rocket (aweapon) for Germany in WWII,then goes to America to work onthe space program.

EXPLORING SPACED I S C O V E R YTIMELINE

1543 – Sun-centered universePolish astronomer Copernicuspublishes Six Books Concerning theRevolutions of the Heavenly Orbsthat presents his discoveries andtheory of the universe with the Sunat the center.

1609 – Galileo’s telescopeGalileo hears of Lippershey’sinvention and builds his owntelescope. He uses his newinstrument to make manydiscoveries, including Jupiter’s fourlargest moons and sunspots fromwhich he deduces that the Sunrotates.

1610 – Orion NebulaFrenchman Nicolas-Claude Fabri dePeiresc discovers the Orion Nebula.This star “nursery” is visible with thenaked eye. Stars are being bornthere right now.

1705 – Halley’s CometEdmond Halley discovers thatcomets observed in 1531, 1607,and 1682 are the same comet. He predicts the comet will return in1758. The comet is sighted in thatyear (after Halley’s death) and isnamed in his honor.

1922–1924 New galaxiesAmerican astronomer Edwin Hubblediscovers that there are othergalaxies outside of our galaxy, theMilky Way.

1931 – Radio waves from space

American engineer Karl Jansky is assigned by Bell TelephoneLaboratories, in New Jersey, to track down interference which iscausing problems to telephonecommunications. Jansky finds all the sources except one. Aftermonths of study, he establishes thatthe radio interference is comingfrom the stars.

1995 – Hale-Bopp comet US amateur astronomers Alan Halein New Mexico and Thomas Boppin Arizona independently discover anew comet on July 23. At itsbrightest in 1997, Hale-Bopp was athousand times brighter thanHalley’s comet.

HANS LIPPERSHEYDutch spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey is credited with inventing the refractingtelescope in 1608. Lippershey discovered that if you look through two lenses ofthe right type, they will enlarge distant objects.

Lippershey offered his new “looker” to the government for use in warfare. Hewas paid 900 florins for the instrument, but there was a requirement that it bemodified into a binocular device.

REFRACTING TELESCOPESRefracting telescopes work byhaving a convex lens which bendslight rays from an object to forman upside-down image of theobject. A second lens, theeyepiece, bends the rays againand magnifies the image.

The orrery, amechanical model

of our solarsystem, inventedin the mid 1700s.

Pluto

Charon

We all benefit from inventionsdeveloped by NASA for spacemissions.

• Battery-powered tools wereinvented for use in spacewhere there are no electricalsockets.

• The digital watch wasinvented to help astronautskeep accurate time.

• Plastic sandwich boxes wereoriginally used tokeep food forastronautsfresh.

Some scientistsbelieved thisrod-likestructure to be a fossilized,

microscopicMartian creature.

IT CAME FROMSPACE

The Hubble Space Telescope is asatellite built by NASA and ESA.It was launched in 1990 andorbits about 350 miles above the Earth. • The telescope is named after

astronomer Edwin Hubble.

• Hubble is a reflecting telescope,and it also works in ultraviolet. It is powered by two solar panels.

• Hubble is designed to look along way beyond the solarsystem. The volume of space itcan cover is 350 times biggerthan can be seen from the Earth.

In 1996, US geologist David S.Mckay and a team from NASA’sJohnson Space Center in Houstonreported that they had foundevidence of microscopic life onMars. The tiny microbes were found inside a meteorite which hadtravelled from Mars to Earth possiblytaking millions of years. At present,many scientists do not agree withMcKay’s findings.

MARS – CRATERSIn 1971, the space probe Mariner 9discovered a system of canyons knownas the Valles Marineris. The canyonsstretch for around 2500 miles. Someindividual canyons are 100 km wideand some are 5–6 miles deep.

MARS – MOONSIn 1877, the American astronomerAsaph Hall discovered Mars’ twomoons. He named them Phobos andDeimos after the sons of Ares, the Greek

counterpart of the Roman god Mars.

Convex lens

Eyepiece

Light

Primary mirror

Newton’stelescope

Secondarymirror

Focus

Eyepiece

REFLECTING TELESCOPESA reflecting telescope uses ashaped primary mirror to reflectlight to a smaller secondary mirror.The light is then reflected to thefocus and the image is viewedthrough an eyepiece.

RADIO TELESCOPESRadio telescopes receive radio wavesemitted by objects in space and,through a computer, convert thosewaves to images. Radio waves canpenetrate through dust clouds thatblock visible light.

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPEGoddard’s work earns himthe nickname, “Father of

Modern Rocketry.”

INVENTION OF THE TELESCOPEROCKET PIONEERS

When the telescope was invented in the 17th

century, astronomers were able to study the

stars and the planets in more detail. In the

early 20th century, pioneering rocket scientists, such as

Konstantin Tsiolovsky, Robert Goddard, Herman Oberth,

and Werner von Braun, expanded our horizons further

when they developed the means to blast a satellite, or a

human being, into space.

NEWTON’S TELESCOPEIn 1668, English mathematician IsaacNewton developed the reflectingtelescope. English astronomer JohnGregory had thought up analternative reflector design in 1663.

LIFE ON MARS

NEPTUNENeptune was discovered in1846 by astronomer J.G. Galein Berlin. Neptune’s position had been predicted by themathematicians John CouchAdams in England and UrbainLe verrier in France.

SATURN – THE RINGSSaturn’s ring system was discoveredby Galileo in 1610. Galileo’sprimitive telescope could not makeout the structure of the rings. We now know that the rings aremade of millions of small chunks ofrock and ice.

MARS – VOLCANOESThe largest volcano in the solarsystem, Olympus Mons, wasdiscovered on Mars. It is 16 mileshigh. The tallest volcano on Earth,Mauna Loa in Hawaii, rises 6miles above the ocean floor.

URANUSSir William Herscheldiscovered Uranus onMarch 13, 1781,using a home-madereflecting telescopethat was about 6.5feet long. Herscheloriginally thoughtUranus was a comet.

MERCURY –CRATERSWhen Mercury was firstphotographed by theNASA probe Mariner 10in 1974, it wasdiscovered that Mercuryhas many deep craters.The largest, the CalorisBasin, is around 800 miles across.

VENUS – VOLCANOESFollowing the mapping ofVenus’s surface by NASA’sMagellan probe (1990–1994),scientists discovered that Venusis covered in volcanoes,including an active volcanoMaat Mons. Venus and Earthare the only two planetsknown to have activevolcanoes.

JUPITER – GREAT RED SPOTJupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS)was discovered by the Frenchastronomer, Gian DomenicoCassini, in 1665 using an earlytelescope.

Thanks to space probes we nowknow the GRS is around 7,500miles by 15,5000 miles and is avast, violent storm.

PLUTOPluto’s existence had been predicted byastronomer Percival Lowell, but it was actuallydiscovered by American Clyde Tombaugh at theLowell Observatory in 1930.

In 1978, Pluto’s close satellite, Charon, wasdiscovered by James Walter Christy.

• See page 19 1931 –RADIO WAVES FROM SPACE

2120

D I S C O V E R YTIMELINE

AD 200 – GalenGreek-born doctor ClaudiusGalen describes the workings ofthe body. Galen’s work is oftenbased on animal dissections. Hisfindings, many incorrect, remainunchallenged until the 1500s.

1543 – Vesalius’s anatomyFlemish doctor Andreas Vesaliuspublishes the first accuratedescription of human anatomy, Dehumani corporis fabrica libriseptem (The Seven books of theHuman Body). It is based on hisdissections of human cadavers.

1614 – SantorioItalian physician Santorio Santoriocompletes 30 years of researchexperimenting on his own body to see how it works.

1800 – CellsFrench doctor Marie-FrançoisBichat shows that organs aremade of different groups of cells, called tissues.

1889 – NeuronsSpanish physiologist RamónSantiago y Cajal discovers thatthe nervous system is made up of neurons that do not touch.

1905 – HormonesBritish physiologists WilliamBayliss and Ernest Starling inventthe term hormone to describe the newly-discovered “chemicalmessengers” that control manybody activities.

1912 – VitaminsPolish-American biochemistCasimir Funk invents the termvitamin to describe nutrientsrequired by the body in tinyamounts to make it work properly.

1970s – Natural painkillersDiscovery that natural painkillers,called enkephalins andendorphins, are produced by the body.

Most body activities, including how we move

and digest food, are now well understood

thanks to discoveries made in the past 500

years. The earliest anatomists studied the structure of

body organs, such as the heart and kidneys. Later,

physiologists discovered how these organs worked. There

are still discoveries being made today. The Human

Genome Project, for example, having read the

DNA in our cells, is now identifying the instructions in

our DNA needed to build and run a human being.

HUMAN BODY

• In the late 1980s, groups of scientistsaround the world set out on anunprecedented research project—to produce a map of the humangenome, or human genetic code.

• Several anonymous donors providedDNA for the project. The resulting DNAmap will be typical of all human DNA.

• In 2000, scientists released a roughdraft of the human genome showing

all of the estimated 3 billion basepairs in human DNA.

• In April 2003, the Human GenomeProject completed the map, givingscientists the ability, for the first time,to read the complete genetic blueprintfor building a human.

• It will take decades to understandwhat all of the 25,000 to 30,000human genes do, but scientists hopethat new treatments and earlierdiagnosis of diseases will be amongthe many benefits of this vast andpioneering project.

1628 – Blood circulationBritish doctor William Harvey’sexperiments prove that bloodcirculates through the body, pumpedby the heart, in blood vessels.

1658 – Red blood cellsRed blood cells are first observed andidentified by Dutch naturalist JanSwammerdam using an earlymicroscope.

1661 – Blood capillariesThe existence of blood capillaries—tiny blood vessels that link arteries toveins—is discovered by Italianmicroscopist Marcello Malpighi.

1884 – Action of white blood cellsRussian zoologist Elie Metchnikoffdescribes how white blood cellssurround and devour bacteria andother germs.

1901 – Blood groupsThe existence of blood groups isdiscovered by Austrian-Americandoctor Karl Landsteiner. The fourblood groups are later named A, B,AB, and O. Blood transfusions willonly work if the right type of blood is given. Landsteiner’s discoveriesallow for safe blood transfusions.

1959 – Hemoglobin structureScientist Max Perutz discovers thestructure of hemoglobin, the substanceinside red blood cells that carriesoxygen and makes those cells red.

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

DISCOVERY TIMELINE: BLOOD

Phials containing every gene in the human body from the HumanGenome Project.

Blood cells

BONEBones are hard and strong because they contain rigid, microscopic cylinders that lie in parallel to eachother. These are named Haversian systems afterClopton Havers, a British doctor who described bonestructure in 1691.

EARThe ear was first described in detail by Italian

anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachio in 1562. He gavehis name to the eustachian tube that connects the

air-filled middle ear to the back of the throat.

BRAINPart of the left side of the brain, called Broca’s area,

controls speech. It was first described in 1861 byFrench doctor Pierre Paul Broca. He made hisdiscovery while treating a brain-damaged patient.

MUSCLESHow muscles contract to pull bones and move thebody was discovered independently in 1954 byBritish scientists Andrew Huxley and Hugh Huxley.

LUNGSIn the 1600s, British doctor John

Mayow discovered that “breathing in”happens when the chest gets biggermaking the lungs expand to take in

air. He experimented with models ofthe chest made from bellows.

STOMACHDigestion in the stomach was

first described in 1833 byAmerican doctor William

Beaumont. He experimented bydangling food into a man’s

stomach through a hole in his sidecreated by a shooting accident.

VEINSVeins are blood vessels that return blood to the heart. In 1603, Italian anatomistHieronymus Fabricius showed that veinshave valves. These prevent the backflowof blood away from the heart.

PITUITARY GLANDIn 1912, American doctor Harvey Cushingdescribed the pituitary gland and how it

works. This raisin-sized gland, at thebase of the brain, is vitally important,

releasing nine hormones that controlgrowth, reproduction, and many other

body activities.

PANCREASMade and released by the pancreas, the hormone insulin controls levels ofglucose in the blood. Insulin was firstisolated in 1921 by Canadian scientistsFrederick Banting and Charles Best.

DISCOVERING THE HUMAN BODY

The human body is made up of 10 trillion cells of 200 different types. It has taken hundreds of years to understand how it works,and there are still more discoveries to be made.

Anatomist AndreasVesalius (1514–1564)

• See the GLOSSARY forexplanations of many of the scientific

terms used in this timeline.

• See page 15THE STORY OF DNA

• See page 17 THE STORY OFGENETIC ENGINEERING

LIVERIn the 1850’s, French physiologist Claude Bernardwas the first person to investigate what the liver,the body’s largest internal organ, does. We nowknow the liver performs over 500 vital functions.

KIDNEYSIn 1842, British doctor WilliamBowman described the microscopicstructure of the kidney. Twoyears later, in 1844, Germanscientist Karl Ludwig discoveredhow the kidneys make urine.

2322

M E D I C A LTIMELINE

1796 – VaccinationEdward Jenner performs the firstvaccination for smallpox.

1851 – OpthalmoscopeGerman scientist Hermann vonHelmholtz invents theophthalmoscope, a device forlooking into and examining theinside of the eye.

1867 – ThermometerEnglish doctor Thomas Allbuttdevises the first accurate clinicalthermometer for measuring bodytemperature.

1882 – TuberculosisGerman doctor Robert Kochdiscovers bacterium that causes the disease tuberculosis (TB).

1895 – X-raysGerman physicist Wilhelm Roentgendiscovers X-rays.

1896 – SphygmomanometerItalian doctor Scipione Riva-Roccidevises first accuratesphygmomanometer, a device formeasuring blood pressure.

1903 – ElectrocardiographDutch scientist Willem Einthovendevises the electrocardiograph(ECG), a machine that monitorsheartbeats.

1910 – SalvarsanGerman scientist Paul Ehrlichdiscovers salvarsan. It is used totreat syphilis and is the first drug to treat a specific disease.

1928 – PenicillinAlexander Fleming discovers theantibiotic penicillin.

1943 – Kidney dialysisDutch doctor Willem Kolff invents the dialysis machine to treat peoplewith kidney failure.

1958 – Ultrasound imagesUltrasound first used to produceimages of a fetus in its mother’suterus.

S U R G I C A LTIMELINE

1770s – Art of surgeryEnglish doctor John Hunter transformssurgery (the process of cutting into thebody to treat disease) from a lowly craftto a progressive medical science.

1846 – AnaestheticThe first public demonstration of ether anaesthetic is carried out byanaesthetist William Morton during a surgical operation in Boston, USA.

1865 – Antiseptic surgeryJoseph Lister pioneers use of germ-killing antiseptic during operations.

1937 – Hip replacementIn London, surgeon Philip Wilesperforms the first hip replacementsurgery using a stainless steel “ball and socket.”

1940 – Plastic surgeryFirst skin grafts, to repair burns sufferedby WWII pilots, carried out by Englishsurgeon Archibald McIndoe.

1944 – Cardiac surgeryPioneering operation by Americandoctors Alfred Blalock and HelenTaussig to treat heart disease in babiesestablishes specialty of cardiac (heart)surgery.

1954 – Kidney transplantFirst successful kidney transplantoperation (transferring a healthy kidney from a donor to a recipient with a diseased kidney) carried out in Boston, by Joseph Murray.

1967 – Heart transplantFirst heart transplant operation carriedout by South African surgeon ChristiaanBarnard.

1969 – MicrosurgeryFirst use, in USA, of microsurgery inwhich a surgeon uses a binocularmicroscope to magnify tiny bloodvessels or nerves while repairing them.

1980 – Keyhole surgeryIntroduction of “keyhole” surgery, calledlaparoscopic-assisted surgery, carriedout through small incisions in the skin.

1987 – Laser eye surgeryIn America, laser eye surgery usingintense heat to repair damaged tissuesfirst performed.

2002 – Surgical robotsFirst robot-assisted cardiac operation in the USA.

Nationality: Scottish

Profession: Bacteriologist

Biographical information: Flemingtrained as a doctor in London andserved in the Medical Corps duringWorld War I. He became interestedin the problem of controllinginfections caused by bacteria andcontinued his research after the war.

Eureka moment: One morning in1928, Fleming was preparing aroutine set of bacteria cultures when

he noticed that something waskilling the bacteria. When heinvestigated, he found that it was a bread mould, called penicillin.

Most famous discovery: Flemingdiscovered penicillin, the firstantibiotic. Antibiotics are drugs thatkill bacteria. They are now used totreat many illnesses and diseases.

Scientists at work: Two otherscientists, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, helped perfect themanufacture of penicillin, and theyshared the 1945 Nobel Prize formedicine with Fleming.

ALEXANDER FLEMING 1881–1955

Nationality: BritishProfession: DoctorBiographical information: EdwardJenner trained as a surgeon beforestudying medicine in London. Hereturned home as a doctor in 1773.Most famous discovery:The discovery and initialdevelopment of vaccination.

Eureka moment: Milkmaid SarahNelmes boasted that she could notcatch smallpox because she hadearlier caught the less seriousdisease cowpox from the cows shemilked. A smallpox outbreak in1788 proved that she was right. Allof Jenner’s patients who had caughtcowpox did not get smallpox.

Scientist at work: Jenner provedhis theory by infecting a small boyfirst with cowpox and then withsmallpox. He found that the boy wasimmune to smallpox. Jenner calledhis treatment vaccination (from theLatin word for cowpox, vaccina).

WILHELM ROENTGENIn November 1895, Germanphysicist Wilhelm Roentgen foundthat by passing electricity through avacuum he produced a new type ofhigh energy radiation that he calledX- (for unknown) rays.

SEEINGBONESRoentgen alsodiscovered thata beam of X-rays could pass throughthe body toproduce animage on aphotographicplate. Roentgen

found that while bones appeared asclear images on the plate, softtissues, such as muscle and skin,were much less distinct.

LOOKING INSIDE THE BODYWithin weeks, Roentgen’s discoverywas greeted as one of the mostsignificant in the history of medicine.For the first time doctors could lookinside the living body without havingto cut it open. Today, X-rays are usedroutinely to detect broken bones andother disorders.

CT SCANNERSX-rays are also used in combinationwith computers in computedtomography scanners. CT scannersproduce images in the form of body“slices” that show both hard andsoft tissues, an idea first developedby British engineer GodfreyHounsfield in 1967.

Joseph Lister was a Britishsurgeon and the founder ofantiseptic surgery.

• In 1867, Lister introduceddressings soaked in carbolic acidand strict rules of hygiene to killbacteria.

• Lister’s methods increased thesurvival rate from surgerydramatically. Prior to this, around

half of all surgical patients died fromgangrene or secondary infections.

In 1819, French doctor RenéLaënnec invented the firststethoscope, an instrument usedby doctors to listen to a patient’sbreathing and heart rate. Since 1819, Laënnec’s cylindre, awooden tube, has been improvedupon many times toproduce theinstrumentused today.

Adisease or illness stops your body

from working normally. The study

of medicine involves finding out

how a disease can be cured and prevented.

Advances in medicine mean that today’s

doctors can diagnose and treat many

illnesses. Hi-tech methods, such as CT scans,

allow doctors to look inside a living body for

possible problems. Drugs, such as the germ-

killing antibiotic penicillin, are being

developed all the time to combat specific

diseases. Modern surgery removes, repairs,

or replaces damaged body parts.

An 18th century case of surgicalinstruments. Many of the implements

were used for amputations—a commonremedy when little was know about

bacterial infections.

Joseph Lister

An X-ray showing a broken leg bone.

Sir Alexander Fleming at amicroscope in his laboratory at St.Mary’s Hospital, London, c 1929.

STETHOSCOPE ANTISEPTIC SURGERY

EDWARD JENNER 1749–1823

DISCOVERING X-RAYS

An X-ray of Roentgen’swife’s hand,

1895.

• See page 15 THE STORY OF DNA

• See page 17 THE STORY OFGENETIC ENGINEERING

MEDICINEIn December, 1967, SouthAfrican surgeon ChristiaanBarnard became the first person to perform a successful,human heart transplant.

December 3, 1967Christiaan Barnard leads a team oftwenty surgeons in a revolutionaryoperation at the Groote SchuurHospital, Cape Town, South Africa.Barnard replaces the heart of SouthAfrican grocer, Louis Washkansky(who has an incurable heart disease) with a healthy heart from afatally injured accident victim.

December 21, 1967Washkansky dies from double pneumonia, but he has lived for 18 days with the donor heart andthe operation is deemed a success.

1970sBarnard’s heart transplant operations are increasingly successful and by the late 1970s, anumber of his patients have survivedfor several years.

TIMELINE: FIRSTHEART TRANSPLANT

Barnard draws a simple diagram of his pioneering

procedure for reporters at apress conference following

the ground-breaking surgery.

• The first programmable machine wasJoseph-Marie Jacquard’s loom.

• The pattern woven by the loomwas controlled by cards with holespunched in them. Changing the

pattern of holes changed the patternwoven into the cloth.

In 1832, English businessmanGeorge Muntz invented an alloy of copper (60%) and zinc (40%),it was known as Muntz metal.This new alloy soon replaced purecopper for sheathing the hulls ofwooden ships, making it stronger.

2524

The Industrial Revolution spread across three centuries and was the

result of countless inventions, developments, and improvements.

Two key factors were the widespread availability of metals,

especially iron and steel, and the introduction of machinery.

The textile industry was the first to be affected

by the Industrial Revolution. The first

modern factories were built in the

18th century for spinning cotton

in northern England.

I R O N & S T E E LTIMELINE

1709 – QUALITY IRONIn England, Abraham Darby firstproduces good quality iron bysmelting iron ore with baked coal.Baked coal burns with a hotterflame than charcoal and can beused to fuel much larger furnaces.

1709 – IRON BARSIn Sweden, the engineerChristopher Polhelm invents agrooved roller that can be used formaking iron bars.

1750 – CRUCIBLE STEELIn England, clockmaker BenjaminHuntsman perfects a process formaking steel by heating high-qualityiron in a special reverbatoryfurnace. Called crucible steel, thisnew metal is so hard to work withthat knife makers at first refuse touse it.

1783 – PUDDLING PROCESSThe English ironmaker Henry Cortpatents his “puddling” process thatconverts the brittle “pig iron,”produced by smelting, into wroughtiron which can be easily hammeredand pressed into pots, pans andother household items.

1847 – STEEL MAKERThe American iron maker WilliamKelly discovers that he can convertiron to steel by blasting jets of aironto molten iron.

1855 – BESSEMER PROCESSIn England, the inventor HenryBessemer patents his own method of making steel using blasts of air.

1864 – SIEMENS-MARTINThe Martin iron works in Francebegins producing steel in an open-hearth furnace invented by theGerman engineer William Siemens.The Siemens-Martin process laterbecomes the world’s leading methodof steel production.

1866 – AIR BOILINGIn the USA, Henry Kelly patents his“air boiling” method of steel making.

1877 – QUALITY STEELIn England, cousins Percy andSidney Gilchrist invent a method ofdephosphorizing steel to producebetter quality metal.

EARLY INDUSTRY

DYNAMITEThe invention: Dynamite is atype of nitro-glycerine explosive thatcould be handled safely. Dynamitebecame used widely in the miningand construction industries.Invented: 1866Invented by: Swedishchemist Alfred NobelOther inventions: Blastinggelatin, smokeless powder forfirearms, and explosives specificallyfor military purposes (although

Nobel later developed a bad conscience about this).Inventor fact: When Nobel diedin 1896, he bequeathed most of hisfortune to establish Nobel Prizes forpeace and scientific achievement.

Mass production depends of threethings: the use of machinery,interchangeable components, and the assembly line.MADE BY HANDThe first machines are individuallymade by hand. The idea ofinterchangeable parts is firstintroduced in France, in 1785, for making the firing mechanisms of sporting guns.

MANUFACTURING FIREARMSIn 1801, inventor Eli Whitneydemonstrates his system ofinterchangeable parts for themanufacture of military firearms.

SAMUEL COLTIn 1855, American industrialistSamuel Colt sets up a factory that uses interchangeable parts and aproduction line to make handguns of his own design.

RANSOM OLDSIn 1901, inventor Ransom Oldsintroduces production line methodsinto the newly established automobile

industry for the manufacture of hisOldsmobile buggy, in the USA.

MODEL T PRODUCTION LINEIn 1913, American industrialist HenryFord builds the world’s first fullyintegrated factory assembly line for theproduction of the famous Model T Ford.

Workers add parts to cars as the carsmove by. The man hours required tobuild a car go down from 12 hours to an hour and a half. A car isproduced every 24 seconds.

AN EXPLOSIVE INVENTION

• See page 12 DISCOVERINGAND INVENTING METAL

T E X T I L E STIMELINE

1733 – FLYING SHUTTLEIn England, the engineer John Kay invents the Flying Shuttle. amechanical attachment for handlooms that speeds up the weavingprocess by more than 100%.

1764 – SPINNING JENNYEnglish cloth worker JamesHargreaves invents the SpinningJenny, a hand-powered machinethat can spin 16 threads at once.

1769 – WATER POWERThe English inventor RichardArkwright patents his water-powered spinning frame that canspin much stronger threads than is possible by hand.

1779 – SPINNING MULEIn England, cloth worker SamuelCrompton perfects his SpinningMule, a water-powered machinethat combines the advantages of theSpinning Jenny and the spinningframe.

1785 – POWER LOOMIn England, Edmund Cartwightpatents the world’s first power loom.Two years later, he also invents amachine for combing wool.

1801 – JACQUARD LOOMIn France, weaver Joseph-MarieJacquard invents an automaticmechanical loom that can weavepatterns.

1851 – SEWING MACHINEAmerican inventor Isaac Singerproduces the world’s first lockstitchsewing machine. The machine usestwo threads—a needle pushes onethread through the cloth fromabove, while a second thread ispushed through the first by a shuttlemoving back and forth underneath.This type of machine was alsoinvented by American Walter Huntin 1843 and had been patented byElias Howe, but Singer’s machineperfected the invention.

1856 – MAUVEEnglish chemist William Perkincreates mauve—the first artificialdye.

FIRST IRON BRIDGEIn 1777, the world’s first iron bridge isconstructed across the River Severn atCoalbrookdale in Shropshire, England.

PRE-FABRICATED BUILDINGIn 1851, The Crystal Palace is builtentirely from iron and glass toaccommodate the Great Exhibition in London, England. Engineer andbotanist Joseph Paxton designs thebuilding, based on the design ofgreenhouses used for growing plants.Paxton’s revolutionary design containsover 300,000 panes of glass andhundreds of ready-made, cast-ironframes that simply bolt together on site.

REINFORCED CONCRETEIn 1867, in France, amateur inventorJoseph Monier makes the firstsuccessful reinforced concrete usinglateral iron rods.

IRON BUILDINGSIn 1889, the Eiffel Tower in Paris,France, is the last major building to be made from iron—in the future, steel will be used.

STEEL-FRAMEDSKYSCRAPERBy the second half of the 19thcentury, business space in US citiesis in great demand. The refinementof the Bessemer steel-makingprocess in 1855 makes it possible to construct very high buildings,because steel is both stronger andlighter than iron. The development of the first safety lift also makesskyscrapers (buildings of 10 to 20stories high) possible.

PRE-STRESSED CONCRETEIn 1928, French Engineer EugeneFreyssinet is the first to make use of prestressed concrete.

A line of Model T chassis. The car bodies were manufactured on the upper floor of the factory, then lowered onto the chassis,

which were built on the lower floor.

Plastics replacedtraditionalmaterials usedin industry,such as wood,

metal, glass,ceramics, natural

fibers, ivory, and bone.

PARKESINEIn 1862, the English chemistAlexander Parkes produces theworld’s first plastic, named Parkesine.The material can be squeezed into amold while soft and is made into smalldecorative items.

CELLULOIDDuring the late 1860s, Americaninventor John Hyatt discovers how tomake celluloid while looking for anivory substitute for making billiardballs. Celluloid is made into combs,piano keys, dolls, knife handles, andfilm. However, it is highly flammableand causes many accidents.

BAKELITEIn 1910, the Belgian-born Americanchemist Leo Baekeland invents the firstthermosetting plastic, a plastic thatsets permanently when heated. It isnamed Bakelite. Hard and chemicallyresistant, Bakelite is a nonconductor ofelectricity so it can be used in all sorts

of electrical appliances.

POLYCARBONATEIn 1953, Dr. Daniel Fox, a chemist atGeneral Electric, creates a gooeysubstance that hardens in a beaker.He finds he cannot break or destroythe material. LEXAN polycarbonatehas been invented. Available in over35,000 colors, polycarbonate hasnow been used in vehicle windows,helmets worn by the first astronauts onthe moon, fighter jet windshields,laptop computer housings, CDs, andDVDs.

• Elisha Otis worked in a US bedfactory. Simple cargo elevatorswere used to move goods to upperfloors. Otis invented a safety devicethathad arms that shot out fromthe elevator car and grabbed theside of the shaft if the rope broke.To demonstrate his invention, hehad the cable cut while he was ina lift at the World’s Fair of 1853.

• Skyscrapers would not have beenbuilt were it not for Otis’s invention.

OTIS SAFETY ELEVATOR

FANTASTIC PLASTIC

• See page 35 for moreinfo on fashion inventions.

• See page 26 HENRY FORD

The Spinning Jenny

THE STORY OF MASS PRODUCTION

THE JACQUARD LOOM MUNTZ METAL

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The Crystal Palace underconstruction.

An engine is a device fortransforming heat from burnedfuel into motive power.

INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL?Steam engines are externalcombustion engines. The fuel isburned in a separate boiler, externalfrom the engine, to makethe steam that provides theforce. Internal combustionengines, such as gas ordiesel engines, burn their fuel inside the engine.

THE FOUR STROKEENGINEIn 1876, German engineerNickolaus Otto built the firstfour-stroke internalcombustion engine. It burned

a mixture of air and coal gas. Four-stroke engines get their namebecause the piston goes through arepetitive cycle of four up and downmovements or strokes. Otto enginesbecome widely used in Europeanfactories.

THE GASOLINE ENGINEIn Germany, in 1885, GottleibDaimler invented the gas enginewhen he developed a carburetor, a device that allows a four-strokeengine to burn a mixture of airand gas. The advantage of gas isthat it is much easier to store than

coal gas.

THE DIESEL ENGINEIn 1893, German engineerRudolf Diesel invented a four-stroke engine thatburned a mixture of air and diesel oil.

2726

ENGINE POWERR O A D V E H I C L ETIMELINE

1838 – Pedal powerKirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottishblacksmith, invents the bicyclewhen he improves the recentlyinvented velocipede. He adds apair of pedals that drive the rearwheel.

1881 – Electric vehicleThe world’s first electric vehicle isdriven around the streets of Paris,France. The electric power issupplied from storage batteriesdeveloped by Gaston Plante andCamille Faure.

1885 – AutomobileIn Germany, mechanical engineerCarl Benz builds and test-drivesthe world’s first automobile, atricycle powered by an internalcombustion engine. Benz’s motortricycle has a top speed of 8 mph.

1885 – MotorcycleGottleib Daimler, who alsoinvented the gas engine, buildsthe world’s first motorcycle inconjunction with the Germaninventor Wilhelm Maybach.

1888 – Pneumatic tireThe Scottish veterinary surgeonJohn Dunlop patents thepneumatic tire. He invented the tyre to give his son a morecomfortable ride on his tricycle.

1904 – Commercial successThe four-wheel, curved-dashOldsmobile designed by RansomOlds becomes the world’s firstcommercially successfulautomobile when some 4,000 are sold in the USA in a singleyear.

1908 – Model TAmerican industrialist Henry Fordintroduces the Model T,describing it as, “the car you canhave in any color, as long as it’sblack.” The Model T marks thetrue beginning of the automobileage.

O N T H E R O A DTIMELINE

1952 – AirbagFirst patented in 1952 by AmericanJohn W. Hetrick, and with apractical version developed in1973, airbags were fitted to mostcars in the US by 1988, and laterto European cars.

1959 – Seat beltFirst fitted to a 1959 Volvo, NilsBohlin’s “lap-and-diagonal” designseat belts anchor passengers to thecar. Seat belts have since preventedmillions of injuries.

1954 – BreathalyzerRobert Borkenstein, a police officerin Indiana, invented thebreathalyzer. It uses chemicals thatturn from orange to green,indicating the amount of alcohol inthe breath.

FASTEST ON FOURWHEELS

1899 – 100 km/h barrierThe French engineer CamilleJenatzy builds an electric car thatbecomes the first vehicle to breakthe 100 km/h barrier (62.2 mph).

1906 – Stanley steamerA Stanley Steamer built by theAmerican brothers Francis andFreelan Stanley reaches a roadspeed of 127.4 mph.

1921 – 208 mphFrench driver Sadi Lecointe reaches208 mph in a gas-engine Nieuport-Delage racing car.

1988 – Solar powerIn the USA, driver Molly Brennanachieves a top speed of 48.71 mph in a solar-powered vehicle calledSunraycer.

1997 – Sound barrierIn the Black Rock Desert, Nevada,Andy Green breaks the soundbarrier in Thrust SSC, reaching aspeed of 763 mph.

For thousands of years, people had to rely

on muscle power for making overland

journeys. They walked, rode on horseback,

or sat in a wagon pulled by animals to travel.

Beginning in the 18th century, the traditional

forms of transport were transformed by the

invention and development of new sources of

mechanical power in the form of the steam

engine, and later, the internal combustion engine.

Nationality: American

Profession: Engineer andbusinessman

Biographical information: HenryFord left school at 15 and apprenticedas a machinist. Later, he set up asawmill and engineering workshopon his father’s farm. He built his firstcar in a workshop behind his home inDetroit in 1896. In 1903, He set upthe Ford Motor Company.

Most famous invention: In 1913,Ford invented the assembly line,an effcient way of making cars.The car moves along a track in thefactory, and each worker adds onepart to the car as it passes them.

Eureka moment: Ford realizedthat if he could produce carscheaply enough, he could sellthem in huge numbers and makebig profits.

STEAM POWER

1698 – STEAM PUMPIn England, engineer ThomasSavery invents a pump that usescondensed steam to create avacuum that draws water up apipe. The machine is used to pumpwater from underground mines.

1712 – BEAM ENGINEEnglish engineer ThomasNewcomen invents the first truesteam engine. It uses a pair ofpistons in cylinders to tilt the ends of a centrally positioned horizontalbeam that operates a pump.

1769 – STEAM WAGONFrench army engineer NicholasCugnot builds the world’s firststeam-powered land vehicle.Cugnot’s prototype three-wheeledartillery tractor can pull loads ofup to 3-tons. However, the weightof the huge copper boiler at thefront makes it difficult to steer. Onits first trip, it runs into a wall.

1791 – ROTARY POWERScottish engineer James Wattperfects a steam engine that iscapable of powering othermachines. Watt’s machine has a

flywheel, which converts the upand down movement of a pistoninto rotary motion.

1801–1808 RAILWAYLOCOMOTIVESRichard Trevithick builds a steamlocomotive for an ironworks inCoalbrookdale, in Shropshire,England. In 1808, he gives rides to passengers around a circulartrack built in London in his “CatchMe Who Can” steam train.

1807 – STEAMBOAT SERVICEIn the USA, the engineer RobertFulton starts a steamboat serviceon the Hudson River between thecities of New York and Albany. Theservice is reliable and successful.

1830 – ROCKETA 31-mile railway line between thecities of Liverpool and Manchesterin England is built primarily tocarry passengers. A locomotivenamed the Rocket, designed by theengineer Robert Stephenson, pullsthe first train in 1930. For a shortstretch Rocket reaches 36 mph.

THE MALLARDThe fastest steam locomotive everwas the Mallard. It achieved amaximum speed of 126 mph in England in 1938. It was builtby the British engineer Sir NigelGresley.

SUPER STEAM

The Stephenson’s Rocket locomotive sits next to a larger, more modern British steam locomotive.

Cugnot’s steam-powered tricycle had a

top speed of 2 mph.The blossoming film industry of the 1920s was quick to see the

potential of the motor car—Ford’sModel Ts were soon in the movies!

Nickolaus Otto’sfour-stroke engine

Henry Ford

• In 1859, Edwin Drake drilledthe world’s first oil well inPennsylvania. He struck oil69.5 feet below the surface.

• At first, oil refineriesconcentrated on producinglubricating oils and paraffin for lamps. But after 1900,with the development of theinternal combustion engine,gas and diesel fuel quicklybecame the most importantrefinery products.

Edwin Drake (right) in 1866with the first US oil well.

At first, steam power was mostly used to run stationary machines. It was only through the vision and determination of engineers andinventors that steam was eventually used to power the railways.

HENRY FORD 1863–1947

INVENTION OF THE ENGINE

• See page 24THE STORY OF MASS

PRODUCTION

BLACK GOLD

• See page 52 A–ZINVENTIONS for more travel-

related inventions.

1783 – FIRST HUMAN FLIGHTThe first humans ever to fly a hot airballoon invented and built by Frenchbrothers Jacques and JosephMontgolfier.

1783 – HYDROGEN BALLOONShortly after the Montgolfier’s hot-air balloon flight, the Frenchscientist Jacques Alexandre CésarCharles makes the first flight in aballoon containing lighter-than-airhydrogen gas. Charles’s balloontravels about 29 miles.

1900 – ZEPPELINSIn Germany, LZ-1, the first largeairship designed by the engineerFerdinand von Zeppelin,successfully takes to the air.Subsequently, zeppelins are used

both for warfare, as bombers, and forcarrying passengers. In 1937, theHindenburg airship disaster brings theairship era to an abrupt end.

1932 – AUGUSTE PICARD

Professor Auguste Picard takes his hot-air balloon to a height of 53,152feet. Picard risks burst blood

vessels and eardrums, and evenblack-outs because his capsule is not pressurized as modern aircraft are today.

1961 – RECORD-BREAKERA US Navy research helium ballooncarries two pilots, Malcolm Ross and Vic Parther, to an altitude

of 113,740 feet above the

Earth’s surface.

1999 –CIRCUMNAVIGATIONBalloon enthusiasts BertrandPiccard and Brian Jonescircumnavigate the world(25,361 miles) in BreitlingOrbiter 3. The helium balloonuses air currents to control itscourse. Orbiter 3 is 780 feethigh and can contain thecontents of seven olympic-sizedswimming pools!

• See page 48 formore information on JACQUESAND JOSEPH MONTGOLFIER

2928

PLANES AND BOATSA I R C R A F TTIMELINE

1485 – Flapping designItalian artist and inventor Leonardoda Vinci sketches a man-poweredaircraft made of wood and fabric.Da Vinci’s design is intended toimitate the flight of birds withflapping wings.

1804 – Fixed wingsIn England, amateur flight enthusiastand inventor George Caley builds amodel fixed-wing glider thatestablishes the basic configurationof the modern aircraft. The gliderwas strong enough to carry a boy,and a later, stronger model carriesCaley’s coachman across a narrowvalley.

1896 – Hang gliderIn Germany, inventor Otto Lilienthalis killed after crashing into theground while testing his latestdesign for a hang-glider. PreviouslyLilienthal had successfully “flown”distances of more than 1150 feetand had made more than 2,500flights.

1903 – Powered flightOrville and Wilbur Wright achievethe world’s first powered flight.

1907 – First helicopterFrench mechanic Paul Cornubecomes the first person to buildand fly a helicopter. It hovers just offthe ground for 20 seconds. Then,the fuselage rotates in the oppositedirection to the rotor blades causingthe machine to crash to the ground.

1909 – Cross-channelFrench engineer and aviator LouisBleriot makes the first flight acrossthe English Channel in the Type XImonoplane that he designed andbuilt.

1919 – First across oceanSetting off from Newfoundland andlanding in Ireland, English pilotsJohn Alcock and Arthur Brown fly a Vickers Vimy biplane across theAtlantic Ocean. The engines getblocked by ice several times whileflying, and Brown has to climbalong the wings to chip away theice with a knife.

Wilbur: 1867–1912 Orville: 1871–1948


Profession: Engineers

Biographical information: Orvilleand Wilbur Wright were brothers.From an early age, they wereinterested in engineering. Theyowned a business manufacturingand designing bicycles.

Eureka moment: In 1899, Wilbur,while watching birds, realized thatan airplane must be able to bank toone side or another, to climb ordescend, and to steer left or right.

Most famous invention: Theairplane—they demonstrated the firstpowered, controlled, and sustainedflight in their plane, Flyer.

Inventors at work: The Wrightbrothers built gliders to perfect thecontrols for their plane, a lightweightpetrol engine to power it and anefficient propeller. They even built awind tunnel to aid their experiments.The brothers approach to inventingwas scientific—they thought about amachine’s requirements in advance,rather than “building the machine andseeing what happened,” like theiraviation predecessors had.

THE BALLOON INVENTERS

Until the invention of powered flight, the only way to cross seas and

oceans was by ship. Early sailors in wooden sailing ships were

constantly at the mercy of the winds and high seas. In the 19th

century, technological innovations, such as iron hulls and steam engines,

made shipping faster, safer, and more reliable. Since the beginning of the

20th century, the development of aircraft has shrunk long-distance journey

times from weeks to a matter of hours.

• December 17, 1903, Wilburand Orville Wright travel to thesand dunes outside Kitty Hawk inNorth Carolina, with their plane,Flyer.

• Only five people witness theworld’s first powered flight.

• Wilbur runs alongside Flyer

holding one wing to balance theplane on the track.

• Orville operates the controls lyingface down on the lower wing.

• The flight lasts 12 seconds andcovers a distance of 120 feet.The brothers make three moresuccessful flights that day.

Flyer at Kitty Hawk

Test pilots make aircraftinventions possible. They put new designs of air and spacecraftthrough manoeuvres designed totest the machines’ capabilities.In 1947, the sound barrier wasbroken for the first time. American test pilot Chuck Yeager flew the air-launched, rocket-poweredBell X-1 aircraft. The X-I reached700 mph at an altitude of 43,000feet.

The first submarine was awooden rowing boat with awatertight cover of greasedleather. It was designed in 1620by Dutch engineer Cornelius van Drebbel.

The craft was powered by 12oarsmen and reached depths ofnearly 15 feet during tests on theThames River in England.Passengers breathed through tubesthat ran from the submarine to thesurface of the water.

• In 1955, British engineerChristopher Cockerell patentedthe hovercraft, a vehicle thatmoves on a cushion of air.

• In 1958, his prototype SR.N1crossed the English Channel (34kilometres) in 20 minutes.

• Cockerell patented around 70inventions during his lifetime.

In the 18th century, sailors couldtell their latitude (position northto south) from the position ofthe Sun. Longitude (position eastto west) was difficult.Comparing the time at home(using a clock onboard ship) withthe time at sea, according to theposition of the Sun, was feasible,but no pendulum clock could keepaccurate time with the rolling ofthe sea.In 1761, after several years workand four attempts, Englishclockmaker John Harrison inventeda chronometer (a large watch-likeclock) with a mechanism anddials. Harrison’s invention keptsuch accurate time that a navigatorcould work out on a map where hewas with an accuracy of less thana mile.

INVENTION OF THE JET ENGINEIn 1930, Royal Air Force pilot FrankWhittle patents his idea for the jetengine, an aircraft engine that usesa jet of heated air to produce thrust.Whittle recognizes the potential foran aircraft that can fly at highspeeds. He proves mathematicallythat his invention can work, but theAir Ministry is not interested.

THE FIRST JET ENGINEWhittle builds his jet engine and onApril 12, 1937, the turbojet enginehas its maiden run on the ground.With the outbreak of WWII, the BritishGovernment now back Whittle, but itis German inventors who develop thefirst operational jet aircraft in 1939.

A I R C R A F TTIMELINE

1927 – Solo Trans-AtlanticAmerican aviator Charles Lindbergmakes the first solo flight across theAtlantic Ocean (from New York toParis) in the Spirit of St. Louis, asingle-engine M62.

1930 – Jet engineIn England, Royal Air Force pilotFrank Whittle patents his idea for a jet engine.

1939 – Jet aircraftIn Germany, the He 178monoplane, designed by ErnstHeinkel, makes its first flightpowered by a jet engine developedby engineer Pabst von Ohain.

1941 – Sikorsky helicopterRussian-born aviator, Igor Sikorskysolves the problem of torque byfitting a small rotor on the tail of ahelicopter. His VS300 hovers in the air for 102 minutes.

1952 – Jet AirlinerThe world’s first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, comes intoservice, carrying passengersbetween London, England andJohannesburg, South Africa.

1970 – Jumbo JetThe first Boeing 747 Jumbo Jetairliner comes into service betweenNew York and London. The jumbo jet can carry more than 360passengers at a time.

1979 – Human-poweredAmerican pilot Bryan Allenachieves the first human-poweredcross-channel flight flying thepedal-powered GossamerAlbatross.

1986 – Around the world American pilots Richard Rutan andJeana Yeager fly nonstop aroundthe world in the experimentalVoyager aircraft. The flight, whichlasts nine days, is made withoutrefuelling.

2005 – Around the worldagain

Steve Fosset flies solo, nonstoparound the world in 67 hours, 1minute, and 46 seconds.

TEST PILOTS

INVENTION OF THEHOVERCRAFT

INVENTING THE JET ENGINE

1783French engineers demonstrate thata steam engine can be used topropel a 165-ton riverboat.

1786American engineer John Fitchdesigns and launches the world’sfirst purpose-built steamboat on theDelaware River near Philadelphia.

1838Swedish engineer John Ericssonuses his ship Archimedes todemonstrate that a steam-drivenscrew (propeller) is more efficientthan a steam-driven paddlewheel

1797The first ship with a completelymetal hull (a 69-foot iron barge) islaunched in England.

SR.NI arrives at Dover afterthe first Channel crossing. John Harrison’s H4 watch.

THE FIRST FLIGHT

ORVILLE AND WILBUR WRIGHT

Piccard (right) and Jones operated Breitling Orbiter 3 from this pressurized

capsule that resembles a spacecraft.

THE FIRST SUBMARINE

SHIP INNOVATIONS

LONGITUDE

Whittle’s engine

• The TIMELINE continueson page 29.

3130

Nationality: Scottish-born AmericanProfession: Teacher and inventor

Biographical information: Bell leftschool at 14 and trained in thefamily business of teaching elocution(public speaking). His family movedto Canada in 1870. He trainedpeople in his father’s system ofteaching deaf people to speak.

Most famous inventon: Workingat night with his assistant, ThomasWatson, he made the first workingtelephone in 1876.

Inventors at work: The telegraphalready used electricity to conveymessages over long distances. Thetelephone had to turn sound intoelectricity and back again. Making it work was a challenge, which Belland Watson solved by hard work overmany months.

Eureka moment: The first wordsspoken on a telephone were, “Mr. Watson, come here, I wantyou!” Bell was testing out his newlyinvented telephone when he spiltsome chemicals on his clothes andcalled to his assistant for help.


TIMELINE

1794 – Chappe’s telegraphClaude Chappe begins theconstruction of his telegraphacross France.

1825 – Electro-magnetThe electro-magnet is invented.This is vital for the later inventionof the telegraph.

1837 – Five-needletelegraph

William Fothergill Cooke andCharles Wheatstone invent the five-needle telegraph. It works bysending an electric current alongwires that move two of the fiveneedles, either left or right, sothat they both point to one letterat a time.

1842 – Fax machineThe fax machine is invented byAlexander Bain, a physicist.

1843 – Morse telegraphMorse demonstrates histelegraph to the AmericanCongress, and they give him$30,000 to build a telegraphline from Washington D.C.to Baltimore, a distance of 40 miles.

1844 – Morse’s messageMorse sends the first message on the new telegraph line. It reads, “What hath GodWrought.”

1858 – Atlantic cableA cable is laid between America and Britain so thattelegraphs can be sent across the Atlantic. The cable failswithin a month.

1860 – First telephoneGerman teacher Philipp Reisinvents a simple telephone. Reisbuilds just 12 telephones beforehe dies. One of Reis’s telephonesreaches a student at EdinburghUniversity. That student student isAlexander Graham Bell.


TIMELINE

1861 – The pantelgraphThe first fax machine is sold. It is called the Pantelgraph.

Telegraphs can be sent from oneend of America to the other.

1865 – Public faxThe first public fax service opens in France, used to sendphotographs to newspapers.

1866 – Atlantic cableThe ship, the Great Eastern, lays asecond cable along the Atlanticseafloor.

1876 – Bell’s telephoneAlexander Graham Bell invents thefirst successful telephone.

1878 – Thomas EdisonAmerican inventor Thomas Edisonhas also been working on atelephone, but Bell beats him to it.Edison invents a microphone thatmakes the voice of the personspeaking much clearer to thelistener.

1880 – First pay phoneThe first pay-phones opened inNew York.

There are now nine separate cablesbetween America and Britain.

1892 – Direct-dialThe first direct-dial telephonesbecome operational.

1915 – First Atlantic callFirst telephone calls across theAtlantic.

1936 – COAXIAL CABLEThe first coaxial cable is laid. Thisallows many telephone messages topass along the same cable.

1963 – 160 MILLIONThe number of telephones in theworld reaches 160 million.

1988 – FIBER-OPTIC CABLEThe first fiber-optic cable is laid acrossthe Atlantic. Now, telephonemessages are carried on pulses oflight.

When the American colonies declared their

independence in 1776, it took 48 days for the

news to cross the Atlantic. The arrival of the

telegraph in 1843 and the telephone in 1876 meant that

news could get to anywhere in the world almost instantly.

The beginning of radio communication in 1896 meant that

sounds could travel vast distances without the need for

cables. When television arrived in 1936, moving pictures

and sounds had the capability to be seen by millions at

the same time anywhere in the world.

COMMUNICATIONS

1973 — First mobile callThe first call made on a mobile phoneis made in April by Dr. Martin Cooper,general manager of Motorola. He callshis rival, Joel Engel, the head ofresearch at Bell Laboratories.

1992 — First textThe first text message is sent. It isreported that the message, “MerryChristmas,” was from Neil Papworthof Vodaphone.

2000 — Camera phoneThe camera phone is created by

Sharp in Japan. It is called the J-Sh04.

August 2001The first month that over one billiontext messages are sent by mobilephone.

• In the early1800s, postage in Britain wascharged bydistance and thenumber of sheetsin a letter. Therecipient paid forthe postage not the sender.

• In 1837, retired Englishschoolteacher Rowland Hill wrotea pamphlet calling for cheap,

standard postage rates,regardless of distance.

• The British Post Officetook up Hill’s ideas,and, in May 1840, issued the first adhesive postage stamps.

• The stamps were printed withblack ink and become known asPenny Blacks.

• Samuel Morse invented Morsecode in 1838. He first got theidea for the code in 1832 whenhe was told about experimentswith electricity.

• Morse’s idea was to develop acode based on interrupting theflow of electricity so that amessage could be heard.

• Morse code works very simply.Electricity is either switched on oroff. When it is on, it travels alonga wire. The other end of the wirethe electric current can eithermake a sound or be printed out.

• A short electric current, a dit,is printed as a dot and a longerdah is printed as a dash.

• In 1793, France was at war. A quick way to warn of aninvasion was needed. In 1794, Claude Chappeinvented the telegraph.

• Chappe’s telegraph used twoarms at the top of a tall tower.Ropes and pulleys moved thearms into different positionseach representing a letter.

• The towers were positioned 6 to20 feet apart, and themessages were read by peopleusing telescopes.

• At first, telephone connectionswere made by operatorspushing plugs into sockets.

• In 1889, in Kansas City,undertaker Almon Strowgerdiscovered that his localoperator was married to a rival undertaker and wasdiverting his calls to herhusband.

• Strowger invented the firstautomatic telephone switch. The remote-controlled switch that could connect one phone to any of several others byelectrical pulses.

CHAPPE’S TELEGRAPH

THE INVENTION OFDIRECT DIALING

THE INVENTION OF THE POSTAGE STAMP

MOBILE PHONES AND TEXT MESSAGINGThe full Morse code is basedon combining dots and dashes

to represent the letters ofthe alphabet.

Wheatstone and Cooke’sfive-needle telegraph.

The main pole of thetelegraph was about

20 feet tall.

Bell experimented for many years with different ways of sendingand receiving spoken messages. This Gallows Frame transmitter

was one of his earliest machines.

•The TIMELINE continues onpage 31.

• See page 48 SAMUEL MORSE

For more informationon Edison:

• See page 36 EDISON’SPHONOGRAPH


ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL 1847 – 1922

MORSE CODE

A • –B – • • •C – • – •D – • •E •F • • – •G – – •H • • • •I • •J • – – – K – • –L • – • •M – –

N – •O – – – P • – – •Q – – • –R • – •S • • • T –U • • –V • • • –W • – –X – • • –Y – • – –Z – – • •

Alexander Graham Bell opens the New York to Chicago telephoneline in 1892.

• The first videotelephone with ascreen for moving pictures wasinvented by AT&T in 1964. It allowed people to look at the people they were calling.

• Using mobile phones to recordvideos started with the creation of3G mobile phones by Dr. IrwinJacobs in 2003.

VIDEO PHONES

Nationality: Scottish

Profession: Electrical engineer

Biographical information: Bairdstudied at the University of Glasgowwhere he first became interested inthe idea of using radio waves totransmit pictures. At the time, mostscientists considered such a systemto be impossible.

Eureka moment: Baird realized thatpictures could be sent by radio if the images were broken down intoa series of electronic impulses. Heinvented a mechanical scanner that,by 1926, was able to scan andtransmit moving images.

Most famous invention: In 1926,using equipment that he had madehimself, Baird demonstrated theworld’s first working televisionsystem.

Other inventions: Baird alsodemonstrated color television in1928 and continued to workresearching stereoscopic television.

In 1936, he demonstrated hismechanical system to the BBC, but they chose an electronic systemfrom EMI.

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COMMUNICATIONSR A D I OTIMELINE

1873 — Electromagnetic waves

Scottish scientist James ClarkMaxwell writes a paper aboutelectromagnetic waves that cantravel through the air. He could notprove they existed.

1887 — Heinrich HertzGerman scientist Heinrich Hertztransmits a spark using a tunedantenna. He also proves JamesClark Maxwell’s theory about theexistence of radio waves, which areone kind of electromagnetic wave.However, the radio waves hecreated could not travel very far.

1894 — Marconi’s bellMarconi makes a bell ring usingradio waves.

1897 — Shore to shipMarconi transmits a signal fromland to a ship eighteen miles out atsea. The British Royal Navy shows agreat interest in this new invention.

1901 — Atlantic signalMarconi sends a radio signal acrossthe Atlantic Ocean.

1906 – Triode valveThe triode valve is invented by LeeDeForrest. It makes radio signalsmore powerful.

1906 — First voice and musicAmerican scientist Reginald A.Fessenden transmits his voice andbroadcasts music using radiowaves. Before this, only morse codecould be carried on radio waves.Following his groundbreakingachievement, Fessenden did notpursue his radio experiments.

1920 — First radio stationThe world’s first ever commerciallylicensed radio station, KDKA inPhiladelphia, makes its firstbroadcast on November 2.

1923 — Atlantic voiceThe first ever broadcast of a voiceacross the Atlantic Ocean is fromPittsburgh to Manchester, UK.

1947 — TransistorThe transistor is invented byengineers at Bell Laboratories.

1995 — Digital radioBBC radio stations, in the UK, begindigital broadcasting.

T E L E V I S I O NTIMELINE

1860s — PantelegraphThe Italian physicist, Abbe GiovanniCaselli, sends images over a longdistance, using a system he calls thepantelegraph. Caselli’s system is thefirst prototype of a fax machine.

1873 — Pictures into signalsTwo British telegraph engineers, Mayand Smith, find a way of turningpictures into electrical signals.

1884 — Mechanical TVGerman engineer Paul Nipkowdiscovers television’s scanningprinciple. His invention, a rotatingdisc with spirals of apertures thatpass successively across the picture,will make a mechanical televisionsystem possible.

1897 — Cathode ray tubeKarl Ferdinand Braun, a Germanphysicist, invents the first cathode raytube. This is used in moderntelevision cameras and TV sets.

1906 — 1907Boris Rosing of Russia develops asystem combining the cathode raywith a Nipkow disc, creating theworld’s first working televisionsystem. In 1907, Rosing transmitsblack and white silhouettes of simple shapes.

1924 — First moving imageThe Scottish engineer John LogieBaird is the first to transmit a movingimage, using a system based onNipkow’s disc.

1925 — First face on TVBaird transmits recognizable humanfaces.

1926 — Moving objectsBaird demonstrates the televising ofmoving objects at the Royal Institute.

1936 — BBCThe BBC (British BroadcastingCorporation) starts the world’s firstpublic television service in London.

1951 — Color TVThe first color television transmissionsbegin in the USA.

1989 — Satellite TVThe first satellite television stationsare launched with four channels.

1998 — Digital TVFirst digital satellite television stationslaunched.


Profession: Physicist

Biographical information: Marconiattended Technical College in Italy,where he studied electricity andmagnetism. After leaving college, hecontinued his experiments at thefamily farm but could find littlesupport for his work in Italy. In1896, he moved to England.

Most famous invention: Marconiinvented the first practical system ofwireless communication using radiowaves. In 1896, before leavingItaly, Marconi managed to transmita radio signal over a distance of

about one and a half kilometres. In England he quickly increased therange to about 62 miles, and in1899, made radio contact betweenBritain and France.

Eureka moment: In 1901, Marconisuccessfully sent a radio messageacross the Atlantic Ocean, fromCornwall, England to St.John’s,Canada, a distance of more than2,500 miles.

Inventor at work: Marconi wasawarded the 1909 Nobel Prize forphysics. He continued to makenumerous improvements to radiotransmitting and receivingequipment.

Invented in 1947, thetransistor replaced the valvesinside radios that picked upradio signals. Transistors weremuch smaller than valves, so itnow became possible to makeportable radios.

October 18, 1954The world’s “first pocket radio”goes on sale. The Regency TR1 is5 inches high. About 100,000TR1s are sold during the radio’sfirst year of production.

1955A Japanese company called TokyoTsushin Kogyo build a portableradio for the US market. In1958, before they begin sellingthe radio, they change thecompany name to Sony.

• In 1991, Britishinventor Trevor Baylis invented the wind-up radio,enabling millions in the developingworld, with nopermanent electricitysupply, to receivebroadcasts.

• The radio works by winding up aspring, which slowlyuncoils and powers asmall generator.

Much of our long-distancecommunication relies on thehundreds of satellites thatare in orbit around the Earth.

• Each satellite receives a radio or television signal from one place and then transmits it onwards.

• Most of the satellites are geostationary, which means they are traveling at the same speed as the Earth’s rotation and will always be at the same point in the sky.

• In summer 1962, the USA launched the Telstar satellite.

• Telstar provided a radio and television link between Europe and America for just a few hoursevery day.

Baird is credited with theinvention of television, but thesystems we use and the TVs wewatch today owe much to earlierinventors (see timeline, right) and to two pioneers of theelectronic television, Zworykin and Shoenberg.

Vladimir Zworykin• Russian born Vladimir Zworykin

emigrated to the USA in 1919.

• Zworykin was the first to take up the suggestion by Scottish engineer

Alan Campbell Swinton that it should be possible to both create and display pictures using a cathode ray tube.

• In 1931, heading a team at RCA, Zworykin created the first successful electronic camera tube, the iconoscope.

Isaac Shoenberg• Russian-born Isaac Shoenberg also

emigrated to Britain in 1914.

• In 1936, working with a team at Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI), Schoenberg used Zworykin’s basic idea to develop the Emitron tube which formed the heart of the cameras demonstrated for the BBC.

The winning systemIn 1936, EMI’s all electronic systemwas demonstrated to the BBC and waschosen over the mechanical systemdemonstrated by Baird. Except forsome specific differences, the EMIsystem is the one in use today.

RADIO ON THE MOVE

CLOCKWORK RADIO

The televisor, a mechanical television set invented by Baird. Viewers watched the first television broadcasts on these sets.

Marconi, in 1896, with an early apparatus.

Inventor Trevor Baylis with his clockwork radio.

Televisor screen

A 1962 Sony transistorradio with wind up watch

and alarm. Telstar

JOHN LOGIE BAIRD 1888–1946

THE ELECTRONIC PIONEERSSATELLITES

GUGLIELMO MARCONI 1874–1937

Vladimir Zworykin, vice president of RCA, c 1951

HOME INVENTIONSTIMELINE

1740 – Franklin stoveAmerican Benjamin Franklin inventsa simple, cast-iron stove, similar tomodern-day woodburners, forwarming homes.

1792 – Gas lightingIn 1792, Scottish engineer WilliamMurdock invents gas lighting. Heheats coal in a closed vessel andthen pumps the gas to lights aroundhis cottage in Cornwall, England.

1830 – LawnmowerPatented in 1830, Edwin Budding’scylinder lawnmower makes lawnsavailable to all homes. Before this,only people with a gardener orflock of sheep could maintain alawn.

1844 – RefrigeratorAmerican doctor John Gorrie buildsa machine that uses compressed airto provide cooling air for feverishpatients in his hospital. In 1851, hereceives the first US patent formechanical refrigeration.

c 1860 – LinoleumBritish rubber manufacturerFrederick Walton invents linoleum, awashable floor covering made fromcloth covered with a linseed oil andpine resin substance.

1907 – Washing machineUS inventor Alva Fisher invents thefirst electric washing machine. Themachine has a drum that tumblesthe clothes and water backwardand forward. The machine is calledthe Thor.

1919 – Pop-up toasterUS inventor Charles Strite inventsthe first toaster to automatically stoptoasting and pop out the toast whenit is ready. It will be nine yearsbefore Otto Rohwedder inventssliced bread.

1946 – Microwave ovenIn 1945, US engineer PercyLeBaron Spencer invents themicrowave oven. While working onradar, Spencer makes the discoverythat powerful microwaves hadmelted some chocolate in hispocket.

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While most home and fashion-related inventions could not claim

to have changed our world, they have certainly made it more

colorful, comfortable, and clean. Today, we wear clothes and

shoes made from a variety of different materials. We take it for granted that

electric lights will illuminate our homes, that chilled food and drinks will

stay that way in the refrigerator, and that the toilet will flush.

HOME AND FASHION

FIRST FLUSHING TOILET• Sir John Harington was a British

writer. His godmother was QueenElizabeth I.

• In 1596, he published a humorouswork entitled The Metamorphosisof Ajax (a play on the word jakes,slang for lavatory). It includeddiagrams of a flushing toilet, orwater closet.

• Harrington’s toilet design had abowl, a seat, and a cistern ofwater for washing away the toilet’scontents.

• Harrington built just two of histoilets, one for himself and one forthe queen at Richmond Palace.

THOMAS CRAPPER• In the 1800s, toilet pioneers, such

as Thomas Crapper, began todevelop the toilet further andproduce the items we recognizetoday.

• Crapper registered a number ofpatents, including a spring-loadedtoilet seat that lifted as soon as theuser stood and pulling rods thatautomatically flushed the pan.

TOILET PAPER• American Joseph Gayetty is

credited with inventing toilet paperin 1857. Before Gayetty’sinvention, people tore pages out of mail order cataloges.

• In 1880, the British PerforatedPaper Company invented a type oftoilet paper. The shiny paper camein small sheets in a box.

• Working independently,Sir Joseph WilsonSwan and ThomasEdison eachinvented a light bulb.

• Swan, a Britishinventor, is bestknown for hisincandescent-filamentelectric lamp of 1879.It gave off light as an electric current

passed through its carbonfilament contained in

a glass bulb.

• In America, Edison had the same idea. By 1880,he and Swan had

developed efficient,long-lasting, light bulbs.In 1883, they formedthe Edison & SwanElectric Light Company.

• In 1978, British inventor JamesDyson noticed that the dust bagin conventional vacuum cleanersquickly clogged up.

• Dyson had the idea of making a bagless cleaner. It usedcentrifugal force to suck dustinto a plastic cylinder.

• Five years and 5,127 prototypeslater, Dyson was finally makingand marketing a vacuum cleanercalled the Dyson Dual Cyclone.The Cyclone was first realbreakthrough sincethe vacuumcleaner’sinventionin 1901.

In 1969, American inventor Bob Gorediscovered that a new material couldbe produced from the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

He invented GORE-TEX, the world’sfirst completely waterproof, windproof and breathable fabric.Many other fabrics could repelwater, but they did not breathe, sothe wearer still got wet inside theirclothing from the moisture producedby their own body.

GORE-TEX has now been worn byAntarctic explorers and even spaceshuttle astronauts!

TOILET INVENTIONS

THE LIGHT BULB

THE INVENTION OFTHE DYSON

The invention of jeans is basicallythe story of Levi’s® 501® Jeans.

• Levi Strauss ran the San Franciscobranch of his brothers’ dry goodsbusiness and supplied cloth toJacob Davis, a tailor.

• To cure the problem of hiscustomers ripping their workpants, Jacob came up withthe idea of using metalrivets to strengthen thepoints of strain. This wasa great success.

• Needing money to patenthis invention, Jacobteamed up with Levi. OnMay 20, 1873, the twomen received patentno.139,121 from theUS Patent Office. Bluejeans were born.

• Around 1890, the waistoveralls, as they were

called, were assigned the number501.

• The word jeans was coinedaround 1960.

THE INVENTION OF JEANS

Adolf (Adi) Dassler made his firstshoes in 1920. He was just 20years old. Dassler’s vision was to provide every athlete with the best footwear for his or her discipline.

• Athletes wore special shoes fromhis workshop for the first time atthe 1928 Olympic Games held inAmsterdam.

• By the mid 1930s, Dassler wasmaking 30 different shoes for 11sports, and his company was theworld’s leading sports shoemanufacturer.

• In 1948, he introduced adidas(a combination of his names)

as the company name,and a year later he registered the

unmistakable‘Three Stripes’.

• In 1954, when Germany won theWorld Cup in soccer, the teamwere wearing shoes with screw-instuds, made by adidas.

GORE-TEXWhile a professor at HarvardUniversity in 1928, WallaceCarothers was hired by the chemicalcompany DuPont. Carothers’ missionwas to, “Get rid of the worms!”

1928 – A SILK SUBSTITUTEDupont wanted Carothers to make asubstitute for silk, the fine and verycostly fiber that is spun by silkworms.

Carothers set to work with a team of eight people, including scientistJulian Hill.

1930 – INVENTING PLASTICSThe team’s first breakthrough wasneoprene, and soon after, a plastic

called 3-16 polymer.

When Hill dipped a rod into 3-16,he could pull out a thread. The morehe stretched the thread, the strongerit became.

The threads were springy as silk,could be made from oil, water, andair and no silkworms were required.

1934 – NYLONThe 3-16 polymer was not suitablefor cloth production, since ironingmelted it, but by tweaking the recipethey produced the “artificial silk”required. Five more years ofresearch and the newly-named nylonwas ready to go.

US engineer Vic Mills did not likethe cloth diapers worn by hisgrandaughter, so he challengedthe US company Procter &Gamble to find a solution to theproblem.

In 1961, after years of testing,diapers called Pampers® were sold.

BABY FASHION

In 1823, the Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh invented a method ofusing rubber to produce waterproof cloth.

His name (misspelled as mackintosh orshortened to mac) becomes the popular

name for a raincoat. They are known asslickers in the US.

Adi Dassler in his sports shoes factory.

THE INVENTION OF NYLON

THE MACKINTOSH

• See page 44 DOMESTIC ROBOTS

• See page 56 VACUUM CLEANER

The DysonDC15

VintageLevi 501s

THE INVENTION OF ATHLETIC SHOES

The adidas® Hyperride

Basketball was invented inDecember, 1891, by JamesNaismith, a physical educationinstructor in Springfield,Massachusetts.Basketball gets its name from thetwo bushel baskets (used forcollecting peaches) that Naismithused as the goals.

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RECORDED MUSICTIMELINE

1877 – First recordingOn December 6, the first soundrecording is made by Americaninventor Thomas Edison on amachine called a phonograph at his Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey.

1887 – Going flatThe first recording machines usecylinders made from tinfoil or wax.In 1887, Emile Berliner invents thegramophone. It records sound as agroove on a flat metal disc.

1898 – Magnetic recordingIn Denmark, Valdemar Poulseninvents a new way of recording. His telegraphone machine recordssound by magnetizing a steel wire.

1931 – Tape recorderThe first tape recorders are built.Instead of steel wire, they usemagnetic tape. The public sees taperecorders for the first time in Berlinin 1935.

1963 – Cassette tapeThe first tape recorders use tape that has to be threaded through themachine by hand. Then, in 1963,Philips produce the compactcassette, which is simply put in therecorder and played.

1960s – Portable musicEarly tape recorders are the size ofa suitcase. Then, in the 1960s,small battery-powered cassetterecorders let people carry recordedmusic about with them. Soon,recorders are not much bigger thanthe cassette tapes they play.

1982 – Compact discsCompact discs (CDs) go on sale.Music is recorded as microscopicpits in the silver-colored discs.

1998 – DownloadingThe first MP3 player, the MPMan,lets people download music filesfrom the World Wide Web.

2001 – The iPod®

Apple launches its own MP3 player,the iPod. As of September, 2005,Apple has sold over 21 millioniPods.

A T T H E M O V I E STIMELINE

1882 – Camera gunFrenchman Étienne-Jules Mareyis the first person to take a seriesof photographs quickly with onecamera. The gun-like cameratakes 12 photographs on apaper disc in one second. It wasthe forerunner of the moviecamera.

1887 – Paper to filmAmerican minister, HannibalGoodwin, uses a strip of flexiblefilm instead of light-sensitivepaper to record images. Film quickly replaces paper.

1888 – First filmThe first film is shot in Leeds,England, by Frenchman LouisAimé Augustin Le Prince. Itshows traffic crossing a bridge.

1891 – KinetoscopeThe American inventor ThomasEdison invents a machine calleda Kinetoscope for showing films.Only one person can see the filmat a time.

1895 – Cinema is bornThe French brothers, Augusteand Louis Lumière, show films to the public for the first time.Cinemas quickly spreadthroughout France and all over the world.

1927 – TalkiesWarner Brothers make the firstfeature film with sound. It iscalled The Jazz Singer. Soundmovies were called talkies.

1993 – Computercharacters

Jurassic Park featured the mostrealistic computer-generatedimages (cgi) ever seen in amovie. Cgi was used to createlife-like dinosaurs, which wereblended with live action.

1995 – Computer moviesPixar makes the first totallycomputer-generated movie, ToyStory.

2001 – Digital moviesThe first movie shot entirely usingdigital cameras is Star Wars:Attack of the Clones.

In the past, hobbies were limited by the

amount of free time available to people.

Toys were primarily simple adaptations of

everyday items. Now, people have much

leisure time and spending power. For the past

150 years, inventors and innovators have used

their talents to entertain us and satisfy our

demands, from simple toys like building

blocks, to the latest equipment for

downloading music.

LEISURE AND TOYS

• A new type of camera, calleda motion control camera, wasinvented to make the firstStar Wars movie in 1977.

• A motion control camera is acamera moved by a computer.The computer is programmedwith the camera’smovements, so the camera

can go through exactly thesame movements again and again.

• The camera films models ofspacecraft and planets, oneby one. Then, all the separateimages are combined to formone scene.

• Old recording machines made acopy of music on a tape or disc.If the recording was not perfect,crackles and hisses would beheard.

• Digital recording is different. The music is changed intonumbers. It is the code that isrecorded.

• A CD or MP3 player reads thecode and uses it to create themusic. Crackles and hisses thatare not part of the code areignored, so the music is perfect.

• In 1979, Sony engineers tookjust four days to create aprototype, pocket-sized tapeplayer with earphones, an ideadevised by Masura Ibuka, thehead of Sony.

• Ibuka wanted somethingbusinesspeople could use torelieve the boredom of longflights without disturbing otherpassengers.

• In June 1979, the Walkmanwas launched.

• Shouting into the horn of Edison’sphonograph (see above) made aneedle vibrate and scratch agroove into tin-foil wrappedaround a spinning cylinder.

• When the needle was movedback to the beginning of thecylinder, the groove made theneedle vibrate.

• The tiny vibrations were madeloud enough to hear by themachine’s horn, recreating theoriginal sound.

c 1700 – ClarinetThe Germanmusician andinstrument makerJohann Dennerdevelops the clarinetfrom an earliermusical instrument,called thechalumeau.

1709 – PianoItalian harpsichord builderBartolomeo Cristofori invents a touch-sensitive harpsichord. This newinstrument will eventually become thepiano. Harpsichords plucked theirstrings, but Cristofori’s new instrument

hits the strings withhammers, so theharder the keyboardwas struck, the louderit played.

1948 – Long-playing recordEngineer PeterGoldmark develops avinyl disc for ColumbiaRecords that can play

25 minutes of sound each side.

1949 – 45rpm singleRCA Victor brings out the single,a 7 inch record that holds one songon each side at a spead of 45rotations per minute.

MUSICAL INVENTIONS EDISON’SPHONOGRAPH

MONOPOLY®

Monopoly was invented by AmericanCharles B. Darrow. He sold his idea to Parker Brothers in 1935.Monopoly was a similar concept toLizzie G. Magie’s Landlord’s Game,patented 1904. Magie’s game wasdevised as a way to highlight thepotential exploitation of tenants bygreedy landlords.

KALEIDOSCOPEThe kaleidoscope was

patented by Scottishphysicist Sir DavidBrewster in 1817.Kaleidoscopes usemirrors to reflectimages of pieces ofcoloured glass ingeometric designs.

The design can beendlessly changed by

rotating the end of thekaleidoscope.

BARBIE®

Barbara Millicent Roberts, or Barbie, as she is better known, was launched in 1959 by California toy company Mattel, Inc.Mattel calculates that every second, two Barbies are soldsomewhere in the world.

SCRABBLE®

When he lost his job as anarchitect during the GreatDepression in 1931, AlfredMosher Butts invented the gameScrabble. Butts calculated the letterfrequency and points value foreach letter by counting thefrequency of letters on the frontpage of the New York Times.

LEGO®

In 1955, under the leadership ofGodfred Kirk Christiansen, Legolaunched the LEGO system of playthat included LEGO automaticbinding bricks. Christiansen’s father,Ole Kirk, started the toy-makingbusiness in 1932. Today,approximately seven Lego setsare sold each second.

THE WALKMAN

Edison’s phonograph, the firstsound recording machine


INVENTIONS FOR FUN

ROLLERSKATEIn January, 1863, James LeonardPlimpton patented a four-wheeledroller skate that was capable ofturning. Plimpton built arollerskating floor in the office ofhis New York City furniturecompany.

DIGITAL MUSIC

INVENTION OFBASKETBALL

The Diamond Rio is typical of the first generation of

MP3 players.

INVENTING SPECIAL EFFECTS

• At a Saratoga Springs resort, New York, in1853, customer Cornelius Vanderbilt

complains that his fries are too thick.

• Chef George Crum fries up a serving of paper-thin, crunchy, crisp potatoes.

Called Saratoga Chips, they quickly becamea favorite. Crum invents the potato chip!

• Chips as we now know them becamepopular in the 1920s when Mrs.

Scudder mass producedthem and sold them inwaxed paper bags.

• In 1926, Lay’spotato chips were the

first successfully marketednational brand.

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Profession: Naturalist

Biographical information:Clarence Birdseye was born inBrooklyn, New York in 1886. Hestudied biology at college, but left towork as a field naturalist for the USgovernment in northern Canada.

Eureka moment: In Labrador, in1912, Birdseye watched nativeAmericans fishing through holeschipped in an icy lake. As fish werepulled out, they were immediatelyfrozen by the intense cold air. Birdseye realised that speedy chillingsolved the main problem with frozenfood—ice.

Most famous invention: Whenfood is frozen slowly, long, sharpcrystals of ice are formed which cutinto the food causing it to break upwhen defrosted. It took Birdseyeeight years to work out how to chillfood quickly enough to stop thedaggers of ice forming. By 1930,Birdseye’s machine which squeezedpre-packed food between two very cold plates was ready to go into

production. However, home freezerswere still very rare.

It would be 1955, before Birdseye’sinvention was finally a worldwidesuccess.

• American Will Kellogg worked athis family’s health resort thatpromoted healthy vegetarianfood.

• In 1894, while experimentingwith boiled wheat, hediscovered that when crushedbetween rollers, wheat that hadbeen previously soaked for along time broke into flakes.

• Toasted Corn Flakes were soldfirst by mail order and thenthrough shops. In 1906, Willparted company with his brotherJohn who objected to theaddition of sugar and salt to thecereal.

• 20 years later, Will Kellogg wasa cornflake tycoon and one ofthe richest men in America.

• Described as the world’s “bestknown taste,” the drink we nowknow as Coca-Cola® was inventedby pharmacist Dr John StithPemberton, in Atlanta, Georgia.

• On May 8, 1886, a jug ofPermberton’s syrup was sampled atJacobs’ Pharmacy and pronounced,“Excellent” by the lucky “guineapigs” who were gathered there.Carbonated water was added to thesyrup to produce a drink that wasboth “delicious and refreshing.” The new product was immediatelyput on sale for five cents a glass.

• The inventor’s partner, Frank M.Robertson, suggested the name Coca-Cola and correctly thought that,“the two Cs would look well inadvertising.”

G R O W I N G F O O DTIMELINE

1492 – New foodsColumbus discovers America. In the next two hundred years,potatoes, maize, tomatoes,tobacco, and cocoa reach the restof the world.

1701 – Seed drillJethro Tull invents the seed drill in England. The drill sows seed instraight lines.

1701 – FertilizerThe first guano (seabird manure)brought to Europe from SouthAmerica is used as fertilizer.

1834 – Reaping machineAmerican Cyrus McCormickinvents the horse-drawn reapingmachine, which replaces workersusing sickles and scythes to cutcorn and make hay.

1837 – Steel plowAmerican John Deere invents thesteel plow that can plow the soilof the American midwest withoutclogging. This makes it possiblefor people to settle and farm inthis region.

1854 – Threshing machineAn improved American threshingmachine can thresh 74 timesmore wheat in half an hour that asingle worker.

1860 – Milking machineWith modern improvements of themilking machine, a farmer canmilk six cows at a time and milkan entire herd without help.

1873 – Barbed wireAmerican Joseph Glidden perfectsbarbed wire, which makesfencing cheap.

1917 – Ford tractorFirst mass-produced tractor madeby Ford in 1917.

Food and drink are essential needs for every

human being. Without them, we would die. Just

like everything else, however, that doesn’t stop

human beings from experimenting with and inventing

new foods, new tastes, and new ways to grow, prepare,

and store our food. Today, because we know that too

much fat and sugar are bad for us, scientists are hard at

work making our favorite foods and treats more healthy.

Nationality: FrenchProfession: Scientist

Biographical information: Theyoung Louis Pasteur did not impressas a student, but classes given by abrilliant chemistry teacher were tochange his life. After studying at thefamous École Normale Supérieure inParis, he became the Dean of theFaculty of Science at the Universityof Lille.

Eureka moment: While studyingthe fermentation process of wineand vinegar, he made his greatestdiscovery. Fermentation and decayare caused by microscopic living

organisms. By heating wine to about140º F, he killed off the unwantedyeast cells that caused the product tospoil.

Most famous discovery: Pasteurshowed that invisible organisms canspoil food and cause disease.Pasteurization, the process heinvented of making liquids hotenough to kill any harmfulorganisms without destroying theirfood value, is still used today,particularly in milk production. It isused to kill bacteria that can causetuberculosis in humans.

Other discoveries: Vaccinations,

including a vaccine for the killerdisease rabies, developed from thebrain tissue of infected animals.Pasteur cured a boy who had beenbitten by a rabid dog and was hailedas a hero.

CLARENCE BIRDSEYE 1886–1956 INVENTING THECORNFLAKE

INVENTING COCA-COLA

• The sandwhich was invented in the18th century by Englishman JohnMontagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

• In 1762, Montagu played cards for24 hours nonstop. It is believed thathe ate beef between slices of toastso one of his hands was free to playcards at all times. Montagu’sconvenient snack was named thesandwich after the inventive earl.

• One day in 1930, while preparinga batch of Butter Drop Do cookies,American Ruth Wakefieldsubstituted a semi-sweet Nestlechocolate bar, cut up into bits, forthe usual cooking chocolate sheused in her cookie recipe.

• Unlike the cooking chocolate, thepieces of chocolate did not meltwhen they were baked, they onlysoftened. The chocolate chipcookie was born.

The famous Coca-Colatrademark was penned inRobertson’s unique script.

Clarence Birdseye (in thewhite lab coat) experiments

with a huge dehydrationmachine.

CHOCOLATE DISCOVERY& INVENTION

TIMELINE

c 1000 BCChocolate is produced from cocoabeans. It is believed that the OlmecIndians of Central America werethe first to grow cocoa beans as a crop.

Early 1500sChristopher Columbus and laterthe Spanish explorer HernandoCortez record seeing cocoa beingused and bought and sold duringtheir explorations in the Americas.

1544Mayan nobles bring gifts of ready-to-drink, beaten chocolate to Prince Philip of Spain. It will be 100 years before Spain andPortugal export the drink to therest of Europe.

The Spanish add cane sugar andvanilla to their cocoa drink, andcoca becomes popular as amedicine.

Late 1600sEating solid chocolate isintroduced in Europe in the form of rolls and cakes, served inchocolate stores.

1753Swedish naturalist CarolusLinnaeus, dissatisfied with theword cocoa, renames ittheobroma, Greek for food of the gods.

1765Irish chocolate-maker John Hananimports cocoa beans to the USA.Hanan and fellow American Dr.James Baker build America’s firstchocolate mill making Baker’schocolate.

1828Conrad Van Houten invents thecocoa press.

1847Joseph Fry and Son create a pastethat can be molded to produce thefirst modern chocolate bar.

1876Milk chocolate is invented by DanielPeter of Vevey, Switzerland aftereight years of experimenting.

FOOD AND DRINK

• See page 23 EDWARD JENNER

• See page 17 THESTORY OF GENETIC

ENGINEERING: GM CROPS

LOUIS PASTEUR 1822–1895

CHOCOLATE CHIPSBY ACCIDENT

INVENTING THESANDWICH

THE INVENTION OF THE CHIP

4140

C O M P U T E R STIMELINE1822 – Charles BabbageCharles Babbage, a mathematicianand inventor, draws up plans for his Difference Engine that willcataloge a whole series ofcalculations. Babbage alsoconceives of a general purposemachine called the AnalyticalEngine (a modern computer, asunderstood today). Unfortunately, it will never be completed.

1890 – US CensusGovernment staff takes seven yearsto analyze the 1880 US Censusresults. Herman Hollerith patents a machine in 1884, the HollerithCensus Tabulator, which analyzesthe 1890 census in just six weeks.

1937 – Programmable computer

Howard Aiken of HarvardUniversity, in collaboration withIBM, develops Harvard Mark 1.After experimenting withelectromagnetic relay circuits andvacuum tubes (switches with nomoving parts), Aiken is able tobuild something like Babbage’sAnalytical Engine.

1941 – Konrad ZuseGerman engineer Zuse builds first“true” computer. It is controlled by aprogram and uses binary form.

1943 – ColossusAs part of the wartime project tobreak enemy codes, the Britishgovernment builds Colossus, the first electronic digital computer.

1946 – ENIACThe first totally electronic computer. It was designed for the specificpurpose of computing values forartillery range tables.

1947 – TransistorThe invention of the transistor leads IBM to re-engineer its earlymachines from electromechanical,or vacuum tube, to transistortechnology in the 1950s.

1954 – Business computersIBM produces the IBM 650, a lowcost ($200,000) magnetic drumcomputer, eventually selling 1,800models.

Computers are now used in nearly every part

of our lives, and yet the computer has only

been around for about 80 years. One hundred

years ago, mechanical machines that did calculations

were used, but it was only at the end of the 1930s

that electronic computers appeared. The first

computers were large machines designed for

use in laboratories, in industry, and for defense. Once

computer could fill up a whole room. In 1974, it

became possible to have a computer in your home.

Nationality: British

Profession: Mathematician andcomputer expert

Biographical information: Turingwas born in 1912. He had a giftfor mathematics, which he studiedat Cambridge University.

Eureka moment: In 1924,university student Alan Turingwrote an essay in which hedescribed a machine that is thebasis of all computers in theworld today. It was the first ideafor a computer to includememory, a processor, and a wayof storing information on tape.

Most famous invention:

Turing’s work as a mathematianwas stopped by World War II. Hewas taken to Bletchley Park, inEngland, where he led a teamtrying to find a way to crack theEnigma code used by Germany,Italy and Japan. In 1943, Turingdesigned a computer called theColossus that helped to decipherthe German codes, which helpedto win the war.

Other inventions: After WorldWar II, Turing continued workingon computers. In 1950, he wrote an article in which he said that acomputer could have the sameintelligence as any person. .

ALAN TURING 1912–1954

• The abacus was invented in theperiod 3000–1000 BC by theBabylonians (ancient race ofpeople living in the area that ismodern-day Iraq).

• This early counting machinemade up of beads on rods canbe said to be the first step inthe development of thecomputer.

At first, not everyone could seethe computer’s potential.

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”– Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943.

“There is no reason anyone in the right state of mind will want a computer in their home.”– Ken Olson, President of DigitalEquipment Corp., 1977.

C O M P U T E R STIMELINE

1959 – First minicomputerDigital Equipment Corporationproduce an early minicomputer thePDP-1. Selling for $120,000, it wasa fraction of the cost of mainframecomputers. The later model PDP-8in 1965 uses the recently inventedintegrated circuit and sells for$20,000.

1967 – Computer keyboardKeyboards are used for data entry.

1968 – INTELIntel is formed. The company willgrow to become one of the world’slargest and most importantcomputer processor manufacturers.

1970 – Floppy diskThe floppy disk produced by IBM.

1971 – MicroprocessorThe first microprocessor is produced.

1974 – Personal computerThe first personal computer, theAltair 8800, goes on sale. It is soldas a kit, so the customer has to putthe computer together before theyuse it.

1975 – Microsoft®

Bill Gates and Paul G. Allen formMicrosoft and adapt BASIClanguage for use on the Altair PC.

1976 – Apple®

Apple Computers is founded bySteve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.

1981 – IBM® pcIBM launches their PersonalComputer (IBM PC), which usesMicrosoft Disc Operating System(MS-DOS).

1982 – CDPhilips Electronics and SonyCorporation work together to inventthe CD.

1984 – Macintosh®

Apple launches the MacintoshComputer, designed to appeal tothose who are not computer experts.

1985 – Windows®

Microsoft releases the first version of the operating system, calledWindows.

1995 – Windows 95Microsoft releases Windows 95,which fully integrates MS-DOS withWindows.

Today, a computer is in almostevery electrical item we use.

MOBILE PHONEThe computer in a mobile phonedetermines the closest transmitter toyour current position.

CARAn in-car computer controls the mosteconomical use of gas in mostmodern cars.

VIDEO CAMERAAll modern video cameras include an

auto focus function that examineswhat it can see, detects the edgesof each item coming through thelens, and adjusts the focus to keeppictures sharp.

AIRPLANEThere are probably more computersin an airplane than any othervehicle. Computers controleverything from the speed andheight of the plane, to the runningof the in-flight movie and thecooking of any meals served.

VACUUM TUBESThe main electronic parts of earlycomputers were called vacuumtubes, or simply valves, because they controlled the flow of electricity.

1947 – TRANSISTORSThe first prototype transistor wasinvented at the Bell laboratories inthe USA. The transistor acts as anelectronic switch, and once it isperfected in the 1950s, quicklyreplaces the vacuum tube.

1960s – MICROCHIPSIn the late 1960s, the integratedcircuit was developed. Thousands of transistors and other electriccomponents could be built onto atiny silicon chip, or microchip.

1968 – MICROPROCESSORSIn 1968, Ted Hoff of Intel was askedto come up with a design for a new calculator chip that could doseveral jobs at once. He came upwith the idea of the microprocessor.Launched in 1971, themicroprocessor made it possible tobuild much smaller computers.

This microchip, held in thejaws of an ant, contains

thousands of components.

TIMELINE OF KEYDEVELOPMENTS

ANCIENT COMPUTER

THE POTENTIAL OF AN INVENTION

1964 — Inkjet printerThe first inkjet printer is invented. Inkjet printers spray fast-drying ink onpaper.

1965 — MouseUS engineer Doug Engelbart and histeam at the Human Factors ResearchCenter of the Stanford ResearchInstitute, design and develop thecomputer mouse.

1976 — Laser printerFirst laser printerintroduced.

1991 — Digital cameraKodak produces the first digitalcamera, the DCS100. The photoshave to be stored in a separate piece of equipment.

Today’s digital cameras collect morethan 5 million separate pieces ofinformation every time you take a picture.

INVENTIONS FOR THE COMPUTER

COMPUTERS ALL AROUND

THE COMPUTER

The Apple Macintosh, or Mac,was the first computer to havewhat is known as a desktop-

type screen with icons.

A factory worker makesvacuum tubes.

Computermouse

Transistors are made ofmaterials called semiconductors.

1946 – ENIACElectronic Numerical Integrator and Computer is the first electronicand programable computer. Itcontained over 17,000 vacuumtubes. Eniac occupied a room 50 feet by 30 feet.

1951 – UNIVAC 1 The world’s first electroniccomputer goes on sale. It was created by John Eckertand John Mauchly. It was usedby the US government to helpgather material for the nationalcensus.

1977 – Apple II The first successful personalcomputer goes on sale. It wasmade by Apple® Computers, Inc. It was the first computer to have a color screen and its ownkeyboard.

1983 – Apple Lisa The first computer, also created byApple, to use a mouse and pull-down menus.

ENIAC

• The timeline continueson page 41.

THE FIRST COMPUTERS

UNIVAC

APPLE II

4342

I N T E R N E TTIMELINE1960s–1980s – ArpanetA team at the US AdvancedResearch Projects Agency (ARPA)develop a communications networkbetween researchers and scientistsin the US.

Other organizations will join thenetwork throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, and the networkwill grow and grow.

1971 – The first emailThe first email is sent by computerengineer Ray Tomlinson.

1973–1974 – Inventing the Internet

Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn design the Internet – a network ofcomputers and cables. They alsodefine the IP (Internet Protocol), the way information is be sent onthe Internet.

1979 – EmotionsAdding emotions to emailmessages is suggested, such as –)to show something is ‘tongue incheek’.By the early 1980s :-) and :-( are in widespread use.

1980 – First virusThe first virus is accidentallyreleased onto ARPAnet, bringing the whole network to a halt.

1983 – The Internet The Internet is launched and madeavailable to everyone.

The Domain Name System (DNS)takes you where you need to beon the Internet using a webaddress. DNS is invented by PaulMockapetris.

Computer expert Fred Coheninvents the term computer virus.

1987 – MP3 files The development of the MP3 fileformat begins at the FraunhoferInstitut in Germany. It allows musicand speech recordings to becompressed and will be used bymany people on the Internet toeasily copy and trade their musiccollections.

The Internet is a worldwide collection of

computers connected by cables, telephone

lines, and satellites. It allows people to send

electronic messages, called emails, to anyone else

who is connected, interact with other computer users

wherever they are in the world, and to look at

information created by both large organizations and

private individuals, via the World Wide Web.

• In 1972, the Atari Corporationwas founded by US computerengineers Nolan Bushnell, TedDabney, and Al Alcorn.

• In 1972, Bushnell and teaminvented the video game Pong,based on ping-pong (tabletennis).

• Two on-screen paddles hit a ballback and forth across the screen.

• Pong became hugely popular asan arcade-style, coin-operatedgame, and went on to be

produced in a home version.I N T E R N E TTIMELINE

1988 – Internet wormRobert Morris, a US science studentunleashes an Internet worm (aprogram that propagates itself across a network) onto the Internet.The Morris Worm brings 6,000computers to a halt.

1989 – Inventing wwwTim Berners-Lee invents the WorldWide Web—a way for computerusers to access many different typesof information from different sources.

1991 – WWW on the netThe World Wide Web is launchedand made available to the world viathe Internet.

1992 – Surfing The term surfing the Internet is usedfor the first time, by Americanlibrarian and Internet expert JeanArmour Polly.

1993 – MosaicThe first web browser is created. It is called Mosaic.

1994 – Yahoo!®

The Yahoo! search engine is createdin April 1994 by David Filo andJerry Yang, two PhD students atStanford University, in California. They invent the directory as a way of keeping track of their interests and finding websites for their friends.

1995 – Internet Explorer®

Launched in July 1995 as part of the Windows 95 package, InternetExplorer 1.0 helps make the Internetaccessible to more people.

1995 – Online musicRealAudio® is launched. Thissoftware makes it possible forInternet users to listen to live musicand radio stations online.

1995 – Online bookstoreAmazon.com® is launched by UScomputer scientist Jeff Bezos. Thecompany is started in Bezos’ garage.

2000 – Web movieThe science-fiction movie QuantumProject is the first movie madespecifically to be seen on the Internetinstead of in a movie theater.

2002 – Internet usersThe number of Internet users is estimated at 604,111,719worldwide.

In 1971, US computer scientistRay Tomlinson created acomputer program for sendingmessages on the ARPAnetnetwork. The program wouldbecome email, one of the mainways of communicating on theInternet.

• The first test message was sentbetween two machines thatwere physically next to eachother, but only connected byARPAnet.

• Today, Tomlinson cannotremember what the first emailsaid, but he jokes it wasprobably just something like,“QWERTYUIOP” (the top line ofletters on a keyboard).

• Probably the first email messagesent to another person onARPAnet was one announcingthe new service and tellingpeople to use @, the symbolTomlinson chose to separateuser names from host computernames.

Nationality: English

Profession: Computer scientist

Biographical information:Berners-Lee was born in London,England in 1955. Interested incomputers, he went to OxfordUniversity. While at Oxford, he builthis own computer from oldelectronic parts of a TV. Both of hisparents worked in the computerindustry.

Eureka moment: Berners-Leedeveloped a program called Enquireto help him access varied pieces ofinformation needed in his work. Theinformation was stored in files thatcontained connections, calledhypertext links.

Most famous invention: TheWorld Wide Web. In 1989, whileworking at CERN (European Centrefor Nuclear Research) in Geneva,Switzerland, Berners-Lee wrote aprogram that allowed CERN’sscientists to share their work

through a global hypertextdocument system. The Web wasreleased to the world via theInternet in 1991.

Other inventions: In 1994,Berners-Lee founded the World WideWeb Consortium. The consortium’sgoal is to lead the Web to its fullpotential in the future.

TIM BERNERS-LEE INVENTION OF EMAIL

PONG

• Internet pioneers Vint Cerf andBob Kahn invented the InternetProtocol, the way of sending little“packets” of information throughthe Internet network.

• A packet is like a postcardcontaining information.

• If the packet has the rightaddress, it can be given to anycomputer connected to theInternet, and the computer canfigure out which cable to send thepacket down so it gets to whereit needs to go. @

• In 1993, the world’s firstuser-friendly web browser,called Mosaic, wasdeveloped by AmericanMark Andreessen and ateam at the US NationalCenter for SupercomputingApplications (NCSA).

• Mosaic used a point-and-click application that made it easy for people tonavigate the World Wide Web.

• By 1994, Mosaic hadseveral million users.

MOSAIC

1889 — NINTENDO®

The Nintendo company is founded inJapan. It makes playing cards.

1958 — FIRST “COMPUTERGAME”William A. Higinbotham of theBrookhaven National Laboratory inNew York uses an analog computer,control boxes and an oscilloscopeto create Tennis for Two, a gameto amuse visitors to thelaboratory.

1962 —SPACEWAR!A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), invent a game aspart of a program to demonstrate thenew PDP-1 computer. The game, whichwould now look extremely simple,involves players moving spaceshipsand firing torpedoes.

1972 — PONGAtari creates Pong.

1977 — MISSILE ATTACKMattel releases the first handheldgame, but it uses small lights ratherthan a screen to display graphics.

1980 —BATTLEZONE

The first 3D game is produced.Battlezone is such a breakthrough that the US government uses it to train troops.

1989 — NINTENDO GAMEBOYVideo games go handheld with therelease of the first Nintendo Gameboy.

1994 — PLAYSTATION®

Sony releases the PlayStation, but onlyin Japan. It reaches the rest of the world the following year.

2000 —PLAYSTATION 2

It is even moresuccessful than the original

PlayStation, selling outworldwide within days.

Nintendo sells its one hundredmillionth Gameboy.

2002 – X-BOX®

Microsoft enters the console market as it launches the X-Box.

Radio TV PC KIT Internet38 years 13 years 16 years 4 years

1970s poster advertising therevolutionary new game, Pong.

TIMELINE: INVENTION OF COMPUTER GAMES

• The INTERNET TIMELINEcontinues on page 43.

• See page 54 OSCILLOSCOPE

INVENTING THE INTERNET Number of years to reach 50million users worldwide.

In 1998, the US Department of Commercereport The Emerging Digital Economystated that, “The Internet’s pace ofadoption eclipses all other technologiesthat preceded it.”

When radio was invented, it took 38years to reach 50 million users. TheInternet took just 4 years.

INTERNET AND GAMES

TIM BERNERS-LEE

A FAST-GROWING INVENTION

4544

The word robot was first used by the Czech writer

Karel Capek. It means forced labor and is a

good way of describing what robots are

for. Robots can do many jobs that human beings

can do, but they can also tackle jobs that a

human would find too difficult or dangerous.

Robots are currently used in factories, they

explore outer space and the inside of volcanoes, and

they appear in our homes as toys or cyber (robotic) pets.

R O B O T I C STIMELINE1977 – VoyagersThe deep space explorers Voyagers 1 and 2 are launchedfrom the Kennedy Space FlightCenter.

1979 – Stanford CartThe Stanford Cart is improved witha better system for ‘seeing’ things.

1981 – Direct drive armThe first “direct drive arms” arebuilt. They have motors in the joints of the arms. This makes them faster and more accurate than older robotic arms. They aredesigned by Takeo Kanade,Professor of Robotics at CarnegieMellon University.

1989 – GenghisA walking robot, called Genghis,is shown for the first time at theMassachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT).

1992 – Robot warsCombats between robots, sometimes called BattleBots, begin.The first “Robot Wars” take place in 1994.

1994 – Dante IIA robot called Dante II walks downa volcano in Alaska.

1996 – RobotunaThe first robot fish is built. It isdesigned by Professor MichaelTriantafyllou of the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT). It ishoped that underwater robots willbe able to explore parts of theocean where humans cannot reach.

1997 – SojournerThe robotic rover Sojournerbegins its exploration of the surface of Mars.

1998 – The FurbyThe Furby goes on sale. It is the first robot toy that can respond tocommands.

2000 – AsimoThe human-like robot, called Asimo,is built by Honda. It is four feet tall,walks on legs and can even walkaround corners. It is designed tohelp around the house.


Profession: Engineer andinventor

Biographical information:Devol was born in February1912, in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1939, Devol designed andbuilt an automatic counter at the New York World’s Fair. The counter kept a record of the number of visitors.

Most famous invention: Thefirst industrial robot. In 1954,Devol invented the first

programmable robot. He did notuse the word robot, but universalautomation. Devol founded theworld’s first robot buildingcompany that built robots calledunimation, for lifting and stackinghot pieces of metal in a carfactory.

Other inventions: During WorldWar II, Devol helped to buildsystems that could protect aircraftfrom radar. They were used duringthe D-Day landings in Europe in1944.

GEORGE DEVOL1997 — CASSINI-HUYGENSStudying the planet Saturn, its ringsand moons.

2003 — SMART 1Searching the moon for frozenwater, new minerals, andchemicals.

2004 — ROSETTASent to investigate a comet’s surfacein 2014.

2003 — BEAGLE 2Designed to investigate the surfaceof Mars, but disappeared afterlanding.

2003 — SPIRIT ANDOPPORTUNITYStudied the soil and rocks of Mars.

ROBOTS IN SPACE

A robot dog first made anappearance at the New YorkWorld’s Fair in 1939. Today,cyber pets can behave like realanimals.

AIBO DOGSThe latest cyber dogs made bySony can play, walk, obey spokencommands, and even recognise thevoices and faces of their owners.

ROBOSAPIENThis human-like cyber pet can run,dance, throw things, pick thingsup, and try karate.

TAKARA AQUAROID FISHThis cyber pet can be put into anaquarium. It looks like a fish,moves away from strong light, and swims at two different speeds.

TOMY HUMAN DOGThis cyber pet

is built by Tomy. It can walk, sit,sing songs, and has 16 differentpersonalities.

Robots that do jobs that are toodangerous for people aresometimes called hazbots.RADIOACTIVITYIn 1999, a hazbot called Pioneerwas used at the Chernobyl nuclearpower station, the site of the worstnuclear accident in history. Pioneerwent into the burned-out, radioactivepower station to test for levels ofradioactivity and to test the structureof the remaining building. Pioneer

was built by a team from theCarnegie Mellon University andRedzone Robotics.BOMB DISPOSALThe British army have used bombdisposal robots since the early 70s.The first was called Wheelbarrow.NATURAL HAZARDSRobots are used to investigatevolcanoes. Dante II explored anAlaskan volcano in 1994. It can beremotely controlled or it can move

by itself. It was developed by theCarnegie Mellon University.FIREFIGHTINGRobots are used to fight fires,because they are not affected by the heat and smoke. Robug-3 isa fire-fighting robot designed atPortsmouth University in the UK. It has eight legs, and suckers on itsfeet allow it to climb walls andacross ceilings. It can also pull veryheavy objects.

At the US Department of Energy’sSandia National Laboratories,scientists are developing theworld’s smallest autonomous,untethered robot.

• The mini-robot has 8 kilobytes ofmemory, is less than an inch highand weighs about an ounce.

• The mini-robot is powered bywatch batteries andenhancements could include a miniature camera, amicrophone, or chemical sniffers.

• The mini-robot travels on twotrack wheels at a speed of 20inches per minute.

• Future uses could includedetecting chemical or biologicalweapons; disabling land mines;

or even spying, takingphotographs of secret paperswithout being detected.

CYBER PETS

INVENTING HAZBOTS

THE INVENTION OF MINI-ROBOTS

2002 — MARONIt can detect intruders in a house,take photographs and can operatedishwashers and video recorders. Itcan be controlled with a mobilephone.

2003 — ROBOMOW RL1000 It can mow lawns without any help,and cut grass to six differentheights. It is just over 12inches high.

2003 — CYEROBOTIt can carry dishes,deliver letters,and help guests find their wayaround a house. It can becontrolled using the internet.

DOMESTIC ROBOTS

The AIBO® robotic pet dog. AIBO dogs can even play soccer.

• MOSRO patrols factories andshopping centers.

• MOSRO can detect gas, smoke,and movement with a cameraand infrared detectors.

• MOSRO issueswarnings inover 20languages.

R O B O T I C STIMELINE1495 – Da Vinci’s KnightLeonardo da Vinci builds amechanical device that looks like aknight in armor. The mechanisminside makes it look as though theknight is moving.

1898 – Robotic boatNikola Tesla builds and shows arobotic boat at Madison SquareGarden.

1921 – A new wordCzech writer Karel Capek introducesthe word robot in his play RUR.

1946 – George DevolGeorge Devol invents a remote-control device that can tell anothermachine which direction to move in.

1962 – The UltimateThe first industrial arm robot, theUltimate, is introduced at a car factory.

1966 – ShakeyShakey is built. Shakey is designed toremember what it did in the past andthen behave differently in the future. Itmoves on wheels and is connected byradio to a computer. It is built at theStanford Research Institute inCalifornia. Shakey is named afterhow well it moves.

1969 – Stanford ArmVictor Scheinman, a student at theStanford Artificial Intelligence Lab in California creates the StanfordArm. This design becomes thestandard for robot arms.

1970 – Stanford CartThe Stanford Cart is built by HansMoravec. Its movement is controlledremotely by computer. It travels onlarge wheels and can make its wayaround an obstacle course by usinga camera.

1974 – The Silver ArmVictor Scheinman starts selling theSilver Arm. It can put together smallparts using touch sensors. It is soldto engineering factories.

1976 – Soft GripperThe Japanese Soft Gripper isinvented by Shigeo Hirose of theTokyo Institute of Technology. This robot arm can wrap itselfaround objects like a snake.

ROBOT SECURITYGUARD

This is theMOSRO MINI

mobile securityrobot. It is just11 inches tall.

The mini-robots could travel in swarms like insects and fit into tiny spaces.

RoboSapien

ROBOTS

MARON

• The TIMELINE continueson page 45.

4746

INVENTORSAn inventor is anyone who thinks of something new to make or a

new way to make or do something. We do not know the names of

most of the inventors who have influenced our lives, or exactly

when they made their breakthroughs. But many inventors are famous, and we

even know about the ‘eureka moment’ when they had their brilliant idea.

Nationality: Greek


Biographical information:Archimedes was born and worked in the city of Syracuse in Sicily,although he studied at Alexandria,Egypt. He was killed when Romansoldiers conquered Syracuse.

Most famous invention: Whilewondering about how to test if a crown was made of pure gold,Archimedes discovered the principleof buoyancy – if an object is placed

in a fluid, it will displace its ownvolume of fluid. This is now knownas Archimedes’ principle.

Eureka moment: Archimedes hadthe original “eureka” moment.Getting into a bath he noticed thatthe water rose up the sides. Hisbody was displacing its own volumeof water. He raced into the street,without any clothes, shouting,“Eureka” (I’ve found it)!

Nationality: EnglishProfession: Mathematician

Biographical information:Newton went to CambridgeUniversity in 1661, but his studieswere interrupted by an outbreak ofplague that closed the university fortwo years. During this period offorced idleness, Newton did most of his best thinking. In 1667,he was appointed professor ofmathematics at Cambridge.

• Most of his work is contained inhis books Principia Mathematica(1687) and Opticks (1704).

Most famous discovery:Newton is best known for his theoryof universal gravitation—that thereis an attractive force between all the objects in the universe, and thisforce is called gravity. Newton used his theory to discover themathematical laws that govern the motion of every object in theuniverse. The movement of anyobject, be it a pick-up truck or aplanet, can be explained andpredicted by what is known asNewtonian physics.

Other discoveries:• A comprehensive theory of light

that explained how lenses workedand how white light could be splitinto colors.

• A system of arithmetic called calculus.

• Newton built a reflecting telescopethat used a curved mirror to givea better image.

Newton Stories:• Newton is supposed to have

thought up the theory ofgravitation after watching anapple fall from a tree.

• While studying light, Newtonpushed blunt needles into thecorners of his eyes to see whateffect squashing his eyeballs hadon his vision.



Biographical information:The son of a musician, Galileo wentto the University of Pisa to studymedicine, but eventually became a professor of mathematics. During the 1630s, Galileo wasarrested and imprisoned by theCatholic Church because of hisscientific views.

Most famous invention:Galileo is widely considered to be the founder of modernexperimental science. Heestablished the principle thatscientific theories should be basedon data obtained fromexperiments.

Eureka moment: Galileo was ableto devise a mathematical formulato describe the motion of fallingobjects. The story that he droppedidentical weights of iron andfeathers from the Leaning Tower of Pisa may not be true, butGalileo did establish that allobjects fall at the same speed, no matter what their weight.

Other discoveries: Galileo wasalso interested in astronomy. He did not invent the telescope,but he built his own in 1609.Galileo was able to observe thecraters on Earth’s moon, hediscovered that Jupiter has fourmoons, and he was the firstperson to describe the rings ofSaturn.

A T O ZINVENTORSFranklin, BenjaminAmerican statesman, scientist andwriter Benjamin Franklin wasfascinated by the discovery ofelectricity. In 1752, convinced thatthunderstorms were electric, heproved it by flying a special kiteinto a storm. The lightning struck thekite and electricity travelled downthe string. Franklin realized thatbuildings could be protected fromthunderbolts if the electricity wasconducted through a metal spike onthe roof of a building to the groundvia a thick wire. Franklin hadinvented a lightning conductor.

Galilei, GalileoGalileo was so intrigued by theswinging of the incense burner inPisa’s cathedral, it inspired him towork with pendulums. Galileomeasured the time it took to makea complete swing and discoveredthat it took the same amount oftime to get back to where itstarted, even when the size of theswing changed. Galileoexperimented with pendulums formany years, but by the time hethought of using a pendulum’s evenswing to keep a clock runningsmoothly, he was old and totallyblind.

Gillette, King CAdvised by a colleague to invent“something that would be used andthrown away,” Gillette invented thedisposable razor blade and newsafety razor. Constantly having tobuy new blades was not popularwith customers, but never having touse a “cut-throat” razor again was!Gillette founded his razor bladecompany in 1903.

Halley, EdmondIn 1717, English astronomerEdmond Halley invented the firstdiving bell in which people couldstay underwater for long periods.Earlier devices, primarily built forattemps to retrieve sunken treasure,had not been successful. Air wassupplied to Halley’s diving bell inbarrels with weights to make themsink.

A T O ZINVENTORS

Appert, FrancoisIn 1810, French chef and inventorFrancois Appert invented thebottling process for storing heat-sterilized food. In 1812, heopened the world’s first commercialpreserved food factory, initiallyusing glass jars and bottles. In 1822, the factory began using tin-plated metal cans.

Biro, Ladislao and GeorgThe ballpoint pen was invented in the late 1930s by Hungarianbrothers Ladislao and Georg Biro.Although the Biro brothers arecredited with the invention of ‘thebiro’, a similar writing instrumenthad been invented in 1888 by US inventor John Loud.

Celsius, AndersIn 1742, the Swedish astronomerAnders Celsius invented theCelsius (or centigrade) scale thatuses 0° for the freezing point ofwater and 100° for the boilingpoint.

Cousteau, JacquesIn 1943, French explorer JacquesCousteau and engineer EmileGagnan connected portablecompressed-air cylinders, via a pressure regulator, to amouthpiece, inventing the aqua-lung. This piece of apparatusgives divers complete freedom toexplore the oceans.

Fahrenheit, DanielIn 1714, physicist DanielFahrenheit invented the mercurythermometer and devised theFahrenheit temperature scale.Fahrenheit had also invented analcohol thermometer in 1709.


Profession: Artist

Biographical information: DaVinci was apprenticed to a sculptorand worked as a painter for therulers of Florence, Milan, andFrance. He produced some famouspaintings, including the Mona Lisa.

Da Vinci filled thousands of pagesof notebooks with drawings andnotes about everything he sawaround him. He studied humananatomy, military engineering, the

flight of birds, and the movementof water.

Most famous invention:Leonardo’s notebooks containeddrawings and ideas which wouldnot be put into practice forhundreds of years, such asparachutes, canals, armored cars,and submarines.

Eureka moment: Da Vincishowed that by drawing what heimagines, an inventor can inspirefuture generations to make thesevisions real.

Galileo, on an Italian 2000 lire banknote.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Sir Isaac Newton

• See page 52ARCHIMEDEAN SCREW

• See page 18 for more information on Galileo’s life and work.

• See page 18 INVENTION OF THE TELESCOPE • See page 18

HALLEY’S COMET

ARCHIMEDES OF SYRACUSE 287–212 BC

The ‘Archimedes Portrait’ byDomenico Fetti, painted in 1620.

GALILEO GALILEI 1564–1642

SIR ISAAC NEWTON 1642–1727

LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452–1519

4948

INVENTORS


Profession: Photographic filmmanufacturer

Biographical information: Afterleaving school, Eastman worked in

insurance and banking whilepursuing his hobby of photography.In 1880, he perfected a method ofmaking photographic plates and setup a factory where he soondeveloped transparent film.

Most famous invention:In 1900, Eastman launched the BoxBrownie camera. It was so cheap,only a dollar, including film, thateverybody could afford to buy one,making photography available toall.

The first Kodak camera (Eastmaninvented and trademarked the nameKodak) marked the beginning ofamateur photography.

Nationality: German

Profession: Jeweler/craftsman

Biographical information:Gutenberg was born in Mainz andtrained as a goldsmith. He lived and worked in Strasbourg between1430 and 1444, then returned to Mainz.

Most famous invention:The process of printing withmoveable type and a printing pressbased on existing screw presses usedto crush juice from grapes and olives.

Inventor at work:After 20 years of secret work toperfect all the necessary processes,

Gutenberg printed and published hisfirst book, a Latin Bible, in 1455.Money disputes with his financialbacker, Johann Fust, caused him tolose his business.

Nationality: French

Profession: Teacher

Biographical information: LouisBraille was blinded at the age ofthree in an accident at his father’sharness shop. In 1819, he went tothe National Institute for BlindChildren in Paris and later became ateacher there.

Eureka moment: At school in Paris,Braille learned of a system callednight writing, invented by CaptainCharles Barbier, for battlefieldcommunications during the night. In 1824, just 15 years old, Brailledeveloped his own system, usingBarbier’s as a starting point.

Most famous invention: A systemof reading and writing for the blind

using raised dots in a six-dot matrixsystem. Braille’s system was firstpublished in 1829.


Profession: Artist and inventor

Biographical information: Morsewas born in Massachusetts. Hisfather worked in the church andwrote geography books. Morsewent to Yale when he was 14years old. He earned moneypainting pictures of his friends and

teachers. He studied art in Englandand became a well-known painter.

Most famous invention: Morse’sinterest in electricity led to hisinvention of the electrical telegraphand morse code.

Eureka moment: Morsedemonstrated his telegraph to theAmerican Congress, and in 1843,

they give him $30,000 to build atelegraph line from Washington,D.C. to Baltimore

Other inventions: Thebathometer, used to find out howdeep rivers and lakes were.

Joseph: 1740–1810

Jacques: 1745–1799

Nationality: French

Profession:Paper-makers

Biographicalinformation: TheMontgolfier brothersworked in theirfather’s paperfactory in Annonay,France.

Eureka moment:Joseph and Jacquesnoticed how flames sentscraps of paper floating upthe chimney. They became

convinced that a large bag filled with hot airwould rise.

Most famous invention: The first hotair balloon. On September 19,

1783, a sheep, a duck, and acockerel became the first

living creatures to fly infree flight or in a wickerbasket suspended froma Montgolfier balloon.

On November 21,1783, Jean FrancoisPilatre de Rosier andthe Marquis d’Arlandes

flew over Paris for 23minutes in a Montgolfier

balloon—the first humanflight.


Profession: Inventor

Biographical information: Afterbeing expelled from school forpranks, Edison was educated athome by his mother. He beganexperimenting with batteries andelectricity when he was ten. He builthis own telegraph, and his first jobwas as a telegraph operator.

Most famous invention: Edisonwas already well known in the USA,but his 1877 invention of thephonograph made him worldfamous. The phonograph was

the first device that could play pre-recorded music.

Inventor at work: In 1876,Edison decided to become a full-time inventor. He built the world’sfirst industrial research laboratory,which he called an inventionsfactory, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

Other inventions: Edison alsoinvented the electric light bulb.Edison sometimes made as many as400 inventions a year including theincandescent electric lamp, themicrophone, and the kinetoscope.

Braille is read using the fingertips.

Edison patented 1093inventions.

A T O ZINVENTORS

Perignon, DomBenedictine monk Dom Perignon iscredited with inventing champagnein around 1670, but otherwinemakers of the Champagneregion of France probablycontributed to its development. The special method of fermentation,known as méthode champenoise,produces the carbon dioxide thatcreates the bubbles.

Richter, Charles F.American seismologist Charles F.Richter developed his numberingsystem for measuring earthquakes in 1935. An earthquake measuringbelow 2 on the Richter scale would be recorded by equipment but not felt by a person. An earthquake measuring 8 or more would be devastating.

Roosevelt, Theodore

While on a hunting expedition in 1902, president Theodore “Teddy”Roosevelt refused to shoot a defenseless bear cub. The storyenhanced the popularity of thealready popular president. MorrisMichtom, a New York retailer cashedin on the incident by selling plush-covered bears with button eyes andjointed limbs. He called them Teddy’sBears. A huge success, they soon became known as Teddy Bears.

• See page 8 THE INVENTION OF PRINTING

• See page 30 MORSE CODE

• See pages 31 and 36for more information on Edison’s inventing work.

• See page 9 for THEINVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY

SAMUEL MORSE 1791–1872

JOHANNES GUTENBERG 1400–1468

LOUIS BRAILLE 1809–1852

The Montgolfier balloonwas made of fabriclined with paper. It was 33 feetacross.

JOSEPH AND JACQUES MONTGOLFIER

• •• •• •

• •• •• •

• •• •• •

THOMAS ALVA EDISON 1847–1931

GEORGE EASTMAN 1854–1932

George Eastman (left) andThomas Edison introducecolor motion pictures to theworld in 1928.

a b c

A T O ZINVENTORS

Kwolek, StephaniePound for pound, StephanieKwolek’s invention of Kevlar is 5 times stronger than steel. It is also chemical and flameresistant. Kevlar, best known for its use in bullet-proof vests andcrash helmets was developed inthe 1960s when chemist Kwolekwas working in the laboratory ofUS company DuPont Textiles.

Leclanché, GeorgesIn 1866, French engineerLeclanché invented the sealed, dry cell battery that is still used in many flashlights today.Until the invention of the Leclanchécell, people were restricted toVolta’s battery that contained a liquid that had to be constantlyfilled up.

Mars, FrankIn 1911, Frank Mars and his wifeEthel began making and sellingbutter-cream sweets from theirhome in Tacoma, Washington. In 1920, Frank invented the Mars bar when he came up withthe idea of producing maltedchocolate milkshakes in a solidform that could be enjoyedanywhere.

Mercator, Gerhard Around 1568, Flemishcartographer Gerhard Mercatorproduced a map that gave sailorsconstant compass directions asstraight lines. The Mercatorprojection provided a flat, peeledview of the globe. The map is veryaccurate for navigators, butshowing the curved earth on flatpaper causes distortions andmakes countries near the poleslook too big.

• See page 29THE BALLOONINVENTORS

5150

INVENTORSNationality: American (born in Italy)


Biographical information: Fermistudied physics at the University ofPisa and was awarded a doctoratefor research into X-rays. He workedin Italy until he won the Nobel Prizefor physics in 1938. He and his wifethen traveled to Sweden and finallyto the USA.

Eureka moment: In 1939, Fermirealised that an atom bomb waspossible. Together with other scientists,including Albert Einstein, he wrote toUS President Franklin D. Rooseveltabout the discovery. Roosevelt orderedthe Manhattan Project.

Most famous invention: Fermidesigned and supervised the

construction of the world’s first nuclearreactor. It was located in a basementsquash court at the University ofChicago.

Other inventions: Fermi discoveredthe first artificial element, neptunium

(No. 93) and the element fermium(No.100) is named in his honour.

Nationality: German-Swiss-American

Profession: Office clerk and mathematician

Biographicalinformation: Einsteinwas born in Germanyand attended college inZurich, Switzerland. In1901, he got a job atthe Swiss PatentOffice, and became aSwiss citizen. In hisspare time he worked on difficultmathematical problems.When his work becamewell known, he returnedto Germany. In 1933, hewent to the USA and becamea US citizen in 1940.

Most famous discovery:Somewhere among Einstein’s workis the simple formula E=mc2. Thismeans that matter (m) can beconverted into energy (e), and thatthe amount of energy will be equalto the amount of matter times thespeed of light (c) squared. Thespeed of light is about 186,282

miles per second.. Einstein’s formulasummarizes what happens when anatom bomb explodes.

Eureka moment: The speed of light was central to Einstein’sthinking. One morning, traveling to

work by bus, Einstein glanced atthe Town Hall clock, if the bus

suddenly accelerated to thespeed of light, then theclock would appear to stop.The relative motionbetween observer andobserved is at the heartof Einstein’s two theoriesof relativity.

Other discoveries:Newton’s laws of motion do not work

mathematically for objectsmoving very quickly (near

the speed of light). Einstein’sspecial theory of relativity

(1905) extended math to coverobjects moving at a constant highspeed.

His general theory of relativity(1916) further extended math tocover rapidly accelerating objects. Aswell as showing that matter andenergy are interconnected, Einsteinalso showed that space and timewere interconnected, a conceptcalled spacetime.

Crick: 1916–2004Watson: born 1928

Nationality: English (Crick);American (Watson)

Profession: Molecular biologist(Crick); Biochemist (Watson)

Biographical information: Crickstudied at Cambridge University andduring World War II designed anti-ship mines. Watson trained at theUniversity of Chicago and laterstudied viruses at the University ofIndiana, where he received hisdoctorate in 1950.

Most famous discovery:In 1953, while working at theCavendish Laboratory in Cambridge,Crick and Watson discovered thatthe three-dimensional structure ofthe DNA molecule was a doublehelix.

Eureka moment: By 1950,scientists knew what DNA was madefrom, but they had no idea of itsshape. Crick and Watson mademany models of what they thought

it might look like. Finally, they cameup with a double helix, shaped likea long, twisted ladder. In 1962,they shared the Nobel Prize formedicine.

MARIE CURIE 1867–1934Nationality: Polish


Biographical information: MarieSklodowska studied physics andmath at university in Paris. In 1895,she married the French scientistPierre Curie.

Most famous invention:In 1898, the Curies discovered theradioactive elements radium,thorium, and polonium, named forMarie’s homeland. In 1903, theyshared the Nobel Prize for physicswith Henri Becquerel. In 1911,

Marie Curie was awarded the NobelPrize for chemistry for her continuingwork on radium and radioactivity.Doctors found that radium could beused to treat cancer throughradiotherapy.

Eureka moment: The discovery ofradium involved breaking down andrefining several tonnes of a mineralcalled pitchblende to locate less than one hundredth of a gram of pure radium.

Albert Einstein

Crick (right) and Watson withtheir famous laboratory modelof the DNA double helix.

1951, University of Chicago – Fermi at the controls of the new synchro-cyclotronbuilt to study the origins of life.

Madame Curie poses in herParis laboratory.

A T O ZINVENTORS

Rubik, ErnoHungarian design professor, ErnoRubik, invented the Rubik’s Cube.Popular during the early 1980s,over 150 million cubes were sold (100 million real units and50 million fakes). Once twistedfrom its original arrangement, thepuzzle had 43 quintillion possibleconfigurations.

Schueller, EugeneIn 1936, French chemist EugeneSchueller produced the first suntanlotion at his company L’Oréal.Designer Coco Chanel madesuntanning fashionable aroundthis time. Today, the oil is soldaround the world as AmbreSolaire.

Semple, William FinlayOn December 28, 1869, WilliamSemple of Mt Vernon, Ohio,became the first person to patenta chewing gum—US patent98,304.

Sinclair, CliveIn 1985, British inventor CliveSinclair invented the C5, abattery-powered bike. The C5had a top speed of 15 mph, arange of 20 miles, and took eighthours to recharge the batteries.Unfortunately for Sinclair,consumers were not impressedwith his new type of vehicle, and the invention flopped.

A T O ZINVENTORS

Smith, RichardRichard Smith, a blacksmith,carpenter, and farmer, encounteredthe problem of hard-to-remove treestumps when turning forests intofields in South Australia. Thestumps slowed the plowing andbroke plows. While plowing oneday in 1876, Smith observed thata plow-blade that had come looserode over a stump and continuedplowing. Smith designed andmanufactured the flexible Stump-jump plow that had blades thatwere forced back into the soil byweight, after jumping.

Watson-Watt, RobertAlexanderIn 1935, Scottish physicist RobertAlexander Watson-Watt wasworking on aircraft radio-location.He beamed radio waves at planesand then calculated the time it tookto receive reflections back. Elapsedtime gave him the aircraft’sdistance away. By late 1935,Watson-Watt was able to locateaircraft 68 milrd away. His workled to the development of the firstradar system.

Yale, LinusIn 1861, Linus Yale Jr. perfected the lock with a compact, revolvingbarrel and flat key that we usetoday. It was based on a lockdesigned by his father using aprinciple known to the ancientEgyptians.

ALBERT EINSTEIN 1879–1955

ENRICO FERMI 1901–1954

• See page 11 NUCLEARPOWER for more information on

the work of Enrico Fermi.

• See page 15 THE STORY OF DNA

FRANCIS CRICK & JAMES WATSON

BUBBLEWRAP

Bubblewrap first appeare in 1960in its earliest form as AirCapcellular cushioning and consistedof two layers of soft plastic withbubbles trapped between them.Inventors Alfred Fielding and MarcChavannes were originally tryingto make a textured wall covering.

CAMERA OBSCURA

The modern camera started as adarkened room with a tiny hole inone wall. On the opposite wall,an upside-down image of theoutside world would appear. In1558, Italian physicist GiovanniBattista Della Porta changed thehole for a lens that, by letting inmore light, produced a muchsharper image. The Italian wordscamera obscura mean a darkroom.

CAN OPENER

Before 1855, a hammer and chisel were required to open cans.Then, British inventor Robert Yeatesinvented the can opener—a sharp

blade that was stuck inthe top of a can,

and then workedaround.

CASH REGISTER

Restaurant owner James Ritty’s1879 cash register displayed themoney paid on a dial andrecorded it by punching paper ona roll.

52 53

CAT’S-EYES

Invented in 1934 by Percy Shaw,the flexible rubber housingenables the reflectors in thecenter of the road, called cat’s-eyes, to be cleaned by every carthat crosses them.

CHAIN SAW

A ga-engined sawing machinewas made by German Emil Lerpin 1927. Although similar to amodern saw, it was too heavy forone person to lift. In 1950, theStihl company produced the firstchainsaw light enough for oneperson.

COMPTOMETER

Displaying its results in a set ofwindows, US engineer Dorr E.Felt’s calculating machine wasmuch faster than its rival, theBurrough’s Adder-lister, whichprinted its results. Both machineswere in use until the mid-20thcentury.

COTTON SWABS

This baby cleaning aid wasintroduced in the USA in 1926.Invented by Leo Gerstenzangafter he saw his wife trying to use toothpicks and cotton wool. The sticks were improved in 1958by a British invention, the paperlollipop stick.

DC06 ROBOT

Manufactured by Dyson in 2005. This robotic vacuum cleaner hassensors to help it avoid stairs andsmall children. It also rememberswhere it has cleaned.

DDT

The now little used insecticideDDT, a chlorine-based chemical,had been known for yearsbefore. In 1939, Swiss chemistPaul Muller discovered that it killsinsects, but has little effect onwarm-blooded animals.1906: BUBBLE GUM

ADDER-LISTER

US inventor William Burroughspatented an adding machine thatprinted its calculations in 1888. Withmore than 80 keys and a handle tooperate the printer, the Adder-listerwent on sale in 1892.

ADDING MACHINE

The arithmometer, patented in 1820by Frenchman Thomas de Colmar, was the first calculating machine thatreally worked. It could add, subtract,multiply, and divide. It took a while to catch on and underwent manydevelopments, but from the mid-1800sonward, hundreds were in use.

AEROSOL CAN

Norwegian Erik Rothheim invented theaerosol can in the late-1920s forpackaging paint and polish. Aerosolswere developed in the USA forspraying insecticide.

AIR CONDITIONING

In 1902, US engineer Willis Carrierdesigned an “apparatus for treating air.”Carrier’s invention was based on coolingthe temperature until moisture condensesout, then draining away the water, toproduce pleasantly cool, dry air.

AMALGAM FILLING

Before the early 1800s, metal toothfillings were made by heating metalto boiling point before they were putinto the tooth. Around 1826, workingindependently, August Taveau inFrance and Thomas Bell in Britainmixed mercury and silver to form apaste, which they found could beinserted cold into the mouth andwould harden quickly. The amalgamfilling is still used today.

ASPIRIN

In 1899, German chemist FelixHoffmann re-discovered an oldformula for a painkiller. The drugwas aspirin, and it containssalicylic acid, juice from willowtree bark. Hoffman developed andtested the aspirin and used it to treat his father’s arthritis. He patented Acetyl Salicylic Acidin 1900.

BIKINI

In 1946, the bikini was inventedindependently by two Frenchmen,Jacques Heim and Louis Reard.Heim designed a very smallbathing suit he called the Atome,

french for atom. Reard’s creationwas named the Bikini after theplace Bikini Atoll in the MarshallIslands, which was very much inthe news at the time due to atombomb testing taking place there.

BINGO

Originating in Europe, beano,as it was first called, arrived inthe US in 1929. Toy salesman Edwin Lowe renamed the gamebingo after he heard someoneaccidentally call bingo insteadof beano. Lowe hired a mathprofessor, Carl Leffler, to work outcombinations for the bingo cards.Leffler eventually created 6,000different combinations. The gamewent on to be a popular means offundraising.

BUBBLE GUM

In 1906, the first bubble gum,called Blibber Blubber gum, wasinvented by Frank Fleer, but thechewy invention never went onsale. In 1928, Walter Diemer, an employee at Fleer’s companyinvents the pink-colored DoubleBubble bubble gum.

INVENTIONSSome inventions are the result of years of dedicated research.

Others come as a flash of inspiration. An invention may solve a

specific problem, or be the by-product of an inventor’s irresistible

urge to understand how things work and then improve on them.

All inventions draw on the accumulation of human knowledge and

the work of earlier inventors. Many inventions may not have made

the headlines, but they represent the work of inventive men and women

around the world.

“To invent, you need a good imagination and

a pile of junk.”

Thomas Alva Edison

WORDS OF WISDOM

“If I have seen farther than others, it is because

I was standing on theshoulders of giants.”

Isaac Newton

WORDS OF WISDOM

“For me, the best designs are the result of

someone questioningeverything around them –looking at the same things

as everyone else butthinking something

different.”

James Dyson

WORDS OF WISDOM

ACUPUNCTURE

This ancient therapy is based on theidea that the life force, or chi, flowsin certain channels, that canbecome blocked. The practice ofplacing a needle in the right placeto make the chi flow smoothly againhas hardly changed since it wasfirst used in China some 4,500years ago. Steel needles have nowreplaced stone ones.

ARCHIMEDES SCREW

A means of raising water forirrigation, the Archimedes screwcomprises a cylinder with a largescrew inside. The bottom of thescrew is dipped in water and, asthe screw is turned, water is carriedup the cylinder. We do not know forsure if Archimedes actually inventedthis device or whether he wroteabout it, but the device came totake his name.

FERRIS WHEEL

American George W. Ferrisdesigned the first ferris wheel forthe 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.Ferris was a bridge builder andowner of a company that tested iron and steel. The finished wheelhad a diameter of over 250 feet.Thirty-six wooden cars held up to60 riders each. The price of a ridewas 50 cents.

FIELD-ION MICROSCOPE

Invented by Erwin Mueller in 1956,the field-ion microscope has amagnification of more than 2.5million times.

LAUGHING GAS

Although discovered earlier, in1799, Humphry Davy found thatnitrous oxide could make peoplelaugh. He suggested it might be useful in surgery, but also used it to make party guests laugh(which is extremely dangerous).

LEMONADE

Lemon juice was probably used in drinks for many years before the first commercial lemonade was produced. In 1676, in Paris,vendors, belonging to theCompagnie de Limonadiers, soldglasses of a mixture of lemon juice,honey, and water. They poured thelemonade from tanks strapped totheir backs.

LETTERBOX

On October 4, 1892, AmericanGeorge Becket patents a house-door letterbox with a self-closingdoor, now called a mailbox. U.Spatent number 483,525.

LIE DETECTOR

Originally developed by Czechpsychologist Max Wertheimer in 1904, the polygraph, or liedetector, monitors blood pressure,pulse, and breathing, all of whichcan change when people lie.

DIVING SUIT

Augustus Siebe, a Germanengineer, invented the firstpractical diving suit in 1819.Siebe’s suit comprised of a jacketand an airtight helmet. Air waspumped into the helmet from the surface.

ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

Invented by Ernst Ruska in the1930s, the electron microscope“sees” with electrons rather thanphotons of light. Today’s electronmicroscopes make it possible toview items as small as atoms andcan display an image on acomputer screen.

ESCALATORThe escalator can be credited to two inventors in the late 19th century. Inventor GeorgeWheeler sold his idea to a rivalinventor, Charles Seeburger,because he had financialproblems. Seeburger then soldhis patent to the Otis Companyand the copyright to the wordescalator, which he had createdfor the machine.

1927:CHAIN SAW

• see page 25 OTIS SAFETY ELEVATOR 1946: BIKINI

1899: ASPIRIN

ARCHIMEDES SCREW

1855:CAN OPENER

1930s: ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

1893: FERRIS WHEEL

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.Curiosity has its ownreason for existing.”

Albert Einstein

5554

INVENTIONS

1849: SAFETY PIN

LIQUID PAPER

American secretary Bette NesmithGraham invented liquid paper by mixing some of her artists’materials in her kitchen blender.When other secretaries noticedBette using her invention to hidetyping errors, they wanted some,too. Bette started her mistake outcompany in 1956.

M&M’s

Invented by snack food geniusFrank Mars, of Mars bar fame, in the 1930s. Frank wanted toinvent a chocolate that had aprotective candy coat to stop it melting.

MACADAMIZED ROAD

In 1783, returning to his nativeScotland after making his fortunein America, John McAdam tookan interest in the poor state ofthe roads. He experimented withroad surfaces and by 1815,using a mixture of different sized stones, he had perfected a waterproof, durable surfacesuitable for the coach traffic ofthe day.

MARGARINE

In 1869, French chemist HippolyteMege-Mouries invented a buttersubstitute, called margarine, bybubbling hydrogen through a mixtureof vegetable oils.

MATCH

As knowledge of chemicals increasedin the early 1800s, inventors used theirknowledge to try to create an improvedmeans of light. In 1827, British chemistJohn Walker produced his FrictionLights that lit up when rubbed onsandpaper.

MINER’S SAFETY LAMP

In the early 1800s, many lives were lost due to explosions in mines. Theexplosions were caused by the flamesfrom miners’ lights making the methanegas underground explode. Mineowners commissioned three men to tryto find a solution: chemist HumphryDavy, William Clanny, a doctor, andmechanic George Stephenson. Themine owners were pleased with Davy’sdesign, but the miners preferred thelamp designed by Stephenson, whowas “one of their own.” Eventuallymost miners’ lamps incorporated ideasfrom all three inventors.

NEON SIGN

Inventors had discovered that lowpressure gas in a tube could be lit upwith electricity. In 1910, Frenchphysicist Georges Claude found thatthe gas neon produced an intenseorange-red glow—not suitable forregular lighting, but great foradvertising signs!

NITROGLYCERINE

Discovered in 1846 by Italian chemistAscanio Sobrero, nitroglycerine wasthe first “high explosive.” It was muchmore powerful than gunpowder. Justdropping a container of the chemicalon the floor can cause a largeexplosion.

In 1902, the trademark wasregistered and the Pepsi-ColaCompany was formed. In 1908,Pepsi was one of the firstcompanies to modernize deliveryfrom horse-drawn carts to motorvehicles.

PLASTERS

In 1920, Earle Dickson, whoworked for Johnson andJohnson, invented plasters. Hestuck together adhesive tape,gauze, and fabric, and thenrolled up the plasters for futureuse. Dickson’s invention wassoon on sale in the US as Band-Aid.

PICK-PROOF LOCK

In 1784, British engineer JosephBramah offered £210 to anyonewho could pick the lock he hadinvented. It was 67 years beforethe reward was claimed by USlocksmith A.C. Hobbs, who took51 hours to pick the lock.

POST-IT NOTE

US company 3M’s Post-it notes were launched in 1980. A company chemist, SpencerSilver, made a “not very sticky”adhesive, but it was hiscolleague Art Fry whosuggested the use for it.

RAWLPLUG

Since 1919, when Britishbuilder John Rawlings devisedhis “plug,” there has been noneed to damage walls whenhanging things on them.Rawlings’ invention lets yousimply drill a hole and theninsert a fiber rawlplug thatexpands to hold the screw.

RING-PULL CAN

The first drink cans required aseparate opener. In 1965, USengineer Ermal Fraze patentedthe convenient ring-pull can.The sharp-edged ring-pullscould be dangerous if thrownaway, so engineer DanielCudzik invented the “stay-on tab”.

ROBART III ROBOT

First made in 1992, Robart III is usedby the US Navy. It has a camera,infrared sensor, and a gun that canfire darts. Robart III was built by BartEverett of the Naval Oceans SystemsCenter.

RUBBER

French scientist Charles-Marie de laCondamine discovered rubber treeswith their sticky sap while on anexpedition to South America.Although other Europeans had comeacross the substance in their travels,it was Condamine’s samples sentback to France in 1736 that put theproduct on the scientific map. Rubberwas named when British chemistJoseph Priestley found that it wouldrub out pencil markings.

RUBBER BAND

In 1845, Stephen Perry of Messrs.Perry and Co. of London, England, arubber manufacturing company,invented the rubber band. He used itto hold papers and envelopestogether.

SAFETY PIN

US mechanic Walter Hunt inventedthe modern safety pin in 1849. Hisdesign was actually very similar toone that was invented and worn bypeople 2000 years ago. The clothingclasps were called fibulas, and theywere used by the ancient Greeks andRomans for fastening clothing.

SCANNING TUNNELINGMICROSCOPE

Invented in Switzerland in 1981by Gerd Binnig and HeinrichRohrer, the scanning tunnelingmicroscope can be used to studyand photograph individual atoms.

SCISSORS

The scissor principle was known in3000 BC, but scissors like we usetoday, with two blades that pivoteat the center, were invented by theRomans in about AD 100.

SHOPS

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus(c 480–420 BC) stated, “thepeople who invented coins alsoinvented shops.” He may well havebeen referring to the Lydians, anancient civilization from an areathat is now Turkey. The first shopswere probably trading around 600 BC.

SLICED BREAD

Inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedderbegan work on a bread slicer in1912. In 1928, he finally inventeda machine that could slice breadand then wrap it to stop it goingstale.

SLINKY

In 1943, engineer Richard Jamesinvented the Slinky after hewitnessed a long coil of metal,part of a Navy experiment, fallfrom a desk and appear to walk.He took the idea home to his wifeBetty, who named the toy Slinkyafter consulting her dictionary tofind a word that described thespring’s movement. Richard andBetty had just 400 springs madeby a local machine shop initally.They soon needed to replenishtheir stock, when the Slinky was ahuge success!

SPECTACLESThe glass workers of Murano in Venice, Italy, invented thespectacles around AD 1275.

STEREOSCOPE

By combining two slightly differentpictures, one for each eye, a threedimensional image is produced by a stereoscope. Invented before photography by CharlesWheatstone, stereoscopy becamea craze after David Brewstershowed a version of thestereoscope at the GreatExhibition in 1851.

STICKY TAPE

US engineer Richard Drew firstinvented masking tape, a stickypaper tape. Then in 1925, bycoating cellophane with a similaradhesive, he produced what isknown as Scotch Tape.

SUPER GLUE

In 1951, US researchers HarryCoover and Fred Joyner realizedthe potential of the chemicalcyanoacrylate, discovered in1942, for use in a super strongglue. A trace of water is all that is needed to trigger a chemicalreaction that turns the liquid glueinto plastic.

OFRO ROBOT

Built by Robowatch Technologies,Germany, OFRO robots aredesigned to carry out surveillancein high security places, such asairports, nuclear power plants,and prisons. OFRO is dispatchedto respond to alarms.

OIL PAINTING

Oil paint had been known sinceRoman times, but until the early-15th century, artists used paintsmade with eggs, such as tempera.The French and Flemish paintersRobert Campin and Jan van Eyckperfected the use of oil paints in the 15th century. The gradedtones that could be achieved withoil paints gave a greater sense of realism to their work.

OSCILLOSCOPE

A device that makes it possible tosee electrical signals on a screen.The cathode ray oscilloscope wasinvented in 1897 by Germanphysicist Ferdinand Braun.

PACKAGE VACATION

The first “package” vacation wasa train trip from Leicester toLoughborough in 1841. Theexcursion was a success, provingthere was a demand for such aservice. By 1855, the organizer,British missionary Thomas Cookwas organizing trips to Europe.

PAPER CUP

In 1908, US inventor Hugh Mooredesigned a vending machine todeliver water in individual papercups. Previously, thirsty consumershad to share a tin cup. Moore’spaper cups became known asDixies after the company createdto make them in 1919.

PARACHUTE

Frenchman Louis Lenormand gavehis invention its first serious trial inDecember 1783 by jumping fromthe Montpelier observatory with a 14-foot chute. He landed safely.Although originally invented as away to escape a burning building, aparachute was used in 1797 byanother Frenchman to jump to safetywhen his hot-air balloon burst overParis.

PARKING METER

Carlton Magee’s invention firstappeared in Oklahoma City in1935. Magee hoped his Park-O-Meter would stop all-day parkerstaking up spaces on the streets andmake a little money for the city.

PENCIL

Having already identified graphiteas a distinct mineral in 1565,Conrad Gesner, a German-Swissnaturalist, had the idea of placingthe carbon in a wooden holder toform a writing instrument. Modernpencils with a core of graphite gluedinside a thin tube of wood were firstmade in 1812.

PEPSI-COLA®

In 1893, Caleb Bradham apharmacist in New Bern, NorthCarolina, began experimenting withsoft drink mixtures. Bradham’smixtures were sampled by customersat his drugstore fountain. In 1898,one of his formulations, known asBrad’s Drink, proved popular and onAugust 28, it was renamed Pepsi-Cola.

“While Bertrand Piccard and I were drifting

(purposefully!) high abovethe earth in our smallcapsule, we became very aware of the

fragility of our planet and of the people who

inhabit it.”

Brian JonesBalloon pioneer

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Anyone who has lost track oftime when using a computer

knows the propensity todream, the urge to make

dreams come true, and thetendency to miss lunch.”

Tim Berners-Lee

WORDS OF WISDOM

1930s: M&Ms

1910: NEON SIGN

15th CENTURY: OIL PAINTING

1812: PENCIL

1893: PEPSI COLA

AD 1275: SPECTACLES

3000 BC: SCISSORS

WORDS OF WISDOM

VACUUM CLEANER

In 1901, British engineer andinventor Hubert Cecil Boothinvented the vacuum cleaner.Booth’s large, horse-drawnmachine went from house to housesucking out the dirt through hoses.Booth formed the British VacuumCleaner Co. in 1903, and built his first canister-style machine in 1904.

VELCRO

Patented in the 1950s, Swissinventor George de Mestral’sinvention of Velcro came to himafter tiny plant burrs (seed pods)attached themselves to his clothesand his dog while hiking in thecountryside. Under the microscope,the burrs were discovered to havetiny hooks that were hooked in thefabric of Mestral’s pants. Mestral’sidea was to produce a two-sidedfastener with hooks on one sideand soft loops on the other. Thename Velcro is a combination oftwo French words, velours (velvet)and crochet (hook).

“When one door closesanother door opens; but weso often look so long andso regretfully upon theclosed door, that we do not see the ones which

open for us.”

Alexander Graham Bell

WORDS OF WISDOM

• TelegraphUS Patent No. 1,647June 20, 1840Samuel Morse

• Sewing machineUS Patent No. 13,661October 9, 1855 Isaac Singer

• Electric lightUS Patent No. 223,898January 27, 1880Thomas Edison

• AutomobileUS Patent No. 686,046November 5, 1901Henry Ford

• AirplaneUS Patent No. 821,393May 22, 1906O. & W. Wright

• Packaged frozen foodUS Patent No. 1,773,079August 12, 1930Clarence Birdsey

5756

INVENTIONS

1852: UMBRELLA

1979: TRIVIAL PURSUIT

500 BC: ZODIAC SIGNS

SUPERMARKET

In 1916, in order to cut costs in his business, US grocer ClarenceSaunders invented “self-service” athis Piggly Wiggly store in Memphis,Tennessee. It was cheaper to letpeople take goods from the shelvesthan have staff members servethem. Saunders had invented themodern supermarket.

SUPERMARKET CART

US retailer Sylvan Goldman noticedthat customers at his HumptyDumpty supermarkets neverpurchased more than they couldcarry. In 1937, he had wheels and baskets welded to foldingchairs. The supermarket cart wascreated.

SURGICAL GLOVES

Convinced that germs were athreat to their patients, 19thcentury surgeons needed to find a way to keep their hands sterilewhile operating. In 1890, USsurgeon William Halsted inventedthin rubber surgical gloves, andthe problem was solved.

THERMOS FLASK

Based on James Dewar’s vacuumbottle, Rheinhold Burger’s metal-cased flask was launched in 1904.The name Thermos flask was chosenafter a competition.

VELOCIPEDE

The draisienne invented by BaronKarl von Drais de Sauerbrun in1817 is recognized as the first two-wheeled, rider-propelled machine.Although von Drais called hisdevice a Laufmaschine (runningmachine), draisienne andvelocipede became more popularnames. Made of wood, themachine was propelled by theseated rider paddling his feet onthe ground. Copies were soonbeing made in other countries and,in 1818, Denis Johnson of Londonpatented a pedestrian curricle, animproved version of a draisiennethat he had purchased.

VENDING MACHINE

Drop in a coin and the machinewill release a shot of holy water.Ancient Greek inventor, Hero of Alexandria, described this early type of vending machine in a book around AD 60. It is not known if the machine was ever built.

WINDSURFER

Norman Darby’s passion forboatbuilding led to his invention of the sailboard or windsurfer. One day in 1943, while outsailing, Norman wanted to cross a stretch of very shallow water.First, he removed the keel of hissmall boat and then the rudder.He found that he could steer bytilting the sail. From that moment,he worked to perfect a purpose-built board.

ZODIAC SIGNS

The Mesopotamians were veryeager star-gazers. Around 500BC, Astronomer-priests divided thenight sky into 12 equal parts andidentified each part by a differentstar constellation. The constellationsthey recognized are the basis ofmodern-day star signs andhoroscopes.

“Just because somethingdoesn’t do what you

planned it to do doesn’tmean it’s useless.”

Thomas Alva Edison

WORDS OF WISDOM

TOOTHPASTE IN A TUBE

Crème Dentifrice, produced in 1892by US dentist Washington Sheffield,was the first toothpaste to come in atube. Before Sheffield’s innovation,toothpaste had come in a jar.

TRAFFIC SIGNAL

An early form of traffic lightsappeared in London in 1868. In 1923, a system using threemoving arms was patented in theUS by inventor Garrett Morgan.

TRAMPOLINE

Circus acrobat and Olympicmedalist George Nissen inventedthe trampoline in 1936. He built aprototype in his garage and laterpatented the idea.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT

Described as “a party in a box” anda “revolt against television,” the quizgame Trivial Pursuit was created byfour Canadian friends in 1979. Aftera slow start, the marketing took offwhen the game was launched in theUSA. In 1984 alone, more than 20million games were sold.

TYPEWRITER

American mechanical engineerChristopher Sholes patented the firstpractical typewriter in 1868. Sholeslaid the keyboard out in the pattern,known as QWERTY, after the sixletters that appear top left on thekeyboard. This layout was designedto slow down the typist in order tostop the keys jamming. Modernkeyboards still have the samelayout.

UMBRELLA

The steel-ribbed umbrella that weuse today was invented in Englandin 1852 by Samuel Fox.

SOME FAMOUS PATENTS

Sometimes inventors areconvinced that they haveactually found the best thingsince Otto Rohwedder’s slicedbread—it’s just that nobody else appreciates their genius!

Here are a selection ofinventions that, for some reason,did not make it into production.

AIR-COOLEDROCKING CHAIROn July 6, 1869, US Patent No.92,379 was issued to CharlesSinger for his innovative, breezyrocking chair. The chair was tohave bellows (devices that wereonce used for blowing air onfires) connected to a hose thatblew air onto the sitter as he orshe rocked.

THE VELO-DOUCHEIn 1897, an English bicyclemanufacturer contemplated theidea of a Vélo-douche showerbath—an exercise bike combinedwith a shower to keep the rider inshape and clean.

A CUTE INVENTIONOn May 19, 1896, US PatentNo. 560,351 was issued toinventor Martin Goetze for hisdevice for producing andmaintaining dimples on humanskin.

SNOW TO AUSTRALIAAround 1970, an intriguing ideawas patented in the UK byinventor A.P. Pedrick. The ideawas to irrigate the Australiandesert by using the force from the spin of the Earth to pipe snowand ice balls from Antarctica.

CHEWING GUM LOCKETOn January 1, 1889, US PatentNo. 395,515 was issued toChristopher W. Robertson for his invaluable invention, thechewing gum locket. Convenientlystashed away in the locket,chewed gum could be safelycarried on the person. Far betterthan leaving it around to getdirty.

In 1911, Thomas Edisonproposed a new range of homefurnishings made from concrete.

• Easy to manufacture and low incost, Edison’s special lightweightconcrete would be used toproduce phonograph cabinets,pianos, and even bedroomfurniture.

• Unfortunately, when Edisonshipped some phonographcabinets to a trade show theyarrived in pieces. Not goodpublicity for a product marketedas being able to withstand beingdropped and abused.

• The world was not ready forEdison’s new idea, and concretefurniture faded into history.

“Results! Why man, I have gotten a lot of

results. I know severalthousand things that

won’t work.”

Thomas Alva Edison

WORDS OF WISDOM

In theory, it should be verysimple to patent your idea.However, in practice, it cansometimes be a long andexpensive process if peopletry to steal your idea, orclaim they had it before you.

• Alexander Graham Bell filed hispatent application for thetelephone on March 7, 1876,only hours before his rival Elisha Gray.

• Gray pursued Bell with 600lawsuits claiming the idea.

To prevent other people frommaking, using, or selling aninvention without the inventor’spermission, he or she mustapply to a government patentoffice to take out a patent.

• If no one else has patented thesame invention, a patent will begranted for a specific period oftime. Patents usually cover theway things work, what they do,how they are made, and whatthey are made of.

• Today, most patents are grantedto cover newly inventedimprovements to existingtechnology.

WHAT IS A PATENT?

CONCRETE FURNITURE

IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME...

BLAST OFF!In 1500, Chinese scientist Wan

Hu tried to fly by tying 47 rocketsto his sedan chair. The rocketsexploded, and he was never

seen again.

INVENTORS AT WORK PATENT PROBLEMS

1916: SUPERMARKET

You can see the actual patents of these inventionsand others at www.uspto.gov

GLOSSARY

Meteorologist A scientist whostudies the weather.Microchip Component ofelectronic devices, also known as an integrated circuit or siliconchip. A microchip is a small pieceof silicon with thousands of tinyelectrical circuits on its surface.Microprocessor Component ofelectronic devices. A microprocessoris a self-contained microchip thatcan perform several electronictasks at the same time.Minoans Ancient inhabitants of the island of Crete, whodeveloped the first civilization inEurope around 2500 BC. TheMinoan capital was the greatpalace at Knossos.Morse Code Sequence of dotsand dashes representing lettersand numbers invented by SamuelMorse and used to transmitmessages by flashes of sunlight on a mirror (heliograph) or alongelectrical wires (telegraph).NASA (National Aeronauticand Space Administration)The US government agencyresponsible for space explorationand research.Negative In photography, anegative is an intermediate stageproduced from exposed film. In a negative image, the colorsand tones of the original scene are reversed so that light is darkand dark is light. A bright light isthen shone through the negativeonto light-sensitive paper toproduce a positive image.Neolithic (New Stone Age)Period of human prehistory whenpeople developed farming andpottery. In Europe and Asia, theNeolithic lasted from around12,000 to 7,000 years ago.Neutron A subatomic particle. A component of atomic nuclei thathas no electrical charge.Nuclear reactor A device thatuses radioactive material (such as

uranium or plutonium) to producea slow, heat-generating chainreaction. Nuclear reactors areused in atomic power stations.Nucleotide bases Fourchemical substances—thymine (T),guanine (G), cytosine (C), andadenine (A)—that are linkedtogether to form the long strandsof the DNA molecule. The geneticcode is often said to be a codewritten in just four letters: T, G, C,and A.Nucleus The central part of anatom or cell. In atoms, the nucleusis formed of protons and neutrons.In a cell, the nucleus normallycontains DNA.Oscilloscope Device that uses acathode ray tube to showelectrical signals as glowing lineson a glass screen. Oscilloscopesare used to monitor frequency,wavelength, signal strength,among other things.Ozone Form of the gas oxygennormally found in the upper levelsof Earth’s atmosphere where itforms a barrier against ultravioletradiation.PALEOLITHIC (Early StoneAge) Period of human prehistorywhen people made cuttingimplements and other tools fromstone. The Paleolithic lasted fromabout 2.5 million to 20,000 yearsago.Paleontologist A scientist whostudies the fossilized remains ofprehistoric animals.Phoenicians People who livedalong the eastern coast of theMediterranean about 3,000 yearsago. They were traders andseafarers and around 800 BC,they founded the city of Carthagein present-day Tunisia.Photograph Image of realitycaptured by a light-sensitivemedium (for example,photographic film) that can beprinted onto a sheet of paper.Photographic plate Sheet ofmetal or glass coated with light-sensitive chemicals that was usedin cameras before the invention of transparent plastic film.Physicist Scientist who studiesthe physical properties ofsubstances, and the way thatobjects of all sizes are affected by force and energy.

Physiologist Medical scientist whostudies the operation and activityof the organs in a healthy body.Plate tectonics The naturalmechanism by which the largeplates of solid rock that make upthe Earth’s outer crust “float” on the semi-solid rock beneath andgradually change their position. Positive In photography, animage is one in which color toneshave the same values as theoriginal scene.Primeval atom Phrase inventedto name the unknown andincredibly small state of theuniverse immediately precedingthe theory of the Big Bang thatcreated the universe around 15billion years ago.Protein Proteins, created by thebody, that are used to build thestructures of cells and tissue.Proton Subatomic particle,component of atomic nuclei thathas a positive electrical charge.Prototype Trial version of adevice intended for manufacture.Protozoa Single-celled animalsliving in soil and water that aremuch more highly developed thanbacteria.Radioactivity Harmful emissionsfrom certain substances, such asradium, uranium, and plutonium,that are said to be radioactive.There are three types ofradioactivity: alpha rays, betarays, and gamma rays, that arecomposed of sub-atomic particles,such as neutrons, protons, andhigh-energy photons.Radiometric dating Methodof establishing the age of rocks by measuring the rate at whichradioactive substances lose theirradioactivity.Resistance The degree to whicha material allows electricity to flowthrough it without losing energy inthe form of heat.Restriction enzyme Substanceused to cut the long-stranded DNAmolecule into short strands thateach contains just a few genes.Semiconductor Substance, suchas silicon, that conducts electricityin a variable and controllablemanner. Semiconductors arewidely used to make transistorsand microchips.

Shadowgraph Outline orsilhouette image produced byblocking light from reaching a photo-reactive surface.Solar-powered Driven byelectricity produced from sunlight.Speed of light Approximately186,000 miles per second. Lighttravels at slightly different speedsthrough different media, forexample a vacuum, air, or water.The speed of light through avacuum is a constant throughoutthe universe.Stereoscopic Providing imagesthat have depth (like thoseprovided by a pair of eyes) as opposed to the flat imagesproduced by cameras with asingle lens.Transistor A transistor is acomponent of an electronic circuitthat depends upon the variableconductivity of a semiconductor.Transistors are very smallcompared with the triode valvesand vacuum tubes that theyreplaced.Triode valve Fragile glass andmetal device used in radios andother electronic devices before the invention of the transistor.Ultrasound imaging Medicaltechnique for providing images of the inside of a living body byusing reflected sound waves.Vacuum tube A component ofearly electronic circuits. A vacuumtube was a hollow glass devicecontaining complex arrangementsof bare wires. The air inside thetube was evacuated, leaving avacuum so that the wires did notburn out when they became hotduring use.White light Sunlight that can besplit into the colors of the rainbowby refraction through a glass prismand through raindrops.

5958

AIDS (AutoimmuneDeficiency Syndrome) A fataldisease caused by HIV thatrenders victims susceptible toinfections and cancers. AIDS canbe slowed, but not cured, byexpensive drugs.Alternating current The flow ofelectricity supplied to homes andoffices through electrical mains. It reverses direction about 50 or60 times per second.Anatomist Medical scientist whostudies the bones, organs, andother structures that make up ananimal body.Anthropologist A scientist whostudies the traditional humansocieties and cultures that still existin the modern world.Archaeologist A scientist whoseeks out and studies non-writtenevidence of past human culturesand civilizations.Atom Smallest possible unit of a chemically pure element. All materials and substances are composed of atoms andcombinations of atoms known asmolecules.Atom bomb Device that uses achain reaction of uranium orplutonium to produce an extremelypowerful explosion. A single atombomb is equivalent to a milliontons of ordinary explosive.Atomic size The atomic size ofan element depends on thenumber of protons and neutrons inthe nucleus. An atom of hydrogenhas just one proton in the nucleus.An atom of uranium has 92

protons and even more neutrons.Australopithecus (Southernape) One of a group of bipedal(using two legs) primates that livedin Africa about 4 million yearsago and may have been theancestors of modern humanbeings.Base pairs The four nucleotidebases—thymine (T), guanine (G),cytosine (C), and adenine (A)—that make up the genetic code.They are always arranged inpairs.Biochemist A scientist whostudies the substances producedby living things and how theycombine and react with othersubstances.BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic InstructionCode) A computer language thatis used to write operating programfor a computer.Bacteria Group of single-celledorganisms that are similar to theearliest forms of life. Bacteria donot have a nucleus and do not useDNA. Some bacteria causediseases.Binary Using just two digits, 1 and 0. Computers operateaccording to instructions written in binary numbers. Text and otherinformation (such as sound andvideo) can be digitized (convertedinto binary numbers) for storageor transmission.Botanist A scientist who studiesplants.Calculus A type of arithmeticused to find the solution toproblems where there are twovariable quantities, as in thecomplex motion of a cannonballthrough the air or a planet throughspace.Cathode ray tube A hollowglass device that “fires” a streamof electrons from one end so thatthey form an image on theflattened surface of the other end.The cathode ray tube is the basisfor ordinary TV sets.Census A count of the totalpopulation of a country. Manygovernments conduct a censusevery ten years.

Centrifugal force The force thatappears to make objects on arotating body move toward theouter edge.Clone A plant or animalproduced from a single cell that isan absolutely identical copy of theplant or animal from which the cellwas taken. A clone has exactly thesame DNA as the “parent.”Coaxial cable Electricalcommunications cable with aninsulated central strand of thickmetal wire surrounded by a wovenmesh of fine wires.Current The flow of electricityaround a circuit.Cyclotron A device used toaccelerate subatomic particles(such as protons, neutrons, orelectrons) so that they crash intoeach other to produce othersubatomic particles.Dialysis medical technique forremoving harmful chemicals fromthe blood of patients with kidneyfailure.Digital Stored or transmitted indigital form as a series of binarynumbers.Direct current (DC) Electricity,produced by batteries anddynamos, that flows in onedirection from a positive anode toa negative cathode.DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)The substance that contains thegenetic code used to pass oncharacteristics to offspring. Allliving things, except bacteria, useDNA, and every species has itsown type of DNA molecule.Electromagnet A device thatonly exhibits magnetism when anelectrical current is applied to it.Electron Subatomic particle witha negative electrical charge.Electrons orbit around the nucleusof atoms.Atoms usually have thesame number of electrons asprotons in their nucleus.Electron shell The orbit ofelectrons around an atomicnucleus forms a series of hollow,spherical shells,” one inside theother, with the nucleus at thecenter.

Element One of the purechemical substances. There are 92naturally occurring elements, andabout 20 short-lived artificialelements that have been made in laboratories.ESA (European SpaceAgency) A multinationalorganization concerned withspace exploration and research.Exposure time Length of time a camera shutter remains open inorder to produce an image of thedesired quality.Fiberoptic cableCommunications cable made fromwoven strands of glass, designedto carry messages as pulses oflaser light.Font A set of the letters of thealphabet and the numerals inmatching size and style. Printersuse many fonts when producingbooks and magazines. Genes The means by whichcharacteristics are inheritedthrough DNA. A gene is a sectionof the genetic code that containsthe instructions for one specificthing, such as making a particularprotein.Genome The complete geneticcode for a particular species.HIV (HumanImmunodeficiency Virus) Themicroscopically small substancethat causes AIDS (AutoimmuneDeficiency Syndrome). HIV isspread from person to personthrough the blood.Homo erectus Early type ofhuman that lived between 1 and 2million years ago. Some scientistsbelieve that Homo erectus was adirect ancestor of modern humanbeings.Internet An international networkof computers developed in the1970s. The Internet is now usedcommercially and can beaccessed by all computer userswith an addional service.Jurassic Period in earth’s historyfrom 208 to 146 million yearsago. During the Jurassic period,dinosaurs lived on land.

GLOSSARY

6160

Aabacus 40bacupuncture 52aAdams, John Couch 19dadder-lister 52b, 53badding machine 52badidas 35c-daerosol cans 52bAgassiz, Louis 14aAgfa Company 9dAIBO dogs 44b-c, 44dAIDS 10cAiken, Howard 40aair conditioning 52bairbags 27daircraft 11b-c, 28a, 28d,

29d, 57ccomputers for 41c

airplanes see aircraftAl-Khwarizmi 11dAlbutt, Thomas 22aAlcock, John 28aAlcom, Al 43b-calgebra 11dAllbutt, Thomas 22aAllen, Bryan 29dAllen, Paul G. 11a, 41dalphabet 6c, 9caluminium 16aAlvarez, Luis and Walter 15damalgam fillings 52cAmbre Solaire 50aAmpere, Andre 17danaesthetics 23danatomy 20aAndreessen, Mark 43aAnning, Mary 14b-dAntarctica 14a, 57canthropology 14b-dantibiotics 22aantiseptic surgery 22c-d, 23dAppert, François 46aApple Computers 40c-d, 41daqua-lung 46aArcher, Frederick 9cArchimedean screw 52aArchimedes of Syracuse 46b-d,

52aArduino, Giovanni 14aargon 16aAristophanes of Byzantium 8aArkwright, Richard 24aArlandes, Marquis d’ 48b-d

ARPAnet 42a, 42dartificial elements 51a-cAsimo 45daspirin 52castronomy 46cAtlantic cable 30a, 31datomic bombs 10aatomic power stations 10aatoms 8d, 16dAustralia 14a, 57cautomobiles see carsaxe heads 12aBBabbage, Charles 9b, 40abacteria 16b-cBaekeland, Leo 25b-cBain, Alexander 30aBaird, John Logie 8c, 33a-c, 33dBakelite 25b-cBaker, John 39dballoons 29a-cballpoint pens 46aBanting, Frederick 21c-dbarbed wire 38aBarbie 37cBarbier, Charles 49a-cBardeen, John 10dBarnard, Christiaan 11c, 23dbasketball 37abaskets 12abathometer 48b-dbatteries 17d, 19d, 48aBattlezone 43bBaylis, Trevor 32b-cBayliss, William 20aBBC 33dBeagle 2 45abeam engines 27bBeaumont, William 21a-bBecket, George 53dBecquerel, Henri 50b-dBell, Alexander Graham 9a,30a, 31a-c, 31d, 56c, 57dBell, Thomas 52cBenz, Carl 26aBerg, Patrick 17bBerliner, Emile 36aBernard, Claude 21c-dBerners-Lee, Tim 10c, 42b-c,

43d, 55bBessemer, Henry and steelprocess 25c, 25dBest, Charles 21c-dBezos, Jeff 43dBichat, Marie-François 20abicycles 26a, 50aBig Bang theory 15dbikini 52cbingo 52d

Binnig, Ged 55cBirdseye, Clarence 39a-b, 57cBiro, Ladislao 46aBlack, Joseph 7aBlalock, Alfred 23dBleriot, Louis 28ablood 20b-dBoeing 29dBohlin, Nils 27dBohr, Niels 8dbomb disposal 45bbones 21a-bbooks 8a, 43dBooth, Hubert Cecil 56cBopp, Thomas 18aBorkenstein, Robert 27dBowman, William 21c-dbows and arrows 6dBradham–Caleb 54dBraille, Louis 9c, 49a-cbrain 21c-dBramah, Joseph 55abrassiere 35dBrattain, Walter H. 10dBraun, Karl Ferdinand 54cBraun, Werner von 18bbreathalyzer 27dBreitling Orbiter 3 29b-cBrennan, Molly 27dBrewster, Sir David 37c, 55dbricks 13dBritish Antarctic Survey 15dBroca, Pierre Paul 21c-dbronze 12c-dBrown, Arthur 28abubble gum 52dbubblewrap 53aBuckland, William 14b-dbuckminsterfullerene 16dBudding, Edwin 34aBurgess Shale, Canada 15dBurroughs, William 52bBushnell, Nolan 43b-cButts, Alfred Mosher 37aCCai Lun 8a-bcalculating machines 52b, 53bcalculus 47a-cCaley, George 28acamera obscura 53acamera phones 31b-ccameras 9c, 9d, 37b-c, 37d,

41b-c, 49a-cCampin, Robert 54ccan-openers 53acannon 6dCapek, Karel 44a, 44b-ccarbon 16b-d, 16dcarbon dating 10c

cardiac surgery 11c, 23dCarothers, Wallace 35b-cCarrier, Willis 52bcars 9a, 24b-c, 26a, 57bin-car computer 41b-cModel T Ford 24c-d, 26a, 26dcartography 48aCartwright, Edmund 24aCaselli, Giovanni 33dcash register 53acassette recorders 36aCassini, Gian Domenico 19aCassini-Huygens 45acathold-ray tube 33dcat’s-eyes 53bcave paintings 13b-cCavendish, Henry 16aCDs 17c, 36a, 41dcells 9b, 9c, 14b-d, 15d, 20, 21celluloid 25bCelsius, Anders 46acentral heating 6cCerf, Vint 42a, 42b-cCERN 42b-cChain, Ernst 22b-dchain reaction 10achain-saw 53bchairs 13d, 57bchampagne 49dChappe, Claude 30aChargaff, Erwin 15bchariots 6d, 7aCharles, Jacques-Alexandre-Cesar

29aCharon 19dChase, Martha 11a, 15bChavannes, Marc 53achemistry 7achewing gum 50a, 57cChinese inventions 13a, 13d,

18bchocolate 39c, 39d, 54aChristy, James Walter 19dchromosomes 15dcinema 37dClanny, William 54bclarinet 36bclassification 14aClaude, Georges 54bclocks 6a-b, 7dclockwork radio 32b-ccloning 17a-ccoaxial cables 31dCoca-Cola 38c-dCockerell, Christopher 29bCohen, Fred 42aColmar, Thomas de 52bColossus 9b, 40a, 41b-cColt, Samuel 24b

Columbus, Christopher 38a, 39dComet Hale-Bopp 18aComet (jet airliner) 29dcommunications 30-3comptometer 53bcomputers 9b, 37d, 40-1games 43a-cConcorde (aircraft) 11b-cconcrete 25a, 25c, 57dconstruction industry 25a-cCook, James 14aCook, Thomas 54cCooke, William Fothergill 30aCooper, Martin 31b-cCoover, Harry 55dCopernicus, Nicolas 18acopper 12b, 24dcornflakes 39cCornu, Paul 28aCort, Henry 25dCortez, Hernando 39dcosmic radiation 15dcotton 8c-d, 13dcotton buds 53bCourtois, Bernard 16aCousteau, Jacques 46aCrapper, Thomas 34c-dCrick, Francis 11a, 15c, 51a-ccrisps 39a-bCristofori, Bartolomeo 36bCrompton, Samuel 24aCrum, George 39a-bCrystal Palace 25a-bCT scanners 23bCudzik, Daniel 55aCugnot, Nicholas 27b-ccuneiform 13aCurie, Marie 50b-dCushing, Harvey 21a-bcyber pets 44dcyclotron 9a, 16dCye Robot 44cDDaguerre, Louis 9cDaimler, Gottlieb 26a, 26dDante II 45b, 45dDarby, Abraham 25dDarby, Norman 56dDarrow, Charles B. 37cDarwin, Charles 15aDassler, Adolf (Adi) 35c-dDavis, Jacob 35aDavy, Humphry 16a, 17d, 53d,

54bDDT insecticide 53bdecimals 11dDeere, John 38aDeforrest, Lee 32aDenner, Johann 36bDevol, George 44a, 45b-cDewar, James 56adialysis 22aDickson, Earle 55aDiemer, Walter 52d

Diesel, Rudolf 26dDifference Engine 40adigital cameras 41b-cdigital films 37ddigital music 36c-ddigital radio 32adigital television 33ddigital watches 19ddimples 57cdinosaurs 14b-d, 15ddirect drive arms 45dDisney 37ddisposable nappies 35adiving bells 47ddiving suit 53cDixies 54cDNA 10b, 11a, 14b-d, 15a-c,

17a, 17b, 20b-d, 51a-cDobney, Ted 43b-cDolly the Sheep 11a, 17a-cDomain Name System (DNS)

42aDrais de Sauerbrun, Baron Karl

56dDrake, Edwin 27aDrew, Richard 55ddrink 38-9Dubois, Eugene 15bDunlop, John 26aDuPont Textiles 35b-c, 48aDVDs 17cdyes, mauve 24adynamite 25a-bDyson, James 34b, 53b, 53cEears 21a-bEarth 14b-d, 15dearthquakes 49dEastman, George 9c, 9d, 49a-cEdison, Thomas Alva 8c, 31d,37d, 49a-c, 52a, 56a, 57delectric light bulb 34c-d, 49c,

57bphonograph 8d, 36a, 49bEdwards, Robert 23cEgyptian inventions 6d, 7a, 7b,10a-b, 13aEhrlich, Paul 22aEinstein, Albert 11d, 50b-d, 51a,

55dEinthoven, Willem 22aelectric light 49a-c, 57belectric vehicles 26a, 27delectricity 10a, 17delectrocardiograph (ECG) 22aelectrolysis 17delectromagnetism 30a, 32aelectron microscope 53celevator 25cemail 42a, 42b-cEMI 33cemoticons 42aendorphins 20aEngelbart, Doug 41b-c

engines 26-9Engle, Joel 31b-cengraving tools 12aENIAC 40a, 40c-dEnigma coding machine 9b,

41b-cenkephalins 20aEricsson, John 29aESA 19a-bescalator 53cEssen, Louis 7dEustachio, Bartolomeo 21a-bEverett, Bart 55bevolution 15aEyck, Jan van 54cFFabri de Peiresc, Nicolas-Claude

18aFabricius, Hieronymus 21c-dFahrenheit, Daniel 46aFallopio, Gabriello 21a-bFaraday, Michael 17dfarming 7a, 12b-dfashion 34-5Faure, Camille 26afax machines 30a, 31dFelt, Dorr E. 53bFermi, Enrico 10a, 51a-cfermium 51a-cFerris, George W. 53dferris wheel 53dfertiliser 38aFessenden, Reginald A. 32afibreoptic cables 31dfield-ion microscope 53dFielding, Alfred 53afilms 37b-c, 37dFilo, David 43dfingerprinting 8c-dfire 7bfirearms 24bfirefighting 45cFisher, Alva 34afishfingers 39bfission 10aFitch, John 29aflags 13dflax 12aFleming, Alexander 22a, 22b-dflight see aircraftflints 6b-c, 7b, 12afloppy disks 41dFlorey, Howard 22b-dFlying Shuttle 24afood 38-9, 46a, 57cFord, Henry 24c, 26a, 26b-d,

57bFord Motor Company 9a, 24c-d,

26a, 26d, 38afossils 14a, 14b-dFox, Daniel 25cFox, Samuel 56bFranklin, Benjamin 34a, 47dFranklin, Rosalind 15c

Fraze, Ermal 55aFreyssinet, Eugene 25cfrozen food 57cFry, Art 55aFry, Joseph, and Son 39dFulton, Robert 27cFunk, Casimir 20aFurby 45dfurniture 13d, 57b, 57dFust, Johann 48b-dGGadolin, Johan 16aGagnan, Emile 46aGalapagos Islands 15agalaxies 8c, 18aGale, Claudius 20aGale, J.G. 19dGalen, Claudius 20aGalileo Galilei 6b, 7b, 18a,

46b-d, 47dGalton, Francis 8cGameboy 43cgames 42-3Gamow, George 17agas lighting 34aGates, Bill 10d, 11a, 41dGayetty, Joseph 34dgenerators 17dgenes 10d, 14a, 15d, 20b-dgenetic engineering 17a-cGenghis 45dgeology 14agermanium 16aGerstenbzang, Leo 53bGesner, Conrad 54dGilbert, William 14aGilchrist, Percy and Sidney

25dGillette, King C. 47dglass 7bGlidden, Joseph 38agliders 28a, 28cGM (genetically modified) crops

17cGoddard, Robert 18bGoetze, Martin 57cgold 13dGoldman, Sylvan 56aGoldmark, Peter 36cGoodwin, Hannibal 37dGorrie, John 34aGould, John 15aGraaf, Regnier de 21a-bGraham, Bette Nesmith 54agramophone 36agravity 47a-cGray, Elisha 57dGreat Eastern (ship) 31dGreat Exhibition 25a-bGreek alphabet 6cGreen, Andy 27dGregory, John 18dGresley, Sir Nigel 27agrindstones 12a, 13d

The letters a, b, c, d following thepage number indicate the column(from left to right) in which theinformation may be found onthat page.

INDEXINDEX

6362

INDEX INDEXgunpowder 18bGurdon, John 17aGutenberg, Johannes 7b, 8b,48b-dHhadron colliders 16b-d, 16dHale, Alan 18aHalley, Edmund 18a, 47dHalley’s Comet 18aHalstead, William 56aHanan, John 39dHandler, Ruth 37b-cHargreaves, James 24aHarington, Sir John 34charpsichords 36bHarrison, John 29cHarvey, William 20bHavers, Clopton 21a-bHazbots 45a-cheart transplants 11c, 23dHeim, Jacques 52cHeinkel, Ernst 29dhelicopters 28a, 29dhelium 16ahelium balloons 29b-cHelmholtz, Hermann von 22aHenry, Sir Edward R. 8cheredity 14aHero of Alexandria 56dHerodotus 55cHerschel, Sir William 19aHershey, Alfred 11a, 15bHertz, Heinrich 32aHetrick, John W. 27dhieroglyphs 13aHiginbotham, William A 43aHill, Julian 35b-cHill, Rowland 30c-dhip replacements 23dHirose, Shigeo 44aHiroshima 10aHIV virus 10cHobbs, A.C. 55aHoff, Ted 41aHoffmann, Felix 52cHollerith, Herman 40ahomes 34homo erectus 15bhormones 20a, 21c-dhorse-collars 12bhorseshoes 12cHounsfield, Godfrey 23bHouten, Conrad Van 39dHoutermans, Fiesel 15dhovercraft 29bHowe, Elias 24aHubble, Edwin 8c, 18aHubble Space Telescope 19a-bhuman body 20-1Human Genome Project 10d,

20b-dHunt, Walter 24a, 55bHunter, John 23dHunter, Matthew 16a

Huntsman, Benjamin 25dHuxley, Andrew and Hugh 21c-dHuygens, Christiaan 6bHyatt, John 25bhydrogen 16ahydrogen balloons 29ahydrogen bombs 10b-cIIBM 40a, 41dIbuka, Masura 36bIce Age 14aiconoscope 33cImperial measures 11dinduction 17dIndustrial Revolution 24b-dindustry 24-5ink 13dinsulin 21c-dIntel 41a, 41dinternal combustion engines

26b-c, 27aInternet 10c, 42-3iodine 16aiPod 36airon 12d, 25a, 25dirrigation 12b, 57cIVF (in vitro fertilization) 23cJJacob, Mary (Caresse Crosby)

35dJacobs, Irwin 31b-cJacquard, Joseph-Marie 24a,

24b-cJames, Richard 55cJansky, Karl 18aJanssen, Pierre 16ajeans 35a-bJeffreys, Alec 10bJenatzy, Camille 27dJenner, Edward 9a, 22a, 23a-cjet engines 28d, 29dJohns, Steve 41dJohnson, Denis 56dJones, Brian 29b-c, 54aJoyner, Fred 55dJupiter 18a, 19aKKahn, Bob 42a, 42b-ckaleidoscope 37cKanade, Takeo 45dKayz, John 24aKellogg, Will and John 39cKelly, Henry 25dKelly, William 25dKevlar 48akeyboards 41dkeyhole surgery 23dkidneys 21c-d, 22a, 23dkinetoscope 37d, 49a-cKing Htai Tjong 8bKirk, Ole 37aKoch, Robert 22aKodak 9d, 41b-c, 49a-cKolff, Willem 22a

Kwolek, Stephanie 48aLla Condamine, Charles Marie de

55bLaënnec, René 22bLand, Edwin 9dLandsteiner, Karl 20cLascaux cave paintings 13b-clasers 16b-d, 17a-ceye surgery 23dlaughing gas 53dLavoisier, Antoine-Laurent 6clawnmowers 34a, 44cLay’s potato chips 39a-bLe Prince, Louis Aimé Augustin

37dLe Verrier, Urbain 19dlead 12bleather 12aLeclanché, Georges 48aLecointe, Sadi 27dLeeuwenhoek, Anton van 16b-cLeffler, Carl 52dLEGO 37aLego, Godfred Kirk Christiansen

37aleisure 36-7Lemaitre, Georges 15dlemonade 53dLenormand, Louis 54dLerp, Emil 53bletterbox 53dLevene, Phoebus 15aLevi’s 501 Jeans 35a-bLEXAN polycarbonate 25cLibby, Willard F. 10clie detector 53dlight bulbs 34c-d, 49a-clightning conductor 47dLilienthal, Otto 28aLindberg, Charles 29dlinen 12aLinnaeus, Carolus 14a, 39dlinoleum 34aLippershey, Hans 7c, 18a, 18c-dliquid paper 54aLister, Joseph 22c-dliver 21c-dlocks 51d, 55aLockyer, Norman 16alongitude 29cLoud, John 46aLowe, Edwin 52dLowell, Percival 19dLucas, George 37b-cLucy (hominid skeleton) 11bLudwig, Ludwig 21c-dLumière, Auguste and Louis 37dlungs 21a-bLydians (Turkey) 55cMM&M’s 54aMcAdam, John 54aMacadamized road 54a

McCormick, Cyrus 38aMacCready, Paul 29dMcIndoe, Archibald 23dMacintosh, Charles 35b-dMacintosh Computer 41dMackay, David S. 19cmackintosh 35b-dMacmillan, Kirkpatrick 26aMagee, Carlton 54dMagie, Lizzie G. 37cmagnetism 14a, 17dMaiman, Theodore 17aMallard (locomotive) 27aMalpighi, Marcello 20bManhattan Project 10aMarconi, Guglielmo 9a, 32a,

32b-cMarey, Etienne-Jules 37dmargarine 54bMaron 44cMars, Frank and Ethel 48a, 54aMars (planet) 19a-b, 19cmass production 24b-dmatches 54b, 55amathematics 11dMattel Inc. 37c, 43bMatthews, Drummond 15dmauve dye 24aMaxwell, James Clark 17d, 32aMay and Smith 33dMaybach, Wilhelm 26aMayor, John 21a-bmedicine 22-3Mege-Mouries, Hippolyte 54bMeldeleev, Dmitri 16b-cMendel, Gregor 14a, 15dMercator, Gerhard 48aMercury (planet) 19cMesopotamia (Iraq) 7c, 7d,

13b-c, 13d, 56dMestral, George de 56cmetal 12b-d

see also named metalsMetchnikoff, Elie 20cmetric measures 11dMichtom, Morris 49dmicrochips 41amicrophones 31d, 49a-cmicroprocessors 41a, 41dmicroscopes 16b-c, 53c, 53d,

55cMicrosoft 11a, 41d, 43cmicrosurgery 23dmicrowave ovens 34aMiescher, Johann 15amilking machines 38aMilky Way 8c, 18aMills, Vic 35aMinoans, printing 8amirrors 13dMissile Attack 43bmobile phones 31b-c, 41b-cMonier, Joseph 25aMonopoly 37c

Montagnier, Luc 10cMontgolfier, Joseph and Jacques

29a, 48b-dMoore, Hugh 54cMoravec, Hans 44aMorgan, Garrett 56bMorris, Robert 43dMorse code 9a, 30c-d, 48b-dMorse, Samuel 30a, 30c-d,

48b-d, 57bMorton, William 23dMosaic web browser 43a, 43dMOSRO 44bmotorcycles 26aMotorola 31b-cmouse (computer) 41b-cmovies see filmsMP3s 36a, 36c-d, 42aMS-DOS 11a, 41dMueller, Erwin 53dMuller, Paul 53bMullis, Kary 15cmummies 10a-bMuntz, George 24dMurdock, William 34amuscles 21c-dmusical inventions 36NNagasaki 10aNaismith, James 37aNASA 11a, 19a-b, 19cNathans, Daniel 17bneon signs 54bneoprene 35b-cNeptune 19dneptunium 51a-cneurons 20aNewcomen, Thomas 27cNewton, Sir Isaac 18d, 47a-c,

50d, 53aNiepce, Joseph 9cNieuport-Delage racing car 27dnight writing 49a-cNintendo 43a, 43cNipkow, Pual 33dNirenberg, Marshall 15cNissen, George 56bnitrogen 16anitroglycerine 54bNobel, Alfred 25a-bnuclear power 10anuclear reactor 51a-cnuclear weapons 9anylon 35b-cOOberth, Herman 18bOFRO robots 54cOhain, Pabst von 29dOhm, Georg 17doil 27aoil painting 54cOlds, Ransome 24b-c, 26aOldsmobile 26aOlmec Indians 39d

Olson, Ken 40bophthalmoscope 22aOpportunity 45aoptics 47a-cOrion Nebula 18aorreries 18b-dOrsted, Christian 16aoscilloscope 43c, 54cOtis Company 53cOtis, Elisha 25cOtto, Nikolaus 26b-covens 12a, 34aOwen, Sir Richard 14b-doxygen 6dozone depletion 15dPpackage holidays 54cpaddlewheels 29apainkillers 20a, 52cpainting 13b-c, 54cpalaeontology 14b-dpancreas 21c-dPannartz, Arnold 8bPantelegraph 31d, 33dpaper 8a-b, 13b-cpaper cups 54cPapworth, Neil 31b-cpapyrus 13b-cparachutes 54dParkes, Alexander 25a-bParkesine 25a-bparking meters 54dParkinson, James 14b-dParther, Vic 29cPascal, Blaise 11dPasteur, Louis and Pasteurization

38b-dpatents 57Patterson, Claire 15dPaxton, Joseph 25apay-phones 31dPCR (polymerase chain reaction)

15cPCs 11a, 41dPedrick, A.P. 57cPemberton, John Stith 38c-dpencils 54dpendulums 6b, 47dpenicillin 22a, 22cPenzias, Arno 15dPepsi-Cola 54dPerignon, Dom 49dperiodic table 16b-cPerkins, William 24aPerry, Stephen 55bPerutz, Max 20dPeter, Daniel 39dPhilips 36aphlogiston 16aPhoenician alphabet 6cphonograph 8d, 36a, 36d,

49a-cphotography 9c-d, 49a-cpianos 36b-c

Piccard, Auguste 29b-cpictograms 13aPilatre de Rosier, Jean François

48b-dPioneer 45a-bpituitary gland 21a-bPixar 37dplanets 11a, 19Plante, Gaston 26aplasters 55aplastic surgery 23dplastics 19d, 25a-cplate tectonics 15dPlaystation 43cPlimpton, James Leonard 37aplows 12b, 12c-d, 38a, 51dPluto 19dplutonium 9apneumatic tyres 26aPolhelm, Christopher 25dpollination 12bPolly, Jean Armour 43dpolycarbonate 25cPong 43a, 43b-cPorta, Giovanni Battista Della

53apost-it notes 55apostage stamps 30c-dPotassium 16apottery 13b-cPoulsen, Valdemar 36apower looms 24apower stations 8cPriestley, Joseph 6d, 55bprinters, computer 41b-cprinting 7b, 8a-b, 48b-dProctor and Gamble 35apuddling process 25dpunctuation 8aPythagoras’ theorem 11dQQuantum Project 43dquerns, rotary 13dRradar 51dradio 9a, 32radio waves 18aradioactivity 45a-bradiotherapy 50b-drailway locomotives 27Ramsay, William 16aRawlings, John 55arawlplugs 55arazors and razor blades

47dRCA Victor 36cRealAudio 43dreaping machines 38aReard, Louis 52crecording machines 36arefrigerators 34aReis, Philipp 30arelativity 11d, 50b-drestriction enzymes 17b

Richter, Charles F. 49dring-pull cans 55aRitty, James 53aRiva-Rocci, Scipione 22aroad vehicles 26aRobertson, Christopher 57cRobertson, Frank M. 38c-dRobomow 44cRobosapien 44drobots 23d, 44-5, 54c, 55bRobotuna 45dRobug-3 45cRocket (locomotive) 27b-crockets 18bRoentgen, Wilhelm 22a,

23a-bRohrer, Heinrich 55cRohwedder, Otto Frederick 34a,

55croller skates 37aRomans 6c, 55cRoosevelt, Theodore 49drope 12aRosetta 45aRosing, Boris 33dRoslin Institute, Scotland 11aRoss, Malcolm 29crotary power 27b-cRothheim, Erik 52brubber 55brubber bands 55bRubik, Erno 50aRubik’s Cube 50aRusch, Adolf 8bRuska, Ernst 53cRutan, Richard 29dRutherford, Daniel 16aSsafety lamp 54bsafety pins 55bsailboards 56dsalvarsan 22asandwiches 38bSantiago y Cajal, Ramón

20aSantorio, Santorio 20asatellites 33aSaturn 19cSaunders, Clarence 56aSavery, Thomas 27bscales 13dScheele, Carl Wilhelm 6dScheinman, Victor 44aSchleiden, Mattias 9cSchueller, Eugene 50aSchwann, Theodor 9cscissors 55cScotch Tape 55dScrabble 37ascrew propellers 29aScudder, Mrs 39a-bseat belts 27dSedna 11a-cSeeburger, Charles 53c

64

seed drill 38aSellotape 55dsemiconductors 17cSemple, William Finlay

50asewing machines 24a, 57bshaduf 12bShakey 44aShaw, Percy 53bSheffield, Washington 56bships 24d, 27c, 29aShockley, William B. 10dShoenberg, Isaac 33b-cSholes, Christopher 56bshops 55cshore to ship radio 32asickles 12bSiebe, Augustus 53cSiemens, William 25dSiemens-Martin process 25dSikorsky, Igor 29dsilver 13dSilver Arm 44aSilver, Spencer 55aSinclair, Clive 50aSinger, Charles 57bSinger, Isaac 24a, 57bSky 33dsliced bread 34a, 55cSlinky 55cSmart 1 45aSmith, Hamilton 17bSmith, Richard 51dSmith, William 14aSobrero, Ascanio 54bSoft Gripper 44aSojourner 45dsolar power 27dsolar system 19Solnhofen, Germany 14b-dSony 32d, 36b, 44dsound barrier 27d, 28dspace 18a-d, 45a, 45dSpacewar! 43aspecial effects 37b-cspectacles 55dspeed 27dSpencer, Percy LeBaron 34asphygmomanometer 22aSpinning Jenny 24a, 24b-dSpinning Mule 24aSpirit 45aSpirit of St. Louis 29dStanford Arm 44aStanford Cart 44a, 45dStanley, Francis and Freelan

27dStanley steamer 27dStarling, Ernest 20astatistics 11dsteam locomotives 27steam power 26b, 27steamboats 27c, 29asteel 25d

Steno, Nicolaus 14aStephenson, George 54bStephenson, Robert 27b-cSteptoe, Patrick 23cstereoscope 55dstethoscope 22bsticky tape 55dStihl company 53bstomach 21a-bstone tools 6b, 12astoves 34astratigraphy 14aStrauss, Levi 35a-bStrite, Charles 34aStrowger, Almon 31aStrutt, John, Lord Rayleigh 16asubmarines 29a-bSumerians 7c, 13asundials 6bSunraycer 27dsuntan lotion 50asuperglue 55dsupermarket 56asupermarket trolley 56asurfing 43dsurgery 22c-d, 23dsurgical gloves 56asurgical instruments 22d, 23dSutton, Walter 15dSwammerdam, Jan 20bSwan, Sir Joseph Wilson 34c-dsweets 48aSweynheim, Conrad 8bSwinton, Alan Campbell 33b-csyphilis 22aTTakara Aquaroid Fish 44dTalbot, William 9ctalkies 37dtape recorders 36aTaveua, August 52cTeddy Bears 49dtelegraph 30a, 30b, 30d, 31d,48b-d, 49a-c, 57btelephones 9a, 30a, 31, 41,

57dtelescopes 7b-c, 18a, 18c-d,

19a-b, 47a-ctelevision 8c, 33Telstar 33atemperature scales 46aTennis for Two 43aTesla, Nikola 17d, 44atest pilots 28dtext messaging 31b-ctextile industry 24b-dthermometers 22a, 46aThermos flask 56athree field system 12cthreshing machines 38aThrust SSC 27dtitanium 16atoasters, pop-up 34atoilet paper 34d

toilets 34c-dTokyo Institute of Technology 44aTombaugh, Clyde 19dTomlinson, Ray 42a, 42dTomy Human Dog 44dtools 6b, 7, 12a, 19dtoothpaste tubes 56bToussig, Helen 23dtoys 36-7tractors, Ford 38atraffic signals 56btrainers 35c-dtrampoline 56btransistors 10d, 17d, 32a, 32d,

40a, 41atransplants 11c, 23dTrevithick, Richard 27cTriantafyllou, Michael 45dtriode valve 32aTrivial Pursuit 56bTs’ai Lun see Cai LunTsiolovsky, Konstantin 18btuberculosis (TB) 22aTull, Jethro 38aTurcat, Andre 11cTuring, Alan 9b, 41b-ctype 8btypewriter 56bUUltimate 44aultrasound images 22aumbrella 56bUNIVAC 40c-duniverse 18curanium 10aUranus 19aVvaccination 9a, 22a, 38b-dvacuum cleaners 34b, 53b,

56cvacuum tubes 41aVanderbilt, Cornelius 39a-bveins 21c-dVelcro 56cvelo-douche 57bvelocipede 56dvending machine 56dVenus 19bVesalius, Andreas 20a, 20dvideo cameras 41b-cvideo phones 31b-cVinci, Leonardo da 28a, 44a,

47a-cVine, Fred 15dvirus, computers 42avitamins 20aVodaphone 31b-cvolcanoes 45b, 45b-cVolta, Alessandro 17d, 48aVoyagers 1 & 2 45dWWakefield, Ruth 39cWalcott, Charles 15dWalker, John 54b

Walkman 36bWalton, Frederick 34aWarner Brothers 37dwashing machines 34aWashkansky, Louis 11cwatches 19d, 29csee also clockswater 6cwater power 24aWatson, James 11a, 15c,

51a-cWatson, Thomas 31a, 40bWatson-Watt, Robert Alexander

51dWatt, James 27b-cWC (water closet) 34cweapons 6d, 9a, 10a, 10b-c,

12a, 24bweaving 12a, 24aweb browsers 43aWertheimer, Max 53dWheatstone, Charles 30a, 55dWheelbarrow 45bWheeler, George 53cwheels 7d, 13b-c, 13dWhitney, Eli 8c-d, 24bWhittle, Frank 28d, 29dWiles, Philip 23dWilkins, Maurice 15cWilmut, Ian 17cWilson, Robert 15dwind tunnels 28cWindows (computer systems)

11a, 41d, 43dwindsurfer 56dWinkler, Clemens 16aWorld Wide Web 10c, 36a,

42b, 43a, 43dworm, internet 43dWozniak, Steve 41dWright, Orville and Wilbur 9b,

28a, 28b-c, 57cwriting 7c, 13a, 49a-cwrought iron 25dXX-Box 43cX-rays 15c, 22a, 23a-bYYahoo! 43dYale, Linus 51dYang, Jerry 43dYeager, Chuck 28dYeager, Jeana 29dYeates, Robert 53aYttrium 16aZZeppelin, Ferdinand von 29aZeppelins 29azinc 24dzodiac signs 56dZuse, Konrad 40aZworkykin, Vladimir 33b-c

INDEX

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