“INVENTIONS…..” sounds tough and not easy to go with. As soon as this word comes to our mind ,we start thinking of several sleepless nights of hardwork , innovation , intelligence and the list goes on.But often inventions and discoveries were the result of an accident or twist that took place without notice and some were meant to do so. Long ago at about 212 BC Archimedes Principle was discovered by accident. Archimedes who lived on the island of Sicily was once called by his king and asked to check the purity of gold in his crown. He worked on the problem for days but could not find a solution. One afternoon he stepped into a bathtub full of water and watched as the water overflowed. He realized that the amount of water that was displaced from the bathtub was equal to the volume of his body as it entered the water. EUREKA !

This was the answer to his problem! He did the same for the crown and thus came to a conclusion , leading to the discovery of the Law of Buoyancy . Similarly the discovery of Gravity was known to occur due to the falling of an apple by Isaac Newton . In 1826 Jhon Walker invented friction matches in his way to remove a chemical mixture from his stirring stick by scraping it against stone.

The 20th Century involved many inventions and discoveries that reformed us , our lifestyles and the entire system of the world. These inventions included different electronic gadgets, tools, automobiles etc There came a significant rise in the field of science and technology with the advent of 20th century. These inventions gave a new perception to life, enabling people to lead a more convenient lifestyle. At the beginning of this century , the air and land were conquers with such inventions as the airplane , radio and the automobile. These tender inventions quickly evolved into supersonic flight, wireless internet, alternative fuel and electric vehicles. Some great inventions of the 20th century are given below.

The AIRPLANE

Initially, human power tried to achieve bird like flight, but materials in the early days were just too heavy . Over the years, more powerful, light and reliable engines were created as well as single fixed wing airplane was designed.

The airplane was invented by the Wright brothers , Orville and Wilbur in 1903. Their first successful airplane flew for only 12 seconds and only made it 10 feet off the ground , but this flight revolutionized travel for the world.Within 15 years conventional flights became viable to people in 1940. Since then airplanes have become more developed and used by thousands of people everyday, thanks to the Wright brothers.

The TELEVISION

The first Television in the broadcast media came out in 1923 and the inventors were Philo Farnsworth and Vladmir Zworykin. It changed the way we receive information and entertainment by providing a visual format to the sound.The initial televisions were black and white but by 1950 it became available in colour.As the years passed television developed to what it is now.

The AUTOMOBILES

One of the most popular mode of transportation was the Dailmer Motoren Gesellschaft(DMG) . It was invented by Daimler and Mabach in 1892.Without these we will still be using the horse and carriage. Designs to built the car were greatly improved just the things you see on the road nowdays.The downside though is that we have become dependent on them which is affecting the Earth and our systems badly. One of its adverse effect includes the green house effect leading to Global Warming.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY

Nuclear technology was first discovered as radioactivity in 1869. It showed its adverse effect during the nuclear bombing in the Japenese city Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The first nuclear weapon was not used until 1945. In 1950’s nuclear reactors started to be used as sources of energy.

LIQUID FUEL ROCKET

The first flight of a liquid fuel rocket occurred on march 16, 1926 which was powered by liquid oxygen and gasoline American professor Robert H.

Goddard launched it and it rose 41 feet and flew for 2.5 seconds. It demonstrated that liquid fuel rockets were possible, eventually leading to Sputnik and the Moon

CELLPHONE

These were first released in Japan around the 1980s.Originaly they were large bulky things and designed as walky talkies.But since then they have been constantly being upgraded to the devices we use now. The first mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Motorola .It was too expensive for many people to purchase. It was not until the mid 1990’s that people started using mobile phones.

INTERNET

FIBRE OPTICS is said to be the backbone of communication initially developed in 1966. It largely allowed the Internet revolution to happen. Internet was designed in 1973 and it revolutionized the sharing of information among people globaly.It also lead to the free transfer of data across networks through emails . Internet is said to reside in almost every house .It has greatly influenced the youth to such an extent that they can stay without food but not without internet connection.

PERSONAL COMPUTER

One of the major invention was that of the PERSONAL COMPUTER which brought a great revolution in the world.In 1981 personal computers came into exsistence with a screen ,keyboard and memory disk by IBM. The IBM 5100 was the first laptop or portable computer released on September 1975. Gradually this field showed great enhancement to technology giving birth to the new concept of handy devices.

After such long dose of high knowledge and innovations let us now look at some of the facts about inventions.

The telescope was accidentally discovered in 1698 when Dutch eye glass maker Hans Lippershey looked through two lenses – one held in front of the other – and realized that the image was magnified.

J.B. Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic tire, was a veterinary surgeon.

The trademarked name “Baby Ruth” of the American candy bar was inspired by President Grover Cleveland’s daughter, Ruth, and not by Babe Ruth.

The first rickshaw was invented in 1869 by an American Baptist minister, the Rev. E. Jonathan Scobie, to transport his disabled wife around the streets of Yokohama.

The Band-Aid Bandage was invented by a Johnson & Johnson employee whose wife had cut herself. Earl Dickson’s wife was rather accident prone, so he set out to develop a bandage that she could apply without help.

It was melting ice cream that inspired the invention of the outboard motor.

A major cause for inventions is human’s anxiety to know and learn. Questions like WHAT? HOW? WHY? lead to discoveries and inventions which not only affects our life but also give reasons to nature. As centuries pass we will further come across some surprising discoveries and inventions.

About the Author: saarika Singh I am an Educationist at oureducation.in. I have overall 6 years of experience in the Education Industry. I guide people for the choice of thr Right Career Path as per their Interests. I write many articles, blogs to make people aware of any kind of education they are looking For.

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