POPULAR SCIENCE 100 INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD Contents Introduction The Stuff of Science Velcro Gunpowder Dynamite Teflon Fertilizer Silicone Plastic Carbon Nanotubes Spreading Ideas Internet Fiber Optics Corporation Holography Alphabet Pencil and Pen Camera Phonograph Graphical User Interface Videotape Television Electric Guitar Printing Press Virtual Reality Telegraph Morse Code Computer Video Games Satellite Telephone Abacus Paper Radio Calculus Arabic Numerals The Body In Vitro Fertilization Anesthetic Penicillin Brassiere Kevlar Jeans Vaccination The Pill CT Scan X-ray Pacemaker Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) Hypodermic Needle Condom Stethoscope Pasteurization Cloning Things That Go Automobile Jet Engine Stealth Aircraft Wheel Shipping Container Compass Sonar Drone Locomotive Guided Missile Submarine Saturn V Radar Making Something Out of Nothing Moving Assembly Line Ball Bearing Screw Nail 3-D Printing Windmill Cement Steel Nuclear Reactor Steel Skyscraper Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) Atomic Bomb Steam Engine Wastewater Treatment Oil Refining Internal Combustion Engine Game-Changing Gadgets Laser Transistor RFID Lightbulb Zipper Microcontroller Optical Sensor Capacitor Telescope Microscope Battery Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Alternating Current Clock Gregorian Calendar Mechanical Reaper Cotton Gin Refrigeration Remote Control Rifle Flush Toilet Index Credits Great inventions can come about by accident—a burst of information or slow, plodding experimentation—but all at some point must be fleshed out on paper if the promise of their potential is to be fulfilled and duplicated for the future Examples of some of those drawings include (clockwise from top left) Watt’s steam engine, Whitney’s cotton gin, Stephenson’s locomotive engine, Edison’s phonograph, Jacob’s brassiere, Volta’s battery, and da Vinci’s helicopter Introduction Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and one of the greatest innovators of our time, once said, “Creativity is just connecting things When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really it, they just saw something It seemed obvious to them after a while That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” Jobs knew what he was talking about History’s greatest innovators stand on the shoulders of those who have come before Using discoveries that were hard-won or accidentally uncovered, inventors have changed the way we live by working passionately to connect the dots and make sense of the world around us Today, the modern men and women of innovation continue to analyze past technology in pursuit of the advancements that will define our future Where will computers go from here? How can we leverage progress with the needs of an increasingly globalized community, and what will trigger the next medical breakthrough? These and many more unanswered questions continue to inspire some of the greatest minds of our time The inventions on the following pages illustrate the courage, resilience, and innovation of the human spirit, while simultaneously suggesting the challenges that remain Perhaps, most importantly, the advancements listed here also demonstrate how a single spark of brilliance can touch us all Writer William Arthur Ward once said, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.” All these inventions began in someone’s imagination, but it is their achievement that truly changed the world Chapter The Stuff of Science A closeup shot of Velcro’s loops (left) and hooks (right) Velcro Many artificial objects were inspired by something organic or found in nature Velcro, sometimes called “the zipperless zipper,” is one of those items, modeled after the common seed case of a plant Velcro consists of two surfaces: one made up of tiny hooks and the other composed of tiny loops When the two sides are pressed together, the hundreds of hooks latch onto the tiny loops, producing a firm binding that is easy to undo by pulling on the top surface, making a familiar rasping sound Today Velcro is used in hundreds of products, from coats to children’s shoes, blood pressure gauges to airplane flotation devices The idea for Velcro came unexpectedly In 1948, George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, went hiking in the woods with his dog Both he and the dog came home covered with burrs that had stuck to them during their walk Suddenly, an idea occurred to him: Could what made the burrs stick on clothes have commercial use as a fastener? Studying a burr under a microscope, he discovered that it was covered with tiny hooks, which had allowed many of the burrs to grab onto clothes and fur that brushed up against the plants as he and his dog passed by Armed with this idea, de Mestral spent the next eight years developing a product he called Velcro, a combination of the words “velvet” and “crochet.” He obtained a patent on his hook-and-loop technology in 1955 and named his company Velcro Few people took de Mestral’s invention seriously at first, but it caught on, particularly after NASA used Velcro for a number of space flights and experiments In the 1960s, Apollo astronauts used Velcro to secure all types of devices in their space capsule for easy retrieval Starting in 1968, shoe companies like Puma, Adidas, and Reebok integrated Velcro straps into children’s shoes A 1984 interview between television talk-show host David Letterman and Velcro’s U.S director of industrial sales ended with Letterman, wearing a suit made of Velcro, launching himself off a trampoline and onto a wall covered in Velcro, sticking to it This widely publicized stunt furthered the craze, resulting in more companies adapting Velcro into their products bitumen (tar) Blucher (locomotive) Boone, Gary Booth, James Boston Manufacturing Company Boulton, Matthew brassieres Brattain, Walter British Standard Whitworth (BSW) Brock, David Brooklyn Bridge Brown, John Brown, Lesley Brown, Louise Brunel, Isambard BSW (British Standard Whitworth) bulletproof vests Burj Khalifa Bushnell, David C Cady, W.G calculus camera obscura cameras drones microscopes optical sensor satellites television virtual reality Campbell, Keith capacitors carbon nanotubes Carruthers, Wallace Caruso, Enrico cellphones cement central processing units (CPUs) Cerf, Vinton CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) Chain, Ernst chemical vapor deposition Chernobyl nuclear disaster clocks cloning Cochran, Michael Collins, Dorothy Columbia Records combine harvesters compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) compasses compound microscopes computerized tomography (CT) scans computers condoms Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) Coolidge, W.D Cormack, Allan M Cornelius, Robert Corning Glass Works corporations cotton gins CPUs (central processing units) Crapper, Thomas Crosby, Bing Crosby, Caresse CT (computerized tomography) scans Cullen, William Curie, Marie Curie, Pierre CVA D da Vinci, Leonardo Daguerre, Louis daguerreotypes Daimler, Gottlieb Daniel, Malcolm Daniell, John F Davis, Jacob Davy, Humphrey DC (direct current) de Mestral, George de Rochas, Alphonse Beau Dean, James denim Denton, Jeremiah Destinn, Emmy diesel engines diesel fuel Difference Engine digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera direct current (DC) Dolly the sheep drones DuPont dynamite E ECG (electrocardiograph; EKG) Edison, Thomas A Edison-Swan Edwards, Robert Einstein, Albert Einthoven, Willem electric guitars electrocardiograph (ECG; EKG) electron microscopes elevators Elizabeth I endoscopes ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) erasers ethanol European Space Agency Evans, Oliver Explorer (satellite) Eyestone, Willard F Farnsworth, Kent Farnsworth, Philo T FDM (fused deposition modeling process) Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Fender, Leo Fender guitars Fermi, Enrico fertilizer fiber optics Fibonacci, Leonardo film firearms First, Neal First Council of Nicaea Fleming, Alexander flight simulators Florey, Howard flush toilets Ford, Henry Franklin, Benjamin Freon Freudenrich, Craig Fritz-X (bomb) Frying Pan guitar fused deposition modeling process (FDM) G Gabor, Dennis gasoline G.D Searle pharmaceutical company General Electric Gibson guitars Goodyear, Charles gramophones graphical user interfaces (GUIs) graphite Gray, Elisha Greatbatch, Wilson Greek alphabet Greene, Catherine Gregoire, Marc Gregorian calendar Gregory XIII Groves, Leslie R guided missiles GUIs (graphical user interfaces) gunpowder Gutenberg, Johannes gypsum H Haber, Fritz Hahn, Otto Halliburton Halstead, William ham radios handguns Harrington, John Heilig, Morton helicopters Henlein, Peter Hero of Alexandria Hertz, Heinrich H.L Hunley (submarine) holography Holonyak, Nick Jr Home Insurance Building Hopper, Grace Hounsfield, Godfrey Hubble Space Telescope Hughes Aircraft Company Hülsmeyer, Christian Human Genome Project Huygens, Christiaan hydraulic fracturing (fracking) hypodermic needles I IC (internal combustion) engines Ideal X (ship) Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) system in vitro fertilization (IVF) incandescent lightbulbs infrared (IR) remote controls Integrated Undersea Surveillance System intermodalism internal combustion (IC) engines International Maritime Organization International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Space Station (ISS) Internet IR (infrared) remote controls IVF (in vitro fertilization) J Jackson, Charles Jacob, Mary Phelps Jacobson, Mark jeans Jenner, Edward Jennings, George jet engines Jobs, Steve Judson, Whitcomb Julian calendar Julius Caesar K Kao, Charles Kepler, Johannes kerosene Kevlar Kier, Samuel Kingdom Tower Kipping, F.S Klaproth, Martin Kwolek, Stephanie L Laennec, René Lanier, Jaron lasers LCDs (liquid-crystal displays) leap year Leared, Arthur Leclanché, Georges Ledley, Robert S LEDs (light-emitting diodes) Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm Leiden jars Lenoir, J.J Étienne Letterman, David Levi Strauss & Co Licklider, J.C.R Liebig, Justus von lightbulbs light-emitting diodes (LEDs) Lilio, Luigi Lindahl, Lisa Lipman, Hymen liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) Little Boy (bomb) Lizard Squad Locomotion (locomotive) locomotives long-playing (LP) records Luckey, Palmer Luther, Martin M Maidenform Maiman, Theodore Marconi, Guglielmo Marrison, Warren Maxwell, James Clerk Maybach, Wilhelm McBride, Ron McCormick, Cyrus McCormick, Katherine McCormick, Robert McLean, Malcom P mechanical reapers memory cards Menkin, Miriam Mercedes-Benz microcontrollers Microneedles microscopes Microsoft Xbox Live Milla, Hinda Miller, Phineas Model T Monro, Alexander Morse, Samuel Morse code Morton, William T.G Motorola Company Mountain, Matt moving assembly line N nails Nanocyl NASA Newcomen, Thomas Newton, Isaac nitrogen fertilizer nitroglycerin Nobel, Alfred Nobel, Emil Nobel prize nuclear reactors nylon O Oculus Rift oil refining Oppenheimer, J Robert optical sensors oral contraception organic chemistry Otto, Nikolaus Otto Cycles P pacemakers paper paraffin wax Pasteur, Louis pasteurization Pearce, Allan Dare pencils pendulum clocks penicillin pens Perkins, Jacob petroleum Philport, Tom phonographs Pierce, G.W Pincus, Gregory Pius XII plastic Plunkett, Roy polio vaccine Polley, Eugene Pong (video game) Portland cement Prather, Randal Prausnitz, Mark printing presses Prokhorov, Aleksandr Proto-Sinaitic script Puma Q quartz clocks R radar radio frequency identification (RFID) radio frequency (RF) remote control radios railroads dynamite locomotives RCA reaper-binders Reebok reflector telescopes refractor telescopes refrigeration remote controls RF (radio frequency) remote control RFID (radio frequency identification) Rhodes, Richard Richardson, Lewis Rickenbacker, Adolph rifles Roberti, Mark Rock, John Roman numerals Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad Roosevelt, Franklin D Rosenthal, Ida Rudolph, Arthur Ruska, Ernst S Saffo, Paul Salamis tablet Salk, Jonas Sanger, Margaret Sarma, Sanjay satellites Saturn V rockets Saunders, Frances Savery, Thomas Schawlow, Arthur screws Sea-Land company Sellers, Libby Shakespeare, William shipping containers Shockley, William silicone Sinatra, Frank single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras smartphones Smithsonian Sobrero, Ascanio sonar Sony space junk Spemann, Hans spring-powered clocks Sproule, Anna Sputnik I (satellite) static electricity stealth aircraft steam engines steel steel skyscrapers stem cells Stephenson, George Steptoe, Patrick stethoscopes Strassmann, Fritz Strauss, Levi submarines Sundback, Gideon supercapacitors Sutherland, Ivan Swan, Joseph Szilárd, Leó T Teflon telegraphs Telemobiloscope telephones telescopes television fiber optics remote control videotape Tesla, Nikola Tesla Motors Texas Instruments Thomas Crapper & Company 3-D printing Titanic (ship) Townes, Charles transistors Travis, Merle Ts’ai Lun Turtle (submarine) U USS Housatonic (ship) USS Wood (destroyer) V vaccinations van Leeuwenhoek, Anton Vaughan, Philip Velcro video games videotape virtual reality Volta, Alessandro voltaic cells von Braun, Werner von Guericke, Otto vulcanized rubber W Waller, August Ward, William Arthur Warner’s wastewater treatment Watson, James Watson, Thomas A Watson, Tom Watson-Watt, Robert Watt, James Western Union Westinghouse, George wheels Whitney, Eli Whittle, Frank Whitworth, Joseph Wilkins, Arnold Wilkinson, Jeremiah Willadsen, Steen Wilmut, Ian windmills Wood, Alexander World Wide Web (WWW) X Xerox Corporation X-ray imaging Z Zenith zippers Zworykin, Vladimir a division of Weldon Owen Inc 1045 Sansome Street, Suite 100 San Francisco, CA 94111 www.weldonowen.com Weldon Owen and Popular Science are divisions of © 2016 Weldon Owen Inc All rights reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available Digital Edition ISBN: 978-1-68188-128-7 Print Edition ISBN: 978-1-61628-966-9 Produced by Popular Science, Weldon Owen, and 22Media Works Editor in Chief Cliff Ransom President & Publisher Roger Shaw Senior VP Sales & Marketing Amy Kaneko Finance Manager Phil Paulick Creative Director Kelly Booth Senior Editor Lucie Parker Art Director Lorraine Rath Designer Barbara Genetin Senior Production Designer Rachel Lopez Metzger Editorial Assistant Jaime Alfaro Production Director Chris Hemesath Associate Production Director Michelle Duggan Director of 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States Patent and Trademark; University of Cambridge; U.S Air Force–Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chase; U.S Air Force; U.S Air Force–Specialist 3rd Class Kenneth G Takada; U.S Air Force– Airman 1st Class Matthew Lancaster; U.S Government; Veer; Wellcome Library, London; Westlicht Photography Museum in Vienna, Austria Cover design by Scott Erwert Special thanks to Kevin Broccoli, Sarah Gurman, and Lisa Marietta for editorial support ... to the content of lead and the design These objects work so well that they are often overshadowed by other, grander inventions, but most people can find a pen or a pencil in their home or their... look through the eyepiece, you see an image that s traveled through the lens and bounced off the mirror onto the glass focusing screen The prism above the focusing screen then flips the image at... Next, the shutter closes and the mirror moves back down into place The shutter speed, which is set by the photographer, controls how long the shutter is open, the duration of time that the mirror