Natural sciences in the late 19th early 20th centuries. entered a qualitatively new stage of their development, because discoveries were made in all fields of knowledge that contributed to colossal scientific and technological progress. The revolution in the field of physics that took place in the 20th century inevitably caused the integration of science and technology with the leading role of natural science. Although the main relatively new products of technology, even the automobile and aircraft, as well as the methods of their construction, in particular the method of mass production, are still based at the beginning on the science of the 19th rather than the 20th century. Over time, the integration of science and technology is going faster and faster, or rather, it bypasses the entire range of industrial processes as techniques based on new physical knowledge - first in the field of electronics, and later in nuclear physics - penetrate into old industries and create new ones, such as the production of television equipment and atomic energy. It is in the 20th century that “the relationship between science and technology is rapidly changing places” (J. Bernal), as technology is increasingly developing on the basis of scientific research.

The machine that, more than any other, was destined to transform both industry and living conditions in the 20th century was the internal combustion engine. It, although more indirectly than the original steam engine, was the fruit of the application of science, in this case thermodynamics. The main idea of ​​the explosion of a pre-compressed mixture of air and combustible gas to implement the thermodynamic effect belonged to the French engineer de Rochas (1815-1891), who put it forward as early as 1862, but there was still a long way to go from the idea to a workable machine and it was necessary to develop many more significant details of the methods of ignition, the operation of valves - which were not required in steam engines.

Practical pioneers Lenoir (1822-1900) and Otto (1832-1891), who invented the still almost universal four-stroke cycle, and Diesel (1858-1913), who supplemented it with compressor ignition, managed to create powerful engines, but their use was limited throughout the 19th century a relatively small number of stationary gas and oil engines. These engines and cars were produced mainly as a luxury item or for sporting purposes.

Henry Ford (1863-1947) started out as an amateur designer in a backyard workshop and quickly became the most successful new car manufacturer because he realized that what was really needed was a cheap car in huge quantities. The implementation of this idea required a certain degree of mass production and at the same time gave a powerful impetus to its further development. From that moment on, all the classical methods of mechanical engineering had to be restructured so that it was capable of producing identical parts in large quantities.

To fly like a bird has been the eternal dream of mankind, as evidenced by the widespread legends of flying people or flying machines, as well as ancient attempts made in all countries of the world to imitate birds. The problems of flight are so complex that they could not be solved by the science of the last century; in the implementation of a long flight, everything depended on the presence of a sufficiently light engine, and such a source of energy could only be obtained in the 20th century as a result of improvements in the internal combustion engine. The Wright brothers, cyclist mechanics by trade and aeronauts by vocation, mounted a self-made engine on an airplane and worked on improving it until it flew for the first time in 1903. Only the first step is difficult. Once Orville Wright took his airplane into the air and made it fly a few feet, the future of aviation was secured.

Basically, it was precisely in connection with its empirical origin that the airplane, in the first decades of its existence, had to give more to science, notes J. Bernal, than to extract from it. This circumstance was the reason for the beginning of a serious study of aerodynamics, which was to receive a wide response in mechanical engineering and even in meteorology and astrophysics. Efforts dating back to an earlier period, such as the work of Magnus (1802-1870), focused on the flight of projectiles. The study of streamlined motion and turbulence, undertaken in connection with the work on the first airplanes, found immediate application in the construction of ships and in all problems connected with air flow, from blast furnaces to the ventilation of dwellings. The results of research in the field of aerodynamics then found their effective application in the aviation of the 20th century and, above all, in military aviation.

The evolution of the propeller-powered airplane followed a straight line from the Wright biplane to the flying "super-fortress"; however, the demand for ever-higher speeds for military purposes finally broke through the typical conservatism of the designers and gave rise to the gas turbine, which made it possible to create a jet aircraft. In the Second World War, this aircraft appeared too late to be of any military value. From the same needs of the war arose the oldest of the projectiles with a fire engine - a rocket. By now, the distinction between aircraft and rocket is gradually blurring and, apparently, will disappear altogether, as soon as atomic energy can be made to serve as a driving force. The jet aircraft and rocket are operated only in the upper atmosphere; while the rocket is beneficial as a vehicle only for intercontinental travel.

The invention of radio and television played a significant role in the development of technology in the 20th century, and here the following circumstances should be borne in mind. If we open the encyclopedic book "Inventions that Changed the World" (it was already discussed above) or the chronological review "The History of Natural Science in Dates" by the Slovak scientists J. Folga and L. Nova, we will find that the invention of the radio is attributed to the Italian physicist G. Marconi and not a word is mentioned about our compatriot A. Popov. Before us is typical Western-centrism, when the achievements of Russian scientists and technicians are deliberately kept silent. In this lecture, we will not describe in detail the significance of radio, but will consider the question of the invention of television in some more detail.

The development of the ideas of television from its very birth was international in nature. As V. Urvalov notes in his article “Creators of the Blue Screen”, in the period from 1878 to the end of the 19th century in eleven countries, more than 25 projects of the prototype of television devices were submitted to patent offices and editorial offices of magazines, five of them in Russia. In 1880, our compatriot P.I. Bakhmetiev, while a student at the University of Zurich, developed a project for a device called the "telephotographer", one of the first predecessors of the television. A color television system with a serial transmission of signals of three colors at the end of 1899. A.A., a process engineer from Kazan, patents Paul Mordvinov, who soon moved to St. Petersburg and took the place of assistant clerk in the telegraph department. For the first time he introduces into scientific circulation the concept of "triad of colors", the practical meaning of which has been preserved in our time. Several reviews on electrovision in those years were made by military engineer K.D. Persian. It was he who first introduced the term "television" into circulation in a review report he read at the International Congress in Paris (1900). He proposed a two-color television system with simultaneous transmission of white and red colors in 1907. son of Baku merchant I.A. Adamyan, who worked in his own laboratory near Berlin.

By the beginning of the XX century. prerequisites for the emergence of cathode, or - in modern terminology - electronic television. Back in 1858 Bonn professor J. Plücker discovered cathode rays, in 1871 the Englishman W. Crookes made special tubes for studying the luminescence of various substances irradiated by a cathode beam in vacuum, and in 1897 the German professor K.F. Brown used the cathode tube to observe fast electrical processes. In 1907, a teacher at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology B.L. Rosing is applying for patents in Russia, England and Germany for the “Method of electrical image transmission” he invented, which is distinguished by the use of a cathode tube to reproduce an image in a receiving device. He introduces for the first time the density modulation of the cathode beam and the equal-velocity sweep in two coordinates to form a rectangular raster.

Rosing's transmitting device remains opto-mechanical, but it uses an inertia-free potassium photocell with an external photoelectric effect.

A year later, the English engineer A.A. Campbell-Swinton proposes an idea, and in 1911 proposes a rough diagram of a fully electronic television device, including a transmission tube. However, his attempts to practically prove the efficiency of the proposed scheme did not bring success. More successful was the work of the Russian Rosing, who was able to complete the construction of a laboratory sample of his mixed-type equipment. In his notebook B.L. Rosing left the following entry: "May 9, 1911 for the first time a distinct image was seen, consisting of four light stripes." It was the first television image in the world, transmitted and instantly received with the help of equipment designed and manufactured in Russia. In the following days, B.L. Rosing demonstrated the transmission of simple geometric figures and the movement of the hand. Noting the merits of B.L. Rosinga in the development of television ideas, Russian Technical Society in 1912. awarded him the Gold Medal. And then the rapid development of television began in Germany, England, the USA and the Soviet Union.

Scientists of the Soviet Union also made a significant contribution to the creation of lasers (“amplifiers of light as a result of stimulated emission”, the abbreviation of these words in English gives the word laser). Lasers are widely used in technology (in metal processing, in particular in their welding, cutting, drilling), in medicine (in surgery, ophthalmology), and in various scientific research. The above application of lasers is, of course, only the beginning. Famous Soviet scientists N.G. Basov and A.M. Prokhorov are one of the founders of the theory and creation of quantum generators.

“The creation of quantum generators was the beginning of the development of a new direction in electronics, notes V.A. Kirillin, a science of quantum electronics, which deals with the theory and technology of various devices, the operation of which is based on stimulated radiation and on the nonlinear interaction of radiation with matter. Among such devices, in addition to quantum generators (including lasers), are amplifiers and frequency converters of electromagnetic radiation, as well as microwave (superhigh frequency) quantum amplifiers, quantum magnetometers and frequency standards, laser gyroscopes (laser devices, the property of which is the invariable preservation of axis of rotation in space allows you to use them to control aircraft, missiles, ships, etc.) and some others.

Electronic instruments and devices have found wide application and have become indispensable in communication equipment, automation, measuring equipment, electronic computers, and in many other very important areas. Radio electronics, widely included in production, science, people's life, is one of the most important areas of technological progress, a powerful tool for increasing labor productivity. The brainchild of radio electronics are electronic computers (computers), whose development led to the computer revolution.

It is computers (computers) that make it possible to store, quickly search and transfer information, which means a revolution in the systems of accumulation and access to mastered knowledge. There comes a very important stage in the life of mankind of "paperless informatics": information goes to specialists directly to the workplace on the appropriate display devices (displays) located in convenient and easily accessible places for the consumer. No less, and perhaps even more important, is the ever-wider introduction of such means into everyday life, which is observed now.

Moreover, the information infrastructure, based on the merger of computers, communication systems (including space) and knowledge bases, is becoming an important factor in the further development of electronic and computer technology and information technology.

American inventor of the motion picture, Thomas Edison, who was able to make this form of entertainment technically feasible

For a competition sponsored by Scientific American in 1913, participants had to write an essay on the 10 greatest inventions of "our time" (from 1888 to 1913), while the inventions had to be patentable and dated from the moment of their "industrial introduction."

In fact, this task was based on historical perception. Innovations seem more remarkable to us when we see the changes they bring about. In 2016, we may not attach much importance to the merits of Nikola Tesla (Nicola Tesla) or Thomas Edison (Thomas Edison), as we are used to using electricity in all its manifestations, but at the same time, we are impressed by the social changes that popularization of the Internet. 100 years ago, people probably would not have understood what it was all about.

Below are excerpts from the first and second prize essays, along with a statistical count of all submissions. The first place was awarded to William I. Wyman, who worked at the US Patent Office in Washington, thanks to which he was well aware of scientific and technological progress.

Essay by William Wyman

1. An electric furnace in 1889 was “the only means of producing carborundum” (the hardest artificial material at that time). It also turned aluminum from "merely valuable to a very useful metal" (reducing its cost by 98%) and "dramatically changed the steel industry."

2. Steam turbine, invented by Charles Parsons (Charles Parsons), which began mass production over the next 10 years. The turbine significantly improved the power supply system on ships, and was later used to maintain the operation of generators that produce electricity.

The turbine, invented by Charles Parsons, powered the ships. With the right amount, they set the generators in motion and produced energy.

3. Petrol car. In the 19th century, many inventors worked on the creation of a "self-propelled" car. Wyman mentioned Gottlieb Daimler's 1889 engine in his essay: “A century of persistent, but unsuccessful, pursuit of a practically self-propelled machine proves that any invention that first fits into the stated requirements becomes an immediate success. Such success came to the Daimler engine.”

4. Movies. Entertainment will always be of the utmost importance, and "the moving picture has changed the way many people spend their time." The technical pioneer Wyman cited was Thomas Edison.

5. Airplane. Wyman honored the invention of the Wright brothers for "fulfilling a centuries-old dream", but at the same time emphasized its use for military purposes and questioned the general usefulness of flying technology: "Commercially, the aircraft is the least profitable invention among all considered."

Orville Wright conducts a demonstration flight at Fort Mer in 1908 and fulfills the requirements of the American army

Wilbur Wright

6. Wireless telegraphy. Various systems have been used to transfer information between people for centuries, perhaps even millennia. In the US, telegraph signals have become much faster thanks to Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. Wireless telegraphy, invented by Guglielmo Marconi, later evolved into radio and thereby freed information from cables.

7. Cyanide process. Sounds toxic, doesn't it? This process appeared on this list for only one reason: it was carried out to extract gold from ore. “Gold is the lifeblood of trade,” in 1913 international trade relations and national currencies were based on it.

8. Asynchronous motor of Nikola Tesla. “This landmark invention is largely responsible for the ubiquitous use of electricity in modern industry,” writes Wyman. Before there was electricity in residential buildings, the AC machine designed by Tesla generated 90% of the electricity consumed in factories.

9. Linotype. This machine allowed publishers - mainly newspapers - to compose and cast the text much faster and cheaper. This technology was as advanced as the printing press was considered to be in relation to the hand-written scrolls that preceded it. It is possible that soon we will stop using paper for writing and reading, and the history of printing will be forgotten.

10. Electric welding process from Elihu Thomson (Elihu Thomson). During the era of industrialization, electric welding made it possible to accelerate the pace of production and create better, more complex machines for the manufacturing process.

Electric welding, created by Elihu Thomson, significantly reduced the cost of manufacturing complex welding equipment.

Essay by George Doe

The second best essay, by George M. Dowe, also from Washington, was more philosophical. He divided all inventions into three sub-sectors: manufacturing, transport, and communications:

1. Electrical fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. As natural sources of fertilizer dwindled in the 19th century, artificial fertilization ensured further expansion of agriculture.

2. Preservation of sugar-containing plants. George W. McMullen of Chicago is credited with discovering a way to dry sugar cane and sugar beets for shipping. Sugar production became more efficient and very soon its supply increased significantly.

3. High speed steel alloys. By adding tungsten to steel, "tools made in this way could cut at tremendous speeds without compromising the hardening or cutting edge." The increase in the efficiency of cutting machines has produced "nothing less than a revolution"

4. Lamp with tungsten filament. Another achievement of chemistry: after tungsten replaced the carbon in the filament, the light bulb is considered "improved". As of 2016, they are being phased out around the world in favor of compact fluorescent lamps, which are 4 times more efficient.

5. Airplane. Although it was not yet as widely used for transportation in 1913, "Samuel Langley and the Wright brothers should be given major honors for their contribution to the development of powered flight."

6. Steam turbine. As in the previous list, the turbine deserves credit not only for its "use of steam as a prime mover" but also for its use in "electricity generation."

7. Internal combustion engine. In terms of transportation, Dow credits "Daimler, Ford and Dury" most of all. Gottlieb Daimler is a well-known pioneer of motor vehicles. Henry Ford began production of the Model T in 1908, which remained very popular until 1913. Charles Duryea created one of the earliest commercially successful gasoline vehicles after 1896.

8. The pneumatic tire, which was originally invented by Robert William Thomson, a railroad engineer. "What the track did for the locomotive, the pneumatic tire did for vehicles not tied to the railroad tracks." However, the essay credits John Dunlop and William C. Bartlet, both of whom have made major contributions to the development of automobile and bicycle tyres.

9. Wireless. Doe praised Marconi for making wireless "commercially viable". The author of the essay also left a comment that can be attributed to the development of the World Wide Web, stating that wireless communication was "designed primarily to meet the needs of trade, but along the way it also contributed to social interaction."

10. Typing machines. The giant rotary press could churn out huge volumes of printed material. The weak link in the production chain was the assembly of printed plates. Linotype and monotype helped to get rid of this shortcoming.

All submitted essays were collected and analyzed to compile a list of inventions that were perceived as the most significant. Wireless telegraph was in almost every text. "Airplane" came in second place, although it was considered important only because of the potential of flying technology. Here are the rest of the results:

Technical progress of the 20th century and a new stage of industrial development. Technological progress is a process that is inextricably linked with the use and implementation of scientific and technical developments in the life of mankind. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, a huge impetus to the beginning of technological progress was the spread of qualitatively new vehicles, this became an incentive for the development of trade and military affairs.

Transport development

By the beginning of 1908, there were more than 200 companies in the world that specialized in the production of passenger cars. In the same period, a tractor was first produced in the USA; such an innovation made the process of cultivating the land several times easier and significantly increased the volume of manufactured products.

In 1909, a series of mass-market automobiles was launched at the enterprise of a large industrialist G. Ford. It was the car that became the object symbolizing the 20th century.

Along with the popularization of road transport, the railway, the predecessor of the beginning of world industrial development, has significantly lost its popularity.

But nevertheless, innovations also touched the sphere of railway transport: in 1912, a diesel locomotive was created for the first time, which, unlike the models that existed before, was powered by electricity.

At the beginning of the century, a real revolution took place in the shipping business: inefficient sailboats were replaced by new ships with steam turbines. Thanks to the internal combustion engine, such ships could cross the Atlantic Ocean in two weeks.

The new vehicle in the 20th century was aviation, which previously had an exclusively entertainment purpose. Aircraft with a gasoline engine performed the functions of passenger transportation and military strategic facilities.

So already in 1914, the world's first bomber "Ilya Muromets" was successfully tested - an aircraft that could carry tons of ammunition and climb to a height of 4 km. A huge stimulus for the development of aviation was the First World War. By the end of the 1930s, airlines connected almost all corners of the globe.

New materials

The improvement of transport required new structural materials. As early as the end of the 19th century, the English inventor S.J. Thomas came up with a new way to melt iron into steel, without the addition of sulfur and phosphorus, which made the metal more durable.

This innovation began to be widely used in aircraft and mechanical engineering. However, already in the 20s, steel lost its relevance; to create passenger cars, a lighter, but no less durable metal was required. Steel in the passenger car industry began to displace improved aluminum.

With the development of the chemical industry, the world saw such artificially created materials as perlon, nylon, nylon and synthetic resins. Mass production and popular use of these materials only increased after the end of World War II.

At the beginning of the 20th century, reinforced concrete was first invented, mankind began to build skyscrapers that had never been seen before. The first skyscraper was Woolworth in New York, the height of the building reached 242m.

Industry Development

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first giants of the industry, monopoly enterprises, appeared in the world industry, which often owned developments and innovations that were introduced in a certain production vector. About 15 thousand employees were involved in such enterprises.

Very often, large entrepreneurs combined their concerns and bank capital, which caused the emergence of the first joint-stock companies. As of 1914, there were five largest joint-stock companies in the world, most of which were owned by Americans.

Industrial giants chose a peculiar way of increasing production volumes, often they extended the working hours of employees and reduced their wages.

This model of development cracked in the early 1930s. In the future, the profitability of enterprises increased due to the analysis of the demand market, as well as the introduction of scientific and technical progress into production.

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Almost everyone who is interested in the history of the development of science, engineering and technology has at least once in his life thought about how the development of mankind could go without knowledge of mathematics or, for example, if we didn’t have such a necessary item as a wheel, which became almost basis for human development. However, only key discoveries are often considered and paid attention to, while less known and widespread discoveries are sometimes simply not mentioned, which, however, does not make them insignificant, because each new knowledge gives humanity the opportunity to climb a step higher in its development.

The 20th century and its scientific discoveries turned into a real Rubicon, crossing which, progress has accelerated its pace several times, identifying itself with a sports car that is impossible to keep up with. In order to stay on the crest of the scientific and technological wave now, not hefty skills are needed. Of course, you can read scientific journals, various kinds of articles and works of scientists who are struggling to solve a particular problem, but even in this case, it will not be possible to keep up with progress, and therefore it remains to catch up and observe.

As you know, in order to look into the future, you need to know the past. Therefore, today we will talk about the 20th century, the century of discoveries, which changed the way of life and the world around us. It should be noted right away that this will not be a list of the best discoveries of the century or any other top, this will be a brief overview of some of those discoveries that have changed, and possibly are changing the world.

In order to talk about discoveries, it is necessary to characterize the concept itself. We take the following definition as a basis:

Discovery - a new achievement made in the process of scientific knowledge of nature and society; the establishment of previously unknown, objectively existing patterns, properties and phenomena of the material world.

Top 25 Great Scientific Discoveries of the 20th Century

1. Planck's quantum theory. He derived a formula that determines the shape of the spectral radiation curve and the universal constant. He discovered the smallest particles - quanta and photons, with the help of which Einstein explained the nature of light. In the 1920s, quantum theory developed into quantum mechanics.
2. Discovery of X-rays - electromagnetic radiation with a wide range of wavelengths. The discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen greatly influenced human life, and today it is impossible to imagine modern medicine without them.
3. Einstein's theory of relativity. In 1915, Einstein introduced the concept of relativity and derived an important formula relating energy and mass. The theory of relativity explained the essence of gravity - it arises due to the curvature of four-dimensional space, and not as a result of the interaction of bodies in space.
4. Discovery of penicillin. The fungus Penicillium notatum, getting into the culture of bacteria, causes their complete death - this was proved by Alexander Flemming. In the 40s, a production was developed, which later began to be produced on an industrial scale.
5. De Broglie waves. In 1924, it was found that wave-particle duality is inherent in all particles, not just photons. Broglie presented their wave properties in a mathematical form. The theory made it possible to develop the concept of quantum mechanics, explained the diffraction of electrons and neutrons.
6. Discovery of the structure of the new DNA helix. In 1953, a new model of the structure of the molecule was obtained by combining the X-ray diffraction information of Rosalyn Franklin and Maurice Wilkins and the theoretical developments of Chargaff. She was brought out by Francis Crick and James Watson.
7. Rutherford's planetary model of the atom. He deduced a hypothesis about the structure of the atom and extracted energy from atomic nuclei. The model explains the fundamentals of the laws of charged particles.
8. Ziegler-Nath catalysts. In 1953 they carried out the polarization of ethylene and propylene.
9. Discovery of transistors. A device consisting of 2 p-n junctions, which are directed towards each other. Thanks to his invention by Julius Lilienfeld, the technique began to shrink in size. The first working bipolar transistor was introduced in 1947 by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain.
10. Creation of a radiotelegraph. Alexander Popov's invention, using Morse code and radio signals, first saved a ship at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But the first to patent a similar invention was Gulielmo Marcone.
11. Discovery of neutrons. These uncharged particles with a mass slightly larger than that of protons made it possible to penetrate the nucleus without obstacles and destabilize it. Later it was proved that under the influence of these particles, the nuclei are divided, but even more neutrons are produced. So the artificial one was discovered.
12. Method of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Edwards and Steptoe figured out how to extract an intact egg from a woman, created optimal conditions for her life and growth in a test tube, figured out how to fertilize her and at what time to return her back to her mother's body.
13. The first manned flight into space. In 1961, it was Yuri Gagarin who was the first to realize this, which became the real embodiment of the dream of the stars. Mankind has learned that the space between the planets is surmountable, and bacteria, animals and even humans can easily live in space.
14. Discovery of fullerene. In 1985, scientists discovered a new kind of carbon - fullerene. Now, due to its unique properties, it is used in many devices. Based on this technique, carbon nanotubes were created - twisted and cross-linked layers of graphite. They show a wide variety of properties: from metallic to semiconductor.
15. Cloning. In 1996, scientists succeeded in obtaining the first clone of a sheep, named Dolly. The egg was gutted, the nucleus of an adult sheep was inserted into it and planted in the uterus. Dolly was the first animal that managed to survive, the rest of the embryos of different animals died.
16. Discovery of black holes. In 1915, Karl Schwarzschild put forward a hypothesis about the existence of a black hole whose gravity is so great that even objects moving at the speed of light - black holes - cannot leave it.
17. Theory. This is a generally accepted cosmological model, which previously described the development of the Universe, which was in a singular state, characterized by infinite temperature and matter density. The model was started by Einstein in 1916.
18. Discovery of relic radiation. This is the cosmic microwave background radiation, which has been preserved since the beginning of the formation of the Universe and fills it evenly. In 1965, its existence was experimentally confirmed, and it serves as one of the main confirmations of the Big Bang theory.
19. Approaching the creation of artificial intelligence. It is a technology for building intelligent machines, first defined in 1956 by John McCarthy. According to him, researchers to solve specific problems can use methods of understanding a person that may not be biologically observed in humans.
20. The invention of holography. This special photographic method was proposed in 1947 by Dennis Gabor, in which, with the help of a laser, three-dimensional images of objects close to real are recorded and restored.
21. Discovery of insulin. In 1922, the pancreatic hormone was obtained by Frederick Banting, and diabetes mellitus ceased to be a fatal disease.
22. Blood groups. This discovery in 1900-1901 divided the blood into 4 groups: O, A, B and AB. It became possible to properly transfuse blood to a person, which would not end tragically.
23. Mathematical information theory. Claude Shannon's theory made it possible to determine the capacity of a communication channel.
24. Invention of Nylon. Chemist Wallace Carothers in 1935 discovered a method for obtaining this polymeric material. He discovered some of its varieties with high viscosity even at high temperatures.
25. Discovery of stem cells. They are the progenitors of all existing cells in the human body and have the ability to self-renew. Their possibilities are great and are just beginning to be explored by science.

There is no doubt that all these discoveries are only a small part of what the 20th century showed to society, and it cannot be said that only these discoveries were significant, and all the rest became just a background, this is not at all the case.

It was the last century that showed us the new boundaries of the Universe, saw the light, quasars (superpowerful sources of radiation in our Galaxy) were discovered, the first carbon nanotubes with unique superconductivity and strength were discovered and created.

All these discoveries, one way or another, are just the tip of the iceberg, which includes more than a hundred significant discoveries over the past century. Naturally, all of them have become a catalyst for changes in the world in which we now live, and the fact remains undeniable that the changes do not end there.

The 20th century can be safely called, if not the “golden”, then certainly the “silver” age of discoveries, but looking back and comparing new achievements with the past, it seems that in the future we will have quite a few interesting great discoveries, in fact, the successor of the last century, the current XXI only confirms these views.

To important inventions The 20th century can be attributed to those achievements that did not turn the world upside down, but made a certain contribution to the life and life of people.

Vacuum cleaner, 1901

The English inventor Cecil Booth came up with a device that sucked dust in train cars. This gasoline-powered device was driven through the streets on a horse-drawn cart by a team of four.

On August 30, 1901, the representative of the southwestern part of England, Herbert Cecil Booth received a patent for his device that performs the functions of a vacuum cleaner.

Disposable blades, 1909

Disposable blades were invented by American inventor King Camp Gillette, founder of The Gillette Company, as an inexpensive alternative to using a razor. These are important inventions for men.

Motor plane, 1903

American inventors Orville and Wilber Wright invented the first powered airplane. Through a lot of trial and error, testing the wing design, the aircraft was completed and they were able to climb 37 meters in 12 seconds. The design, further improvements in safety and handling have resulted in sustained flight from the ground with a pilot. This is an important invention, which is why today we see the impact of aircraft and aviation technology in the military and transport industries.

Parachute, 1913

With the invention of the airplane, it was quite natural to invent the parachute. Although the idea of ​​a parachute has been around since the 15th century since the time of Leonardo da Vinci, but it has not been applied in practice. American inventor Stefan Banich gave the invention to the military in the early 20th century. He donated a US patent to the US Army and earned the inventor's respect.

There is also a patent for the invention of the Russian inventor of the backpack parachute Gleb Kotelnikov, which he registered in France on March 20, 1912. The tsarist government was not interested in staffing pilots. However, after the tragedies of aeronauts, the development of this means of salvation resumed. Several types were made from RK-1 to RK-4 (RK-Russian Kotelnikova).

The parachute was already widely used during World War II. Today, parachutes are still used in military and civilian aircraft.

Liquid rocket propellant, 1914

Fueled by liquid oxygen and gasoline, the rocket's first flight took place on March 16, 1926. American professor Robert H. Godart launched a liquid fuel rocket to a height of 12.5 meters in 2.5 seconds. She demonstrated that it is possible to use liquid fuels. Ultimately, with the help of this fuel, spacecraft are now launched.

Electronic television, 1923

Russian émigré American inventor Vladimir Zworykin is credited with inventing the first all-electronic television (as opposed to an electromechanical television). Vladimir Zworykin invented the final design of the transmitting tube iconoscope, which became the basis of the future electronic television system.

Sliced ​​bread, 1928

Otto Frederick Rouvedder Davenport invented the first machine to slice one loaf of bread at a time. Other inventors stood on the sidelines of this invention, cutting the sandwich off the crust for the lazy.

Antibiotics, 1928

Although the ancient Chinese used antibiotics 2,500 years ago, they didn't use them until well into the 20th century. Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Alexander Fleming, who accidentally discovered the unique properties of a well-known antibiotic, penicillin. After working through some germ cultures, he noticed areas in some cultures where bacteria did not grow, and it turned out that fungi affected these areas. After separating the extract, he identified them as part of the penicillin genus. Now penicillin is used to treat cellulitis, gonorrhea, meningitis, pneumonia, and syphilis. So yes, penicillin is a good antibiotic.

Ballpoint pen, 1938

Hungarian inventor Lazio Biro created this possible replacement for a fountain pen. The ballpoint pen is cheap, reliable and serviceable. The ink dries almost immediately after contact with the paper. These important inventions of ballpoint pens help in many ways.

Spiralka, 1945

Elegant and ingenious in its simplicity, the spiral is one of the greatest toys ever. No one can resist the charm of a toy moving down stairs or just rocking back and forth. In 1943, after observing the movement of a torsion spring, engineer Richard James told his wife, Betty, the opportunity to make this toy. After various tests and materials, they invented the toy we know and love today.

Microwave oven, 1945

This common kitchen appliance was discovered by accident. While working as an engineer, Percy Spencer noticed that the chocolate in his pocket began to melt while he was working on an active radar set. It was a microwave radar that caused a sticky mess. He then deliberately cooked popcorn, then an egg. Spencer then isolated the microwaves in a metal box, moving the food inside the box. After Percy Spencer filed a US patent where the first microwave oven was built in 1947. It was a 1.8 m oven, weighing 340 kg and costing about $5,000, consuming 3,000 watts (compared to today's standard of 1,000 watts). Today, microwave ovens are slightly smaller and more economical.

These simple and important inventions led to.