Great inventions of mankind. The best invention of mankind: a review of the most important discoveries

Every year or decade, more and more scientists and inventors appear who give us new discoveries and inventions in various fields. But there are inventions that, once invented, change our way of life in a huge way, moving us forward on the path of progress. Here's just a dozen great inventions who have changed the world in which we live.

List of inventions:

1. Nails

Inventor: unknown

Without nails, our civilization would certainly collapse. The exact date The appearance of nails is difficult to determine. Now the approximate date of creation of nails is in the era Bronze Age. That is, it is obvious that nails could not have appeared before people learned to cast and shape metal. Previously, wooden structures had to be erected using more complex technologies, using complex geometric structures. Now the construction process has been greatly simplified.

Until the 1790s and early 1800s, iron nails were made by hand. The blacksmith would heat a square iron rod and then beat it on all four sides to create the sharp end of the nail. Machines for making nails appeared between the 1790s and early 1800s. Nail technology continued to evolve; After Henry Bessemer developed a process for mass-producing steel from iron, the iron nails of yesteryear gradually fell out of favor, and by 1886, 10% of nails in the United States were made from soft steel wire (according to the University of Vermont). By 1913, 90% of nails produced in the United States were made from steel wire.

2. Wheel

Inventor: unknown

The idea of ​​a symmetrical component moving in a circular motion along an axis existed in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe separately in different periods time. Thus, it is impossible to establish who and where exactly invented the wheel, but this great invention appeared in 3500 BC and became one of the most important inventions humanity. The wheel facilitated work in the fields of agriculture and transportation, and also became the basis for other inventions, ranging from carriages to clocks.

3. Printing press

Johannes Gutenberg invented the manual printing press in 1450. By 1500, twenty million books had already been printed in Western Europe. In the 19th century, modifications were made and iron parts replaced wooden ones, speeding up the printing process. The cultural and industrial revolution in Europe would not have been possible if not for the speed with which printing allowed documents, books and newspapers to be distributed to a wide audience. The printing press allowed the press to develop, and also gave people the opportunity to educate themselves. Political sphere would also be unthinkable without millions of copies of leaflets and posters. What can we say about the state apparatus with its endless number of forms? In general, it is a truly great invention.

4. Steam engine

Inventor: James Watt

Although the first version of the steam engine dates back to III century AD, only in early XIX century with the advent of the industrial age appeared modern form engine internal combustion. It took decades of design before James Watt made the first drawings, according to which burning fuel releases high-temperature gas and, as it expands, puts pressure on the piston and moves it. This phenomenal invention played a role decisive role in inventing other machines such as cars and airplanes that have changed the face of the planet we live on.

5. Light bulb

Inventor: Thomas Alva Edison

The invention of the light bulb developed during the 1800s by Thomas Edison; he is credited with being the main inventor of a lamp that could burn for 1500 hours without burning out (invented in 1879). The idea of ​​the light bulb itself did not belong to Edison and was expressed by many people, but it was he who managed to choose the right materials so that the light bulb would burn for a long time and become cheaper than candles.

6. Penicillin

Inventor: Alexander Fleming

Penicillin was accidentally discovered in a petri dish by Alexander Fleming in 1928. The drug penicillin is a group of antibiotics that treats several infections in people without harming them. Penicillin was mass produced during World War II to rid military personnel of sexually transmitted diseases and is still used as a standard antibiotic against infections. This was one of the most famous discoveries made in the field of medicine. Alexander Fleming received in 1945 Nobel Prize, and the newspapers of that time wrote:

“To defeat fascism and liberate France, he made more entire divisions”

7. Telephone

Inventor: Antonio Meucci

For a long time it was believed that Alexander Bell was the discoverer of the telephone, but in 2002 the US Congress decided that the right of primacy in the invention of the telephone belongs to Antonio Meucci. In 1860 (16 years earlier than Graham Bell), Antonio Meucci demonstrated an apparatus that was capable of transmitting voice over wires. Antonio named his invention Telectrophone and applied for a patent in 1871. This marked the beginning of work on one of the most revolutionary inventions that almost everyone on our planet has, keeping it in their pockets and on their desks. The telephone, which later also developed as mobile phone, has had a vital influence on humanity, especially in the fields of business and communication. The expansion of audible speech from within one room to the entire world is an accomplishment unmatched to this day.

8. Television

Zvorykin with an iconoscope

Inventor: Rosing Boris Lvovich and his students Zvorykin Vladimir Konstantinovich and Kataev Semyon Isidorovich (not recognized as a discoverer), as well as Philo Farnsworth

Although the invention of television cannot be attributed to one person, most people agree that the invention modern television was the merit of two people: Vladimir Kosma Zvorykin (1923) and Philo Farnsworth (1927). It should be noted here that in the USSR, the development of television using parallel technology was carried out by Semyon Isidorovich Kataev, and the first experiments and operating principles of electric television were described by Rosing at the beginning of the 20th century. Television was also one of the greatest inventions, which have been developed from mechanical to electronic, from black and white to color, from analog to digital, from primitive models without a remote control to an intelligent one, and now to 3D versions and small home theaters. People usually spend about 4-8 hours a day watching TV and this has greatly affected family and social life, and also changed our culture beyond recognition.

9. Computer

Inventor: Charles Babbage, Alan Turing and others.

The principle of the modern computer was first mentioned by Alan Turing, and later the first mechanical computer was invented in the early 19th century. This invention has truly accomplished amazing things in more areas of life, including philosophy and culture. human society. The computer helped a high-speed military take off aircraft, put a spacecraft into orbit, monitored medical equipment, created visual images, stored vast amounts of information, and improved the functioning of automobiles, telephones, and power plants.

10. Internet and World Wide Web

Map of the entire computer network for 2016

Inventor: Vinton Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee

The Internet was first developed in 1973 by Vinton Cerf with support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). Its original use was to provide a communications network in research laboratories and universities in the United States and to extend overtime work. This invention (along with the World Wide Web) was the main revolutionary invention of the 20th century. In 1996, there were more than 25 million computers connected to the Internet in 180 countries, and now we even had to switch to IPv6 to increase the number of IP addresses, since IPv4 addresses were completely exhausted, and there were about 4.22 billion of them.

The World Wide Web as we know it was first predicted by Arthur C. Clarke. However, the invention was made 19 years later in 1989 by CERN employee Tom Berners Lee. The web has changed the way we approach various fields, including education, music, finance, reading, medicine, language, etc. The web has the potential to surpass all the great inventions of the world.

The history of inventions includes everything that has been created by man over thousands of years of existence, but we want to highlight the most important inventions of mankind. Along with human physiology, his intellect has also evolved...

Of course, from huge amount and the diversity of human inventions, it is very difficult to choose the most important and necessary, but we still compiled our rating of the 12 most important inventions in the history of mankind. For those who don’t have enough, read, for example, the article “100 Great Inventions,” where a lot of things are described - from axes and fire to fiber-optic communication lines and orbital space stations.

12. Gunpowder and firearms

There are numerous strong opinions that gunpowder was invented in China. Its appearance led to the invention of fireworks and early firearms. Since the beginning of time, people have divided up territories and defended them, and to do this they have always needed some kind of weapon. First there were sticks, then axes, then bows, and after the advent of gunpowder, firearms. Now many types of weapons have been created for military purposes, from simple pistols to the latest intercontinental missiles that are launched from a submarine. In addition to the army, weapons are also used by civilians both for their own protection and protection of anything, and for hunting.

11. Car

Hard to imagine modern world no cars. People drive them to work, to the countryside, on vacation, for groceries, to the movies and restaurants. Different types Cars are used to deliver goods, build structures, and for many other purposes. The first cars resembled carriages without horses and did not move very fast. Now there are both simple cars for the middle class and luxury cars that cost as much as a house, accelerating up to 300 kilometers per hour. The modern world simply cannot be imagined without a car.

10. Internet

Humanity was moving towards the creation of the Internet long years, inventing new and new means of communication. Just 20 years ago, just over 100,000 people had the Internet, but now it is available in almost all more or less large populated areas. Through the Internet you can communicate both by letter and visually, you can find almost any information on the Internet, you can work through the Internet, order products, things and services. The Internet is a window to the world through which you can not only receive information, communicate and play, but also earn money, make purchases and read this site.

9. Mobile phone

Just 15 years ago, in order to communicate with someone at a distance, you had to go home and call a landline phone or look for the nearest telephone booth and coins or tokens for the call. If you were on the street and you urgently needed to call an ambulance or firefighters, you had to shout in the hope that someone from the nearby houses would hear and call the right person, or quickly run and look for a phone to call. Even children always had to go around to friends and personally find out whether they would go for a walk or not, since many did not even have a telephone at home. Now you can call anywhere from almost anywhere. A mobile phone means freedom to communicate wherever you are.

8. Computer

The computer today has replaced for many such items as a TV, video or DVD player, telephone, books and even a ballpoint pen. Now, using a computer, you can write books, communicate with people, watch films, listen to music, and find the information you need. What am I telling you, you know everything yourself! In addition to domestic use, computers are used for various studies and development, facilitation and improvement of the work of many enterprises and mechanisms. The modern world is simply impossible to imagine without computers.

7. Cinema

The invention of cinema was the beginning of the cinema and television we have today. The first motion pictures were in black and white and without sound, appearing just a few decades after photography. Today cinema is an incredible spectacle. Thanks to hundreds of people working on it, computer graphics, scenery, makeup and many other methods and technologies, cinema can now look like a fairy tale. Television, portable video cameras, surveillance cameras and in general everything related to video exists thanks to the invention of cinema.

6. Telephone

A simple landline telephone is higher than a mobile phone in our rating because for the time when the telephone was invented, it was a huge breakthrough. Before the telephone, communication was possible only by letters by mail, telegraph or carrier pigeons. :) Thanks to the telephone, people no longer had to wait several weeks for a response to a letter; they no longer had to go or go somewhere to say or find out something. Creating a telephone not only saved time, but also energy.

5. Light bulb

Before the invention of the electric light bulb, people sat in the dark in the evenings or lit candles, oil lamps or some kind of torches, just like in ancient times. The invention of the light bulb made it possible to get rid of the danger posed by lighting “devices” that used fire. Thanks to the electric light bulb, the rooms began to be illuminated well and evenly. Now we understand what great importance has a light bulb only when our electricity is cut off.

4. Antibiotics

Before the invention of antibiotics, some diseases that are now treated at home could kill a person. The development and production of antibiotics began actively in late XIX century. The invention of antibiotics has helped people overcome many diseases that were previously considered incurable. Back in the 30s of the 20th century, dysentery killed tens of thousands every year. human lives. There was also no cure for pneumonia, sepsis, or typhus. Man could not defeat the pneumonic plague; it always led to death. With the invention of antibiotics, many serious illnesses We are no longer afraid.

3. Wheel

At first glance, you cannot say that the wheel is a very important invention, but thanks to this particular device, many other inventions, such as a car or a train, were created. The wheel significantly reduces the energy required to move the load. Thanks to the invention of the wheel, not only transport was improved. Man began to build roads, and the first bridges appeared. Everything from shopping carts to airplanes moves thanks to the wheel. Even elevators and mills work thanks to the wheel. If you think about it a little, you can understand the full scale of the use of this simple ancient invention and all its importance.

2. Writing

In second place in our rating is the second oldest and most frequently used method of transmitting information. Thanks to writing, we can learn history, read books, write SMS, learn new information and study. Ancient writings found in Egyptian and Mexican pyramids provide insight into the way of life of ancient civilizations. Nowadays we need writing for almost everything. Office work, relaxation an interesting book, entertainment on the computer, learning - all this is possible thanks to writing.

1. Language

The first place is occupied by the most ancient and frequently used method of transmitting information. Without language there would be nothing. People simply could not understand each other, as it was many thousands of years ago, when humanity was still in the first stages of its development. Today there are thousands of languages ​​with dozens of dialects in each. Most of them are no longer used; many are used in distant corners of the world by various tribes. Thanks to language we understand each other, thanks to it we develop as a civilization and thanks to it you can learn about the 12 most important inventions of man!

What do you think of the achievements of our civilization can be considered the most useful, necessary, and relevant? In principle, one can argue a little on this topic, but there are immutable truths that, as they say, “cannot be trampled on.” Not long ago, a large-scale study was conducted in which residents different countries asked what they considered the most important invention in human history. The survey results were expected, although there were some surprises. So, let's start from the very end.

10. Alcohol

Yes, alcohol is indeed one of the top ten inventions. Despite the fact that it was created approximately 12 thousand years ago (if not earlier), alcohol is now more popular than ever. And it’s not even that alcohol intoxicates or helps you relax, no, thanks to alcoholic drinks our ancestors survived earlier. Why? The fact is that the specific microflora of beer, wine, and other not very strong alcoholic drinks served as a kind of filter against pathogenic bacteria and viruses. I want to say that in the Middle Ages you could drink beer and wine without much fear of catching the plague or cholera. But water, even crystal clear water, is quite dangerous.

Well, of course, without alcohol, no one will dance naked to their own tunes in karaoke. But this is so, a lyrical digression.

9. Internet

Yes, the World Wide Web is only in ninth place, which made me very happy. For the most part because the Internet is still not accessible to everyone and not everywhere, unfortunately. True, the Internet continues to become cheaper and more widespread. The entire modern world would look different without the Internet.

8. Birth control

Despite the fact that some contraceptive methods have already celebrated their ten thousandth anniversary, modern contraceptives help all of humanity survive. If there were no condoms, pills, IUDs and other medical miracles, we would already live in a world where not diamonds, but food is a rarity.

7. Antibiotics

Of course, these medications are not very useful for our health, but the harm they cause cannot be compared with the harm that the causative agents of plague, cholera, tuberculosis and other epidemic diseases caused to humans. We no longer consider the flu to be something dangerous, but even at the beginning of the century, the “Spanish flu” killed millions of people. With antibiotics, humanity has protected itself from many diseases, forever.

6. Anesthesia

Yes, anesthesia is also a very important invention. After all, how can one carry out those most complex surgical operations that doctors can already perform if one does not use anesthesia? Surgery would be virtually impossible without this invention. I tested it myself.

5. Print

Gutenberg's printing press is considered one of the most important achievements person. After all, before the advent of printed books, they had to be written and rewritten. Naturally, handwritten books were extremely few in number and available only to very rich people. Thanks to Gutenberg's printing press, you are now reading what is written in this article - if not for the printing press, then, most likely, an extremely limited part of the population would be taught to read and write.

4. Sewerage

Without this familiar invention, urbanization would have been impossible. As far as I've heard, even in the center of enlightened France in the 17th century, sewage was simply poured into the street. Yes, from the window. Then rats, then infection and epidemics with millions of deaths. So sewage can be considered healthier than antibiotics. By the way, toilet paper is also considered a very useful invention of civilization.

3. Tools

What could we do with our bare hands if there were no tools? From the hammer to electron microscope- all these devices are put at the service of man. It can be said that without tools, man is a slow and inept animal. Imagine ancient man, living during the glaciation period, who would not have created tools for finishing skins or, for example, no one would have invented a bow and arrow. It’s unlikely that we would be talking about inventions here now.

2. Cooking

Yes, cooking can also be considered an invention - this also includes the invention of methods for making fire. Heat treatment of food not only makes it tastier, but also helps get rid of microorganisms, viruses and bacteria, some of which are not only beneficial, but extremely harmful.

1. Language

Of course, language is the main invention of man. Communication would become impossible without letters, words and sentences. Our communication abilities, be it written or oral communication, are almost impossible without language. No one knows how many thousands of years this invention is, but apparently, it is more than tens of thousands of years old. No technology or other inventions could have been born if it were not for speech and language.

Over the entire existence of our planet, hundreds of thousands of amazing things have been created. It is enough just to look around - everything that we see appeared as a result of painstaking human labor. And among this diversity, it is impossible to objectively determine the best invention of mankind. However, there are results of large-scale social surveys and opinions of scientists on this topic. It is quite possible to focus on them when studying it.

Discovery from the past

The best inventions of mankind, which are more correctly called discoveries, were discovered thousands of years ago. Now they are an integral part of our lives.

In the first place, naturally, is fire. It was its development that became turning point c When people understood what fire was and how it could be used, they began to develop their activity at night, use it to protect themselves from predators and prepare a variety of (at that time) food. Many people maintained it in caves for years, preventing it from fading. After all, the path to making fire on your own was a very long one.

There is even an opinion that thanks to fire, the process of evolution began to go faster. After all, the erect walkers Homo erectus used it to prepare starch-containing food, consuming which they ensured the rapid absorption of polysaccharides, which contributed to the intensive development of the brain.

Writing

This is definitely also the best invention of mankind. Persuasive speech is not even needed to prove this statement. After all, it was the emergence of writing that marked the beginning of the development of civilization and contributed to the exchange of knowledge between different peoples and cultures. Although it all began back in 9000-7000. BC, from early pictographs of Western Asia (Syrian region).

Paper is also considered one of the most important inventions of mankind. Writing made it possible for people to save any information they received. And paper gave millions of people access to it. After all, before its invention, all materials intended for writing were very expensive. Paper appeared, by the way, in 105 BC. He created it. Later his invention was improved, as was the method of paper production.

Book

Many say that it is the best invention of mankind. The book, however, deserves this status. Even though many now perceive it as a work of printing in a binding. But this is only because people are accustomed to books.

In fact, each of them is a separate small world. It is the book that is the conductor of information through the centuries, the pride of humanity and its heritage. This is verbal and historical experience, secrets and pleasure. By reading books, people become more educated and intellectually savvy, enrich their lexicon, learn to think and analyze. They improve as Personalities with capital letters. It's just a pity that in our age modern technologies people forget about books and don't read as much as they used to.

Electricity

Speaking about a period closer to our time, it would be logical to start with it. In terms of scale, this is truly the most important and best invention of mankind. Electricity, however, is not something that was created by human hands. After all, this is not a thing, but a set of phenomena that are caused by the movement and interaction of electric charges. But in in this case electricity has a modern understanding.

Its first functional source was created in the 18th century. Then it was possible to invent a voltaic column - a device for receiving a discharge.

And, I must say, many people interviewed said that they think greatest creation person... light bulb. You can understand why. Day gives way to night, but life does not stop, thanks to the fact that in our lives there are means of lighting - light bulbs. Their first prototype was invented by the German watchmaker Heinrich Goebel in 1854. 26 years later, the light bulb was improved by American inventor Thomas Edison. It was he who gave our world a switch, a base and a socket. Tungsten filament was invented in 1890 by electrical engineer Alexander Lodygin, who also proposed filling light bulbs with inert gas.

Ball pen

In fact, it is not at all surprising that this thing was found among such large-scale discoveries. According to the results of a survey conducted in the UK, it turned out that the majority of people believe that the ballpoint pen is the best invention of mankind. This simple and everyday item was created by a Hungarian journalist named in 1938. It is important to note that he was helped by his brother Georg, who was a chemist by profession.

First, the inventors patented a ballpoint pen in Hungary. But then the Second began World War. In this regard, the brothers moved to Argentina and patented the invention there. After some time they sold the production rights ballpoint pens a company called Eversharp. They were paid $1,000,000, which was a huge amount at that time.

Since 1943, there has been a mass production of ballpoint pens, which today are indispensable stationery devices that every person uses.

Internet

It is unlikely that people will object to the fact that the World Wide Web is the best invention of mankind. It radically changed my life modern man. The population of the planet learned about such things as video communication, distant work, games, instant communication with an interlocutor in another part of the Earth, online broadcasts and much more.

Without a doubt, the Internet is the best invention of mankind. Now ~4 billion people use it, and this number is increasing daily. It all started in 1962. It was then that Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider introduced the world to the first detailed concept of a computer network. 5 years later, work began on the creation of the ARPA Net Internet network. And the first server was installed on September 2, 1969. And already on October 29, two months later, a communication session was held between two computers located at a distance of 640 kilometers.

From that moment on, the Internet began to develop rapidly. Within a few months, news groups and lists appeared mailing list and notice boards. And today almost everything is available on the Internet.

Creations from the 2000s

After short excursion in history, you can tell about the best inventions of mankind of the 21st century. Started new era created in 2001 Now it is the basis of all LED displays.

In 2002, a breakthrough was made in medicine, marked by the creation of an artificial retina. Then, in next year, technical engineers have developed an interface for mentally controlling objects.

The year 2004 was marked by two amazing inventions. The world saw a neutron microscope and a bionic eye.

A year later, a robot was created that could create copies of itself. And in 2006, self-healing coatings and paints were introduced to humanity.

There were no discoveries in 2007, but in 2008 the world learned about a passive microelectronic element that can change its resistance depending on the charge flowing through it. It was called a memristor.

In the next two years, four more discoveries were made. For the first time, they transmitted thoughts to the Internet, created a biological 3D printer, LG specialists developed an ultra-mobile PC, and biologists developed the first living cell, the DNA of which was replaced with an artificial one. It was all truly amazing. Much surprises even now. This is why it is so difficult to determine the best invention of mankind.

Until the mid-tenths

2012 was also marked by large-scale developments. Then an aerial display, a helmet, was created virtual reality and a method for producing special soluble electronics was developed.

In 2013, we managed to install a laser space communications. And in 2014, they invented a MEMS nanoinjector and a less significant, but fun thing - smart chopsticks. Then, in 2015, the “sleeping” bacterium (a robotic nano-device) was introduced to the world. It functions as an ultra-sensitive humidity sensor due to the presence of special nano-structures on the surface.

Last years

I would like to complete the story by identifying the TOP 10 best inventions of mankind over the past year, 2016.

First place goes to the Flyte floating light bulb, which manages to float and rotate due to electromagnetism. It glows due to inductive resonating coupling.

The second place is rightly occupied by Tesla's solar roof, which converts the sun's radiation into electricity.

Following amazing invention- Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 sneakers with automatic lacing. The dream of all Back to the Future fans has come true.

In fourth place is the Hello Sense intelligent multifunctional alarm clock, which monitors sleep cycles and gives the command to wake up at the most appropriate moment for its owner.

Also in 2016, Eagle 360 ​​tires appeared, rotating in all directions, “smart” Toothbrush, and also dishes for people with problems with cognitive functions. In addition, the world saw powerful and sweet potatoes enriched with vitamin A, and a tiny Dji Mavic Pro drone equipped with a 4K camera.

So, this is a small part of what can be told about the most amazing and important inventions of mankind. Of course, over the entire history of its existence, tens of thousands of times more discoveries have been made. And you can be sure that over time this number will increase many times over.

Just two decades ago, people could not even dream of such a level of technological development as exists today. Today to fly half globe, it only takes half a day, modern smartphones are 60,000 times lighter and thousands of times more powerful than the first computers, today's productivity Agriculture and life expectancy are higher than ever before in human history. Let's try to figure out which inventions became the most important and, in fact, changed the history of mankind.

1. Cyanide

Although cyanide seems controversial enough to be included on this list, the chemical has played important role in the history of mankind. While the gaseous form of cyanide has been responsible for the deaths of millions of people, it is the substance that is the main factor in the extraction of gold and silver from ore. Because the world economy was tied to the gold standard, cyanide was an important factor in the development of international trade.

2. Airplane

Today no one doubts that the invention of the “metal bird” had one of the most large impacts on human history by radically reducing the time required to transport goods or people. The invention of the Wright brothers was enthusiastically received by the public.

3. Anesthesia

Before 1846, any surgical procedure was more like some kind of excruciating torture. Although anesthetics have been used for thousands of years, they early forms They were only alcohol or mandrake extract. The invention of modern anesthesia in the form of nitrous oxide and ether allowed doctors to calmly operate on patients without the slightest resistance on their part (after all, the patients did not feel anything).

4. Radio

The origins of radio history are highly controversial. Many claim that its inventor was Guglielmo Marconi. Others claim that it was Nikola Tesla. In any case, these two people did a lot to enable people to successfully transmit information through radio waves.

5. Telephone

The telephone has been one of the most important inventions in our modern world. As with all major inventions, who was the inventor is still debated. What is clear is that the US Patent Office issued the first telephone patent to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This patent served as the basis for future research and development of electronic sound transmission over long distances.

6. World Wide Web

Although everyone thinks of it as a completely recent invention, the Internet existed in an archaic form in 1969 when the United States military developed the ARPANET. But relatively modern form The Internet only came about because of Tim Berners-Lee, who created a network of hyperlinks to documents at the University of Illinois and created the first World Wide Web browser.

7. Transistor

Today it seems very easy to pick up the phone and call someone in Mali, the US or India, but this would not be possible without transistors. Semiconductor transistors, which amplify electrical signals, have made it possible to send information over long distances. The man who pioneered this research, William Shockley, is credited with creating Silicon Valley.

8. Atomic clock

Although this invention may not seem as revolutionary as many of the previous items, the invention of the atomic clock was crucial in the advancement of science. Using microwave signals emitted by changing energy levels of electrons, atomic clocks and their precision have made possible a wide range of modern modern inventions, including GPS, GLONASS, and the Internet.

9. Steam turbine

Charles Parsons' steam turbine literally changed the development of mankind, giving impetus to the industrialization of countries and making it possible for ships to quickly overcome the ocean. In 1996 alone, 90% of the electricity in the United States was generated by steam turbines.

10. Plastic

Despite the widespread use in our modern society plastic, it appeared only in the last century. The waterproof and highly pliable material is used in almost all industries, from packaging food products to toys and even spaceships. Although most modern plastics are made from petroleum, there are growing calls to return to original version, which was partly organic.

11. Television

Television has had a long and legendary story, which began in the 1920s and continues to this day. This invention has become one of the most popular consumer products around the world - almost 80% of households own a television.

12. Oil

Most people don't think at all when they fill up their car's tank. Although people have been extracting oil for thousands of years, the modern oil and gas industry emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. After industrialists saw all the benefits of oil products and the amount of energy generated by burning them, they raced to make wells for the extraction of “liquid gold.”

13. Internal combustion engine

Without the discovery of the efficiency of combustion of petroleum products, the modern internal combustion engine would have been impossible. Considering that it began to be used literally in everything from cars to agricultural combines and mining machines, these engines allowed people to replace backbreaking, painstaking and time-consuming work with machines that could do the work much faster. The internal combustion engine also gave people freedom of movement as it was used in cars.

14. Reinforced concrete

The boom in the construction of high-rise buildings only occurred in the mid-nineteenth century. By embedding steel reinforcing bars (rebar) into concrete before pouring it, people were able to build reinforced concrete man-made structures that were many times larger in weight and size than before.

Today there would be many more people living on planet Earth less people if there were no penicillin. Officially opened by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928, penicillin became one of the most important inventions/discoveries that made the modern world possible. Antibiotics were among the first drugs that were able to fight staphylococci, syphilis and tuberculosis.

16. Refrigerator

Harnessing heat was perhaps the most important discovery to date, but it took many millennia. Although people have long used ice for cooling, its practicality and availability were limited. In the nineteenth century, scientists invented artificial refrigeration using chemical substances. By the early 1900s, almost every meat packing plant and major food distributor was using refrigeration to preserve food.

17. Pasteurization

Half a century before the discovery of penicillin, it helped save many lives. new process, discovered by Louis Pasteur, is the pasteurization or heating of foods (originally beer, wine, and dairy products) to a temperature high enough to kill most spoilage bacteria. Unlike sterilization, which kills all bacteria, pasteurization only reduces the number of potential pathogens to a level that makes most foods safe to eat without risk of contamination, while still maintaining the flavor of the food.

18. Solar battery

Just as the oil industry sparked industrial growth in general, the invention of the solar cell allowed people to use a renewable form of energy in a much more efficient way. effective way. The first practical solar cell was developed in 1954 by Bell Telephone scientists, and today the popularity and efficiency of solar panels has increased dramatically.

19. Microprocessor

20. Laser

21. Nitrogen fixation

Although it may seem overly pompous, nitrogen fixation, or the fixation of molecular atmospheric nitrogen, is "responsible" for the explosion of the human population. By converting atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, it became possible to produce highly effective fertilizers, which increased agricultural production.

22. Conveyor

Today it is difficult to overestimate the importance of assembly lines. Before their invention, all products were made by hand. The assembly line, or assembly line, allowed the development of large-scale production of identical parts, greatly reducing the time it took to create a new product.

23. Oral contraceptives

Although tablets and pills have been one of the main methods of medicine that have existed for thousands of years, the invention of the oral contraceptive was one of the most significant innovations. It was this invention that became the impetus for the sexual revolution.

24. Mobile phone/smartphone

Now many people are probably reading this article from a smartphone. For this we must thank Motorola, which back in 1973 released the first wireless pocket mobile phone, which weighed as much as 2 kg and required as much as 10 hours to recharge. To make matters worse, at that time you could only chat quietly for 30 minutes.

25. Electricity

Most modern inventions would simply not be possible without electricity. Pioneers such as William Gilbert and Benjamin Franklin laid the initial foundation on which inventors such as Volt and Faraday began the Second Industrial Revolution.