1, compass

Compass is a simple tool to judge the direction. Originally known as Sina. The main component is a magnetic needle (commonly known as a magnet) that can rotate freely on the shaft. The magnetic needle can be kept in the tangential direction of magnetic meridian under the action of geomagnetic field. The north pole of the magnetic needle points to the geographical south pole, which can be used to identify the direction.

It is often used in navigation, geodesy, tourism and military affairs. N of the compass refers to the north, e to the east, w to the west and s to the south. Compass is a kind of pointing instrument made by using the north-south polarity of magnets in the earth's magnetic field, and it has many shapes. As early as the Warring States Period, the ancestors of China had made Sina spoons with natural magnets to indicate the direction.

During the Three Kingdoms and Wei Dynasties, Ma Jun made a mechanical device with magnets and differential gears to indicate the direction-the south guide car. Shen Kuo, a scientist in the Song Dynasty, recorded the method of making magnetic needles in his "Meng Qian Bi Tan". Later, it developed into a compass with a magnetic needle and an azimuth disk. At the latest in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the compass has been used for navigation; In the Southern Song Dynasty, the dial was used to guide exhibitions and economic and cultural exchanges, which played a great role.

Step 2 make paper

About 3,500 years ago, in Shang Dynasty, there were characters carved on tortoise shell bones in China. In the Spring and Autumn Period, when Oracle Bone Inscriptions replaced tortoise shell bones with bamboo pieces, they were called bamboo slips and wooden slips. Oracle Bone Inscriptions and bamboo slips are very heavy. During the Warring States Period, Hui Shi, a thinker, liked reading. Every time he goes out to study, he is followed by five carts full of bamboo slips, so there is an allusion to learning to be rich and having five cars.

In the Western Han Dynasty, among the court nobles, they wrote with silk or cotton paper. Silk is the general name of silk. Writing on silk is easy. It is not only much more than bamboo slips, but also can be painted on them, but it is expensive and can only be used by a few royal nobles. In the 2nd century BC, there was paper in the early Western Han Dynasty, but Cai Lun only modified it.

Papermaking was introduced to Japan through Korea in the 7th century. It spread to the United Arab Emirates in the middle of the 8th century.

/kloc-in the 20th century, Europe began to establish factories in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the first year of Yuan Xing (A.D. 105) by imitating China's method. On the basis of summarizing predecessors' experience in making silk-woven crystals, Cai Lun made plant fiber paper suitable for writing with bark, broken fishing nets, rags and hemp heads as raw materials, and improved the papermaking technology, making paper a widely used writing material.

3. Movable type printing

Woodblock printing, which began in Sui Dynasty, was developed and perfected by Bi Sheng in Song Renzong, resulting in movable type printing, which was spread to Europe by Mongols, so Bi Sheng was later called the ancestor of printing. China's printing is the pioneer of modern human civilization, which has created conditions for the wide spread and exchange of knowledge. ?

Engraving printing is to carve a protruding reverse writing on a piece of wood with a knife, and then ink it on paper. Every time a new book is printed, the board has to be engraved from scratch, which is very slow. If you make a mistake, you have to engrave it again. You can imagine the hard work.

The Diamond Sutra was printed in 868, the ninth year of Tang Xiantong, and it is the earliest printed matter engraved with time in the world. Bi Sheng, a civilian in Song Renzong in Qing Dynasty, invented movable type printing on the basis of the popularization of block printing. It is carved with clay, and every word is printed on it. After burning, it is printed. The characters are arranged and embedded on the iron plate, and then baked and pressed into a printing plate, which can be printed.

4, gunpowder

As the first explosive mastered by human beings, gunpowder originated from alchemy in ancient China. The alchemical drugs used by ancient alchemists, such as nitrate and sulfur, were mastered as early as the Han Dynasty. After a long-term practice of alchemy, they invented gunpowder at the latest in Tang Xianzong Yuanhe three years ago (808), and used it to make gunpowder weapons for arson at the end of the Five Dynasties and the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty.

By the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, all kinds of firearms such as rockets, fireballs (fire axes) and fire axes had reached the level of heating. The invention of gunpowder played an important role in the development of science and technology in the world. Modern black gunpowder was developed from ancient gunpowder in China.

Second, modern inventions.

1, radio

In the early 20th century, few people could imagine that electromagnetic waves could travel any meaningful distance without any metal wires or cables as conductors. So how do radio signals travel along the surface of the earth? Of course, it can shoot straight off the horizon.

But Guillermo Marconi believes that radio waves can travel along the surface of the earth if some conditions are provided. 1895, in his birthplace of Italy, he sent out a radio signal, which passed 1? 5 miles; Six years later, that is, 190 1 year 12 February 12 year, Marconi, who was only 27 years old, created a miracle. He tied the radio antenna firmly to a flying kite and sent a Morse code "S".

It flew about 2000 miles across the Atlantic. This signal was sent from Huzhen, Polder, Cornwall, England, and reached St. John's in Newfoundland in less than 1 second. Marconi heard three faint ticks. This is the voice of the birth of the communication industry and the first shock wave of the arrival of the electronic age.

2. Aircraft

Orville Wright and wilbur wright were able to fly their plane made of wood, wires and cloth for 59 seconds before sunset. However, few newspapers are willing to comment on this matter, because the idea that humans fly into the sky to become contemporary Daedalus and Icarus is considered absurd by most sober people.

But once successful, the development of this undertaking is extremely rapid. In fact, it was only after 15 years that various parts of modern aircraft were manufactured, if not all, then at least ideas about them had been born.

3. Plastic

After learning about the invention of plastic, the happiest thing in the world is the elephant. For hundreds of years, everything from the handle to billiards has been made of ivory. 19 In the 1980s, the supply of ivory gradually decreased and billiards rose, which once triggered a crisis.

Phelan and Cowland, the largest billiards producers in the United States, can't wait to offer a gold prize worth $65,438+0,000 pounds-a considerable prize-to recruit any "invention genius" who can provide synthetic products instead of ivory.

Until 1907, the Belgian inventor Leo Baekeland, who had made huge profits by inventing photographic paper for taking fast-moving photos, accidentally invented the compound of phenol and formaldehyde.

This innovative pure synthetic plastic-phenolic plastic has the functions of heat protection, electricity protection and corrosion protection. Not only is it good for billiards, but one of the great benefits of plastic is its versatility. Everything from telephones to toilets, ashtrays to airplane parts is made of plastic.

By 1968, if young graduates want to find a job in a promising and successful industry, they must listen to one word-plastic.

4. TV set

The inventor of TV set is john baird, a British electronic engineer. In 1923, he applied for a patent for a device that can generate 8 lines of images. The first TV set was sold at the end of 1930. 1932, BBC broadcast the first standardized TV program in the world. Since then, mankind has begun to step into the television era. Today, people use satellites and other channels to spread TV signals to every corner of the earth.

5. Penicillin

People call penicillin the most contribution medicine in this century, and its inventor is British bacteriologist alexander fleming. 1928, in a bacterial culture experiment, the inventor happened to find that a mold later called penicillin was devouring the bacteria he cultivated in a Petri dish.

According to Fleming's research results, after ten years' efforts, researchers at Oxford University in England finally found a way to refine this mold and put it into medical experiments. 1943, in order to treat soldiers injured in World War II, the Allies began to put penicillin into industrial production. For more than half a century, penicillin has saved countless lives, prompting people to pay attention to the research and development of antibiotic family.

6. Nuclear weapons

The atomic age began at 1942. In order to defeat the Axis fascism, the highest authorities in the United States decided to launch the Manhattan Project aimed at developing atomic weapons. 1On July 6th, 945, a mushroom cloud rose from the Atomic Energy Research Center in Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA, and the world's first atomic bomb exploded successfully.

On August 6th and 9th of that year, the United States dropped two atomic bombs named "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The Japanese emperor then announced his unconditional surrender. The atomic bomb seems to have made great contributions to the victory of World War II, but mankind has lived in the shadow of terrible atomic weapons ever since.

7. Computer

Computer is the foundation of human society entering the information age, but it was born because of war. 1943, in order to decipher the German code, the British mathematician alan turing designed the first electromechanical computer named "Giant". Although it is only an imaginary computer for decoding, it initiated the development of computer technology, which is changing with each passing day.

1947, the transistor computer came out; 1959, the integrated circuit computer was born; 1970, computer produced large-scale integrated circuits; Since 1980s, a new generation of microcomputers have mushroomed. On this basis, mankind has ushered in a new network era.

8、DNA

1953 On February 28th, the famous British geneticist francis crick announced that he had "discovered the secret of life". Crick and his American colleague james watson devoted themselves to the research of life science for many years, and finally found the molecular structure of DNA double helix which determines the inheritance of life from the nucleus, and deciphered the genetic codes of human beings, plants and animals.

This discovery initially revealed the secret of life, promoted the research and treatment of various diseases, and also promoted human research on improving food structure. In the first 20 years of the next century, it is possible for human beings to eliminate gene defects through gene therapy, and then overcome fatal sexual dysfunction such as cancer, heart disease, hemophilia and diabetes.

Undoubtedly, the research results of DNA molecular structure have played a great role in studying life and treating diseases, but it also makes people face the moral crisis caused by it. For example, the development of cloning technology has given mankind a difficult problem.

9. Birth control pills

1954, American doctor gregory pincus invented the contraceptive pill, which is a mixture of two hormones that inhibit ovulation in women. Contraceptive pill is listed as one of the greatest scientific achievements in the 20th century because it liberates women from passive childbearing. From then on, women can control their own fertility, decide whether to have children according to their own wishes, and decide when to get pregnant according to their own situation.

More importantly, it breaks the shackles that imprison women's sexual freedom, gives women the right to go out of the family and participate in social work, and finally expands women's influence in social politics, economy and culture.

10, satellite

1957 10 10 On 4 October, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial earth satellite in human history to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the victory of the October Revolution, marking the beginning of the space age. 1961April 2, Soviet astronaut Gagarin went into space in a spaceship and became the first person to go into space. 1969 On July 20th, two American astronauts landed on the moon in a spaceship.

Satellites can transmit TV and radio program signals, and also provide services for aviation, Hainan Airlines, weather forecast and scientific and technological information, thus greatly "shrinking" the earth. In order to further explore the mysteries of the universe, human beings have placed many detectors on the main planets of the solar system, and grand plans to build an international space station are also in the pipeline.

1 1, organ transplantation

From 65438 to 0967, South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard successfully performed the first heart transplant. Since then, with the development of medicine and medical equipment, medical scientists have gradually solved the problems of organ infection and successfully transplanted limbs, liver, skin, retina and even testicles.

The medical community believes that the next frontier technology of organ transplantation is brain cell transplantation, which can cure medical ills such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In the next century, medical scientists will devote themselves to solving the problem of xenotransplantation and transplanting organs from other animals into human bodies.

12, IVF

Luis brown, a British girl, became the world's first test-tube baby at the age of 33. 1978, her mother's egg and her father's sperm successfully mated in a test tube and gave birth to her. Since then, in vitro pregnancy technology has been continuously developed and perfected, and 1984 embryo freezing technology has been successfully tested; From 65438 to 0990, the experiment of embryo transfer technology was successful.

The successful cultivation of IVF has given great hope to infertile couples, but it has also aroused people's concern about a moral issue. For example, if a woman gives birth to a child through a test-tube baby in her fifties or sixties, the old man may die while the child is still underage. So who will raise the orphan?

13, phonograph

1877, Edison found that the diaphragm in the telephone transmitter would vibrate with the sound, so he took a short needle and did an experiment, from which he got a lot. Speech speed can make the short needle vibrate accordingly. On the other hand, this kind of vibration will definitely make the original sound, so he began to study the problem of sound reproduction.

/kloc-in August of 0/5, Edison asked his assistant to make a "strange machine" consisting of a large cylinder, a crank, a receiver and a diaphragm according to the pattern. When finished, one end of the needle is lightly rubbed with tin foil, and the other end is connected with the receiver. Then Edison shook his crank and sang to the receiver. Then he put the needle back, shook the crank again, and the machine played back Edison's voice.

In February 65438, Edison publicly demonstrated this "tin foil cylinder phonograph", which caused a sensation all over the world.

14, electric lamp

Contrary to popular understanding, Edison was not the inventor of electric light at first, but Edison improved it.

As early as 180 1 year, a British chemist named humphry davy used platinum wire to electrify and glow in the laboratory. 18 10, he invented the "electric candle" which was illuminated by the arc between two charged carbon rods, which was the earliest prototype of the electric lamp. Joseph swan, another British electrical engineer, after nearly 30 years' research, made a vacuum bulb with electricity and light from carbon wire in 1878+02.

The report about the swan's light bulb gave Edison a great inspiration. 1879 10, Edison finally succeeded in making an incandescent light bulb with carbon fiber as the filament, which is called "carbonized cotton filament incandescent lamp". Later, a large number of incandescent lamps were put into production, and companies were established to establish corresponding power stations, transmission networks and other infrastructure, which soon made electric lamps widely used in the United States.

During this period, he constantly improved his technology, and finally decided to use tungsten wire as the filament, which is called "tungsten lamp" and has been in use ever since, so Edison became a recognized inventor of electric lamp.

15, telescope

1608, Hans Lippershey, an optician in middelburg, the Netherlands, built the world's first telescope. Once, two children played some scenes in front of Lipper's shop. They looked at the weather vane on the distant church through the front and rear lenses and were in high spirits.

Liporsay picked up two lenses and saw that the weather vane in the distance was greatly enlarged. Lippert ran back to the store and put the two lenses on a spool. After many experiments, Hans Lippert invented the telescope. 1608, he applied for a patent for his telescope, and made a binoculars according to the requirements of the authorities. It is said that dozens of telescope opticians in the town all claimed to have invented the telescope.

At the same time, the German astronomer Kepler began to study telescopes. He proposed another kind of astronomical telescope in Bending Optics, which consists of two convex lenses. Unlike Galileo's telescope, it has a wider field of vision than galileo telescope. But Kepler didn't make the telescope he introduced.

Sagana first made this telescope in1613 ─1617. He also made a telescope with a third convex lens according to Kepler's suggestion, and turned the inverted image of the telescope composed of two convex lenses into a positive image. Sagana made eight telescopes, one for observing the sun, and no matter which one can see sunspots with the same shape.

Therefore, he dispelled many people's illusion that sunspots may be caused by dust on the lens, and proved that sunspots are really observed. When observing the sun, Sagina installed special shading glass, but Galileo did not add this protective device. As a result, he hurt his eyes and finally became almost blind.

Huygens of the Netherlands made a telescope with a tube length of nearly 6 meters to explore Saturn's rings in 1665, and later made a telescope with a tube length of nearly 4 1 meter.

16, air conditioning

In the late period of 1902, Willis Carrier (1876-1950) invented the first modern electric air conditioning system. The difference between its design and Wolff's design is that it can not only control the temperature, but also control the humidity of the air, so as to improve the quality of the production process of a printing factory in Bukling, new york.

This technology provides a low-heat and low-humidity environment, which makes the paper area and ink arrangement more accurate. Later, Carrier's technology began to be used in the workplace to improve production efficiency. 19 15 set up Carrier Engineering Company to meet the surge in demand.

With the gradual development, air conditioning has been used to improve the comfort of home and car. The sales of residential air-conditioning system didn't really take off until 1950' s. The Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland was built in 1906, which is of special significance in architectural engineering and is known as the first air-conditioning building in the world.

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