The history of mankind is closely linked with constant progress, technological development, new discoveries and inventions. Some technologies are outdated and become history, others, such as a wheel or a sail, are still in use today. Countless discoveries were lost in the maelstrom of time, others, not appreciated by contemporaries, were waiting for recognition and implementation for tens and hundreds of years.
Editorial staff Samogo.Net conducted her own research, designed to answer the question of which inventions are considered the most significant by our contemporaries.
The processing and analysis of the results of Internet surveys showed that there is simply no consensus on this matter. Nevertheless, we managed to form an overall unique rating of the greatest inventions and discoveries in the history of mankind. As it turned out, despite the fact that science has long gone ahead, the basic discoveries in the minds of our contemporaries remain the most significant.
First place undoubtedly took Fire
People opened early beneficial features fire - its ability to illuminate and warm, change plant and animal food for the better.
The "wild fire" that flared up during forest fires or volcanic eruptions was terrible for man, but by bringing fire to his cave, man "tamed" it and "put" it at his service. Since that time, fire has become a constant companion of man and the basis of his economy. In ancient times, it was an irreplaceable source of heat, light, a means for cooking, a hunting tool.
However, further cultural conquests (ceramics, metallurgy, steelmaking, steam engines, etc.) are due to the comprehensive use of fire.
For many millennia, people used "home fire", supported it from year to year in their caves, before they learned how to extract it themselves using friction. Probably, this discovery happened by chance, after our ancestors learned to drill a tree. During this operation, the wood was heated and, under favorable conditions, ignition could occur. Having paid attention to this, people began to widely use friction for making fire.
The simplest way was to take two sticks of dry wood, in one of which they made a hole. The first stick was placed on the ground and pressed against the knee. The second was inserted into the hole, and then began to quickly and quickly rotate between the palms. At the same time, it was necessary to press hard on the stick. The disadvantage of this method was that the palms gradually slid down. Every now and then I had to lift them up and continue to rotate again. Although, with a certain skill, this can be done quickly, nevertheless, due to constant stops, the process was greatly delayed. It is much easier to get fire by friction, working together. At the same time, one person held a horizontal stick and pressed on the vertical stick from above, and the other quickly and quickly rotated it between his palms. Later, they began to wrap the vertical stick with a strap, moving it to the right and left, you can accelerate the movement, and a bone cap was placed on the upper end for convenience. Thus, the entire device for making fire began to consist of four parts: two sticks (fixed and rotating), a strap and a top cap. In this way, it was possible to make fire alone, if you press the lower stick with your knee to the ground, and the cap with your teeth.
And only later, with the development of mankind, other methods of obtaining open fire became available.
Second place in the responses, the Internet communities took Wheel and Cart
It is believed that rollers, which were placed under heavy tree trunks, boats and stones as they were dragged from place to place, may have become its prototype. Perhaps, at the same time, the first observations were made on the properties of rotating bodies. For example, if the log-roller for some reason in the center was thinner than at the edges, it moved more evenly under the load and did not skid to the side. Noticing this, people began to deliberately burn the rollers in such a way that the middle part became thinner, and the side ones remained unchanged. Thus, a device was obtained, which is now called a "ramp". In the course of further improvements in this direction, only two rollers remained from a solid log at its ends, and an axis appeared between them. Later they began to be made separately, and then rigidly fastened together. So the wheel was opened in the proper sense of the word and the first carriage appeared.
In the following centuries, many generations of craftsmen have worked to improve this invention. Initially, solid wheels were rigidly attached to the axle and rotated with it. When traveling on a flat road, such carts were quite suitable for use. When cornering, when the wheels must rotate at different speeds, this connection creates great inconvenience, since a heavily laden cart can easily break or overturn. The wheels themselves were still very imperfect. They were made from a single piece of wood. Therefore, the carts were heavy and unwieldy. They moved slowly, and usually they were harnessed to leisurely but mighty oxen.
One of the oldest carts of the described design was found during excavations in Mohenjo-Daro. A major step forward in the development of driving technology was the invention of a wheel with a hub, mounted on a fixed axle. In this case, the wheels rotated independently of each other. And so that the wheel rubbed less against the axle, they began to lubricate it with grease or tar.
To reduce the weight of the wheel, cutouts were cut out in it, and for rigidity they were reinforced with transverse braces. Nothing better could have been invented in the Stone Age. But after the discovery of metals, they began to make wheels with a metal rim and spokes. Such a wheel could rotate tens of times faster and was not afraid of impacts on stones. By harnessing swift horses to the cart, the man significantly increased the speed of his movement. Perhaps it is difficult to find another discovery that would give such a powerful impetus to the development of technology.
Third place rightfully took Writing
Needless to say, the invention of writing was of great importance in the history of mankind. It is impossible even to imagine how the development of civilization could have gone if at a certain stage of their development people had not learned to record the information they need with the help of certain symbols and thus transmit and save it. It is obvious that human society in the form in which it exists today simply could not have appeared.
The first forms of writing in the form of specially drawn signs appeared about 4 thousand years BC. But already long before that, there were various ways of transmitting and storing information: with the help of a certain way of folded branches, arrows, smoke from bonfires and similar signals. From these primitive warning systems, more sophisticated methods of recording information later emerged. For example, the ancient Incas invented an original "notation" system using knots. For this, we used wool laces of different colors. They were tied in various knots and attached to a stick. In this form, the "letter" was sent to the addressee. There is an opinion that the Incas, with the help of such "nodular writing", fixed their laws, wrote down chronicles and poems. "Knot writing" was also noted among other peoples - it was used in ancient China and Mongolia.
However, writing in the proper sense of the word appeared only after people invented special graphic signs for fixing and transmitting information. The most ancient type of writing is pictographic. A pictogram is a schematic drawing that directly depicts the things, events, and phenomena in question. It is assumed that pictography was widespread among various peoples during the last stage of the Stone Age. This letter is very descriptive, and therefore does not need to be specially studied. It is quite suitable for transmitting small messages and for recording simple stories. But when the need arose to convey some complex abstract thought or concept, one immediately felt the limited capabilities of the pictogram, which is completely unsuitable for recording that which does not lend itself to drawing (for example, such concepts as vigor, courage, vigilance, good sleep, heavenly azure, etc.). Therefore, already at an early stage in the history of writing, the number of pictograms began to include special conventional icons denoting certain concepts (for example, the sign of crossed arms symbolized an exchange). These icons are called ideograms. Ideographic writing arose and pictographic, and one can quite clearly imagine how this happened: each pictographic sign of the pictogram began to become more and more isolated from others and associate with a certain word or concept, denoting it. Gradually, this process developed so much that primitive pictograms lost their former clarity, but they gained clarity and certainty. This process took a long time, perhaps several millennia.
Hieroglyphic writing became the highest form of the ideogram. It first appeared in Ancient Egypt. Later, hieroglyphic writing became widespread in the Far East - in China, Japan and Korea. With the help of ideograms, it was possible to reflect any, even the most complex and abstract thought. However, for those who were not privy to the mystery of the hieroglyphs, the meaning of what was written was completely incomprehensible. Anyone who wanted to learn how to write had to memorize several thousand icons. In reality, it took several years of constant exercise. Therefore, few people knew how to write and read in ancient times.
Only at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. the ancient Phoenicians invented the alphanumeric alphabet, which served as a model for the alphabets of many other peoples. The Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 consonant letters, each of which denoted a separate sound. The invention of this alphabet was a big step forward for humanity. With the help of a new letter, it was easy to convey graphically any word without resorting to ideograms. It was very easy to learn it. The art of writing has ceased to be the privilege of the enlightened. It has become the property of the entire society, or at least a large part of it. This was one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the Phoenician alphabet throughout the world. It is believed that four-fifths of all known alphabets today arose from the Phoenician.
So, from a variety of Phoenician writing (Punic), Libyan developed. Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek writing came directly from Phoenician. In turn, on the basis of the Aramaic writing, the Arabic, Nabatean, Syrian, Persian and other scripts were formed. The Greeks made the last important improvement in the Phoenician alphabet - they began to designate with letters not only consonants, but also vowels. The Greek alphabet formed the basis for most of the European alphabets: Latin (from which the French, German, English, Italian, Spanish and other alphabets originated), Coptic, Armenian, Georgian and Slavic (Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian, etc.).
Fourth place, after writing it takes Paper
Its creators were the Chinese. And this is no coincidence. Firstly, China, already in ancient times, was famous for its bookish wisdom and a complex system of bureaucratic management, which required constant accountability from officials. Therefore, there has always been a need for inexpensive and compact writing material. Before the invention of paper in China, people wrote either on bamboo tablets or on silk.
But silk was always very expensive, and bamboo was very bulky and heavy. (An average of 30 hieroglyphs could be placed on one tablet. It is easy to imagine how much space such a bamboo “book” should have taken. silk, and paperwork just developed from one technical operation of processing silk cocoons. This operation was as follows. Women who were engaged in silkworm breeding boiled silkworm cocoons, then, spreading them on a mat, dipped them into water and ground until a homogeneous mass was formed. When the mass was taken out and the water was drained, silk wool was obtained. However, after such mechanical and heat treatment, a thin fibrous layer remained on the mats, which, after drying, turned into a sheet of very thin paper suitable for writing. Later, female workers began to use the defective silkworm cocoons for targeted papermaking. At the same time, they repeated the process already familiar to them: they boiled cocoons, washed and crushed them to obtain paper pulp, and finally dried the resulting sheets. Such paper was called "cotton wool" and was quite expensive, since the raw material itself was expensive.
Naturally, in the end the question arose: is it possible to make paper only from silk or any fibrous raw material, including plant origin, can be suitable for preparing paper pulp? In 105, a certain Tsai Lun, an important official at the court of the Han emperor, prepared a new grade of paper from old fishing nets. In terms of quality, it did not step on silk, but it was much cheaper. This important discovery had tremendous consequences not only for China, but also for the whole world - for the first time in history, people received first-class and accessible writing material, an equivalent replacement for which to this day. The name Tsai Lun is therefore rightfully ranked among the names of the greatest inventors in the history of mankind. In the following centuries, several important improvements were made to the papermaking process, thanks to which it began to develop rapidly.
In the 4th century, paper completely replaced bamboo planks from use. New experiments have shown that paper can be made from cheap plant materials such as tree bark, reeds and bamboo. The latter was especially important, since bamboo grows in China in huge amount... The bamboo was split into thin pieces, soaked with lime, and the resulting mass was then boiled down for several days. The strained thick was kept in special pits, thoroughly grinded with special beaters and diluted with water until a sticky, mushy mass was formed. This mass was scooped up using a special form - a bamboo sieve, fixed on a stretcher. A thin layer of the mass was placed under the press together with the mold. Then the form was pulled out and only a paper sheet remained under the press. The compressed sheets were removed from the sieve, folded into a bale, dried, smoothed and cut to size.
Over the years, the Chinese have achieved the highest art in papermaking. For several centuries, they, as usual, carefully kept the secrets of papermaking. But in 751, during a clash with the Arabs in the foothills of the Tien Shan, several Chinese craftsmen were captured. From them, the Arabs learned to make paper themselves and for five centuries sold it to Europe very profitably. Europeans were the last civilized people to learn how to make paper themselves. The Spaniards were the first to adopt this art from the Arabs. In 1154, paper production was established in Italy, in 1228 in Germany, in 1309 in England. In the following centuries, paper became widespread throughout the world, gradually gaining more and more new areas of application. Its significance in our life is so great that, according to the famous French bibliographer A. Sim, our era can rightfully be called the "paper era".
Fifth place occupied Gunpowder and Firearms
The invention of gunpowder and its spread in Europe had enormous consequences for the further history of mankind. Although the Europeans were the last civilized nations to learn how to make this explosive mixture, it was they who were able to derive the greatest practical benefit from its discovery. The explosive development of firearms and the revolution in military affairs were the first consequences of the proliferation of gunpowder. This, in turn, entailed profound social shifts: knights clad in armor and their impregnable castles were powerless against the fire of cannons and arquebus. Feudal society was dealt a blow from which it could no longer recover. In a short time, many European powers overcame feudal fragmentation and turned into powerful centralized states.
There are few inventions in the history of technology that would lead to such grandiose and far-reaching changes. Before gunpowder became known in the west, it already had a centuries-old history in the east, and the Chinese invented it. The most important component of gunpowder is saltpeter. In some areas of China, it was found in its native form and looked like flakes of snow that covered the ground. Later they discovered that saltpeter is formed in areas rich in alkalis and decaying (delivering nitrogen) substances. While lighting a fire, the Chinese could observe the outbreaks that occurred when burning saltpeter with coal.
For the first time, the properties of saltpeter were described by the Chinese physician Tao Hong-ching, who lived at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. Since that time, it has been used as an ingredient in some medicines. Alchemists often used it when conducting experiments. In the 7th century, one of them, Sun Sy-miao, prepared a mixture of sulfur and saltpeter, adding to them a few parts of the locust tree. Heating this mixture in a crucible, he suddenly received a violent flash of flame. He described this experience in his treatise "Dan Ching". It is believed that Sun Si-miao prepared one of the first samples of gunpowder, which, however, did not yet have a strong explosive effect.
In the future, the composition of gunpowder was improved by other alchemists, who established experimentally its three main components: coal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. The medieval Chinese could not scientifically explain what kind of explosive reaction occurs when gunpowder is ignited, but they very soon learned to use it for military purposes. True, in their lives, gunpowder did not at all have the revolutionary influence that it later had on European society. This is explained by the fact that the masters have been preparing a powder mixture from unrefined components for a long time. Meanwhile, crude saltpeter and sulfur containing impurities did not give a strong explosive effect. For several centuries, gunpowder was used exclusively as an incendiary agent. Later, when its quality improved, gunpowder began to be used as an explosive in the manufacture of land mines, hand grenades and explosives.
But even after that, for a long time, they did not know how to use the force of the gases arising from the combustion of gunpowder to throw bullets and cannonballs. Only in the XII-XIII centuries, the Chinese began to use weapons that very vaguely resembled firearms, but they invented the firecracker and the rocket. The Arabs and Mongols learned the secret of gunpowder from the Chinese. In the first third of the 13th century, the Arabs achieved great art in pyrotechnics. They used saltpeter in many compounds, mixing it with sulfur and coal, adding other components to them and staging fireworks of amazing beauty. From the Arabs, the composition of the powder mixture became known to European alchemists. One of them, Mark the Greek, already in 1220 wrote down a recipe for gunpowder in his treatise: 6 parts of saltpeter to 1 part of sulfur and 1 part of coal. Later, Roger Bacon wrote quite accurately about the composition of gunpowder.
However, about a hundred years passed before this recipe ceased to be a secret. This rediscovery of gunpowder is associated with the name of another alchemist, the Feiburg monk Berthold Schwartz. Once he began to grind in a mortar a crushed mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and coal, as a result of which an explosion occurred, which singed Bertholde's beard. This or another experiment gave Berthold the idea to use the power of powder gases to throw stones. It is believed that he made one of the first artillery pieces in Europe.
Gunpowder was originally a fine, flour-like powder. It was not convenient to use it, since when loading guns and arquebusses, the powder pulp stuck to the walls of the barrel. Finally, we noticed that gunpowder in the form of lumps was much more convenient - it was easy to load and gave more gases when ignited (2 pounds of gunpowder in a lump was more effective than 3 pounds of pulp).
In the first quarter of the 15th century, for convenience, they began to use grain powder, obtained by rolling the powder pulp (with alcohol and other impurities) into the dough, which was then passed through a sieve. So that the grains are not frayed during transportation, they learned to polish them. To do this, they were placed in a special drum, during the unwinding of which the grains hit and rubbed against each other and were compacted. After processing, their surface became smooth and shiny.
Sixth place in the polls took : telegraph, telephone, internet, radio and other types of modern communication
Until the middle of the 19th century, the only means of communication between the European continent and England, between America and Europe, between Europe and the colonies remained steamship mail. Accidents and events in other countries were learned with a delay of weeks, and sometimes months. For example, news from Europe to America was delivered in two weeks, and this was not the longest time. Therefore, the creation of the telegraph met the most urgent needs of mankind.
After this technical novelty appeared in all parts of the world and telegraph lines surrounded the globe, it took only hours, and sometimes even minutes, for the news to rush to the other via electric wires from one hemisphere. Political and stock reports, personal and business messages on the same day could be delivered to interested parties. Thus, the telegraph should be attributed to one of the most important inventions in the history of civilization, because with it the human mind won the greatest victories over distance.
With the invention of the telegraph, the problem of transmitting messages over long distances was solved. However, the telegraph could only send written dispatches. Meanwhile, many inventors dreamed of a more perfect and communicative way of communication, with the help of which it would be possible to transmit the live sound of human speech or music to any distance. The first experiments in this direction were undertaken in 1837 by the American physicist Page. The essence of Page's experiments was very simple. He assembled an electrical circuit that included a tuning fork, an electromagnet, and galvanic cells. During its vibrations, the tuning fork quickly opened and closed the circuit. This intermittent current was transmitted to an electromagnet, which just as quickly attracted and released the thin steel rod. As a result of these vibrations, the rod produced a singing sound similar to that made by a tuning fork. Thus, Page showed that it is, in principle, possible to transmit sound using an electric current, it is only necessary to create more advanced transmitting and receiving devices.
And later, as a result of long searches, discoveries and inventions, a mobile phone, television, the Internet and other means of human communication appeared, without which it is impossible to imagine our modern life.
Seventh place ranked in the top 10 according to polls Automobile
The automobile is one of those great inventions that, like the wheel, gunpowder or electric current, had a tremendous impact not only on the era that gave rise to them, but also on all subsequent times. Its multifaceted impact goes far beyond the transport sector. The car has shaped the modern industry, spawned new industries, despotically rebuilt the production itself, for the first time giving it a mass, serial and production character. He transformed the appearance of the planet, which was surrounded by millions of kilometers of highways, put pressure on the environment and even changed human psychology. The influence of the car is now so multifaceted that it is felt in all areas of human life. He became, as it were, a visible and visual embodiment technical progress in general, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
There have been many amazing pages in the history of the car, but perhaps the most striking of them belongs to the first years of its existence. One cannot but amaze with the swiftness with which this invention has gone from emergence to maturity. It took only a quarter of a century for the car from a capricious and yet unreliable toy to become the most popular and widespread vehicle. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it was essentially identical to a modern car.
The immediate predecessor of the petrol car was the steam car. The first practically operating steam car is considered to be a steam cart, built by the Frenchman Cugno in 1769. Carrying up to 3 tons of cargo, it moved at a speed of only 2-4 km / h. She had other disadvantages as well. The heavy car very poorly obeyed the steering wheel, constantly hitting the walls of houses and fences, causing destruction and suffering considerable damage. The two horsepower that her engine developed was difficult. Despite the large volume of the boiler, the pressure dropped rapidly. Every quarter of an hour, to maintain the pressure, one had to stop and light the firebox. One of the trips ended in a boiler explosion. Fortunately, Cuyunho himself survived.
Cuyunho's followers were more fortunate. In 1803, Trivaitik, already known to us, built the first steam engine in Great Britain. The car had huge rear wheels about 2.5 m in diameter. Between the wheels and the rear of the frame was a boiler, which was served by a stoker standing on the heels. The ferry car was equipped with a single horizontal cylinder. From the piston rod through the connecting rod-crank mechanism, the driving gear rotated, which was in mesh with another gear wheel mounted on the axle of the rear wheels. The axle of these wheels was pivotally connected to the frame and turned with a long lever by the driver sitting on a high beam. The body was suspended on high C-shaped springs. With 8-10 passengers, the car developed a speed of up to 15 km / h, which was undoubtedly a very good achievement for that time. The appearance of this amazing car on the streets of London attracted a lot of onlookers who did not hide their delight.
A car in the modern sense of the word appeared only after the creation of a compact and economical internal combustion engine, which made a real revolution in transport technology.
The first car with a gasoline engine was built in 1864 by the Austrian inventor Siegfried Markus. Carried away by pyrotechnics, Marcus once set fire to a mixture of gasoline vapors and air with an electric spark. Struck by the force of the ensuing explosion, he decided to create an engine in which this effect would be applied. In the end, he managed to build a two-stroke gasoline engine with electric ignition, which he installed on an ordinary carriage. In 1875, Marcus created a better car.
The official glory of the inventors of the car belongs to two German engineers - Benz and Daimler. Benz designed two-stroke gas engines and was the owner of a small manufacturing plant. The engines were in good demand and Benz's business flourished. He had sufficient funds and leisure for other developments. Benz's dream was to create a self-propelled carriage with an internal combustion engine. Benz's own engine, like Otto's four-stroke engine, was not suitable for this, since they had a low travel speed (about 120 rpm). With a slight decrease in the number of revolutions, they stalled. Benz understood that a car equipped with such a motor would stop in front of each bump. What was needed was a high-speed engine with a good ignition system and an apparatus for forming a combustible mixture.
Automobiles improved rapidly As early as 1891, Edouard Michelin, owner of a rubber factory in Clermont-Ferrand, invented a removable pneumatic tire for a bicycle (a Dunlop tube was poured into the tire and glued to the rim). In 1895, the production of removable pneumatic tires for cars began. For the first time these tires were tested in the same year at the Paris - Bordeaux - Paris race. Equipped with them, "Peugeot" with difficulty reached Rouen, and then was forced to withdraw from the race, as the tires were constantly punctured. Nevertheless, experts and car enthusiasts were amazed at the smooth running of the car and the ride comfort. Since that time, pneumatic tires have gradually come into life, and all cars began to be equipped with them. The winner of these races was again Levassor. When he stopped the car at the finish line and stepped on the ground, he said: “It was crazy. I was doing 30 kilometers per hour! " Now at the finish site there is a monument in honor of this significant victory.
Eighth place - Light bulb
In the last decades of the 19th century, electric lighting entered the life of many European cities. First appearing on the streets and squares, it very soon penetrated into every house, into every apartment and became an integral part of the life of every civilized person. This was one of the most important events in the history of technology, with enormous and varied consequences. The explosive development of electric lighting has led to massive electrification, an energy revolution and major industrial shifts. However, all this might not have happened if, through the efforts of many inventors, such an ordinary and familiar device for us as an electric light bulb had not been created. Among the greatest discoveries of human history, she undoubtedly belongs to one of the most honorable places.
In the 19th century, two types of electric lamps became widespread: incandescent and arc lamps. Arc bulbs appeared a little earlier. Their glow is based on such an interesting phenomenon as a voltaic arc. If you take two wires, connect them to a sufficiently strong current source, connect them, and then move them apart a few millimeters, then a kind of flame with a bright light is formed between the ends of the conductors. The phenomenon will be more beautiful and brighter if, instead of metal wires, you take two sharpened carbon rods. With a sufficiently large voltage between them, a light of dazzling power is formed.
For the first time, the phenomenon of a voltaic arc was observed in 1803 by the Russian scientist Vasily Petrov. In 1810, the English physicist Devi made the same discovery. They both got a voltaic arc using a large battery of cells between the ends of the charcoal rods. Both he and the other wrote that the voltaic arc can be used for lighting purposes. But first it was necessary to find a more suitable material for the electrodes, since the charcoal rods burned out in a few minutes and were of little use for practical use. Arc lamps had another inconvenience - as the electrodes burned out, it was necessary to constantly move them towards each other. As soon as the distance between them exceeded a certain permissible minimum, the light of the lamp became uneven, it began to flicker and went out.
The first manually controlled arc lamp was designed in 1844 by the French physicist Foucault. He replaced charcoal with sticks of hard coke. In 1848, he first used an arc lamp to illuminate one of the Parisian squares. It was a short and very expensive experiment, since a powerful battery served as a source of electricity. Then various clockwork-controlled devices were invented that automatically shifted the electrodes as they burned out.
It is clear that from the point of view of practical use, it was desirable to have a lamp not complicated by additional mechanisms. But was it possible to do without them? It turned out that yes. If you put two coals not opposite each other, but in parallel, moreover, so that the arc can form only between their two ends, then with this device the distance between the ends of the coals is always unchanged. The design of such a lamp seems very simple, but its creation required a lot of ingenuity. It was invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Yablochkov, who worked in Paris in the workshop of Academician Breguet.
In 1879, the famous American inventor Edison took up the improvement of the light bulb. He understood: in order for a light bulb to shine brightly and for a long time and have an even unblinking light, it is necessary, firstly, to find a suitable material for the filament, and, secondly, to learn how to create a very rarefied space in the balloon. A lot of experiments were done with various materials, which were set up with the scale characteristic of Edison. It is estimated that his assistants tested at least 6,000 different substances and compounds, while more than 100 thousand dollars were spent on the experiments. First, Edison replaced the brittle paper ember with a stronger one made from coal, then he began to experiment with various metals and finally settled on a thread made of charred bamboo fibers. In the same year, in the presence of three thousand people, Edison publicly displayed his light bulbs, illuminating his house, laboratory and several adjacent streets with them. It was the first long-life light bulb suitable for mass production.
Penultimate, ninth place in our top 10 are Antibiotics, and in particular - penicillin
Antibiotics are one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century in the field of medicine. Modern people they are far from always aware of how much they owe these medications. Humanity in general very quickly gets used to the amazing achievements of its science, and sometimes it takes some effort to imagine life as it was, for example, before the invention of the television, radio or steam locomotive. Just as quickly, a huge family of various antibiotics entered our life, the first of which was penicillin.
Today it seems surprising to us that as early as the 30s of the XX century, tens of thousands of people died of dysentery every year, that pneumonia in many cases ended in death, that sepsis was a real scourge of all surgical patients, who in many cases died from blood poisoning, that typhus was considered the most dangerous and intractable disease, and pneumonic plague inevitably led the patient to death. All these terrible diseases (and many others, previously incurable, for example, tuberculosis) were defeated by antibiotics.
Even more striking is the effect of these drugs on military medicine. It's hard to believe, but in previous wars, most soldiers died not from bullets and shrapnel, but from purulent infections caused by wounds. It is known that in the space around us there are myriads of microscopic organisms of microbes, among which there are many dangerous pathogens.
IN normal conditions our skin prevents them from penetrating into the body. But during the injury, dirt got into open wounds, along with millions of putrefactive bacteria (cocci). They began to multiply with tremendous speed, penetrated deep into the tissues, and after a few hours no surgeon could save a person: the wound festered, the temperature rose, sepsis or gangrene began. The person died not so much from the wound itself as from wound complications. Medicine was powerless in front of them. At best, the doctor managed to amputate the affected organ and thereby stopped the spread of the disease.
To deal with wound complications, it was necessary to learn to paralyze the microbes that cause these complications, to learn how to neutralize cocci that got into the wound. But how can this be achieved? It turned out that it is possible to fight microorganisms directly with their help, since some microorganisms in the process of their vital activity release substances that can destroy other microorganisms. The idea of using microbes to fight microbes dates back to the 19th century. So, Louis Pasteur discovered that anthrax bacilli die under the influence of some other microbes. But it is clear that solving this problem required a lot of work.
Over time, after a series of experiments and discoveries, penicillin was created. Penicillin seemed like a miracle to seasoned field surgeons. He cured even the most severe patients who were already sick with blood poisoning or pneumonia. The creation of penicillin turned out to be one of the most important discoveries in the history of medicine and gave a huge impetus for its further development.
And the last thing tenth place in the polls took Sail and ship
It is believed that the prototype of the sail appeared in ancient times, when man just started building boats and dared to go to sea. In the beginning, the sail was simply a stretched animal skin. A man standing in a boat had to hold and orient it in relation to the wind with both hands. When people came up with the idea to strengthen the sail with the help of a mast and yards, it is not known, but already on the most ancient images of ships of the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut that have come down to us, you can see wooden masts and yards, as well as stays (cables that keep the mast from falling back), halyards (tackle for lifting and lowering the sails) and other rigging.
Consequently, the appearance of a sailing ship must be attributed to prehistoric times.
There is much evidence that the first large sailing ships appeared in Egypt, and the Nile was the first high-water river on which river navigation began to develop. Every year from July to November, the mighty river overflowed its banks, flooding the whole country with its waters. Villages and cities were cut off from each other like islands. Therefore, the courts were a vital necessity for the Egyptians. In the economic life of the country and in communication between people, they played a much greater role than wheeled carts.
One of the earliest varieties of Egyptian ships, which appeared about 5 thousand years BC, was the barge. It is known to modern scholars for several models installed in ancient temples. Since Egypt is very poor in forest, papyrus was widely used for the construction of the first ships. Features of this material determined the design and shape of ancient Egyptian ships. It was a crescent-shaped boat connected from bundles of papyrus with a bow and stern curved upward. To give the ship strength, the hull was pulled together with cables. Later, when regular trade with the Phoenicians was established and Lebanese cedar began to arrive in large quantities in Egypt, the tree became widely used in shipbuilding.
The wall reliefs of the necropolis near Sakkara dating back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC give an idea of what types of ships were built then. In these compositions, the individual stages of the construction of a plank ship are realistically displayed. The hulls of the ships, which did not have a keel (in ancient times it was a beam lying at the base of the bottom of the ship), or frames (transverse curved beams that ensure the strength of the sides and bottom), were recruited from simple dies and caulked with papyrus. The hull was strengthened by means of ropes that wrapped around the vessel along the perimeter of the upper plating belt. Such ships hardly possessed good seaworthiness. However, they were quite suitable for sailing on the river. The straight sail used by the Egyptians allowed them to sail only with the wind. The rigging was attached to a two-legged mast, both legs of which were set perpendicular to the ship's centerline. At the top, they tied tightly. The steps (nest) for the mast was a beam device in the ship's hull. In the working position, this mast was held by stays - thick cables running from the stern and bow, and legs supported it towards the sides. The rectangular sail was attached to two yards. In a crosswind, the mast was hastily removed.
Later, by about 2600 BC, the two-legged mast was replaced by the one-legged one used today. The one-legged mast made sailing easier and for the first time gave the ship the ability to maneuver. However, the rectangular sail was an unreliable device that could only be used with a fair wind.
The muscular strength of the rowers remained the main engine of the ship. Apparently, the Egyptians were responsible for an important improvement of the oar - the invention of oarlocks. They were not yet in the Old Kingdom, but then they began to fasten the oar with rope loops. This immediately increased the power of the stroke and the speed of the vessel. It is known that the best rowers on the ships of the pharaohs did 26 strokes per minute, which allowed them to reach a speed of 12 km / h. Such ships were controlled with the help of two steering oars located at the stern. Later, they began to be attached to a beam on the deck, by rotating which it was possible to choose the desired direction (this principle of controlling the ship by turning the rudder blade remains unchanged to this day). The ancient Egyptians were not good sailors. On their ships, they did not dare to go to the open sea. However, along the coast, their merchant ships made long journeys. So, in the temple of Queen Hatshepsut there is an inscription informing about a sea voyage made by the Egyptians around 1490 BC. to the mysterious country of incense Punt, located in the area of modern Somalia.
The next step in the development of shipbuilding was taken by the Phoenicians. Unlike the Egyptians, the Phoenicians had an abundance of excellent building materials for their ships. Their country stretched in a narrow strip along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Vast cedar forests grew here almost at the very coast. Already in ancient times, the Phoenicians learned to make high-quality dugout single-wood boats out of their trunks and boldly went out to sea on them.
At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, when sea trade began to develop, the Phoenicians began to build ships. A seagoing vessel is significantly different from a boat; its construction requires its own design solutions. The most important discoveries along this path, which determined the entire subsequent history of shipbuilding, belonged to the Phoenicians. Perhaps the skeletons of animals led them to the idea of installing stiffening ribs on one-woods, which were covered with boards on top. So for the first time in the history of shipbuilding, frames were used, which are still widely used.
In the same way, the Phoenicians first built a keel ship (originally, two trunks connected at an angle served as the keel). The keel immediately gave the hull stability and made it possible to establish longitudinal and lateral connections. Sheathing boards were attached to them. All these innovations were the decisive basis for the rapid development of shipbuilding and determined the appearance of all subsequent ships.
Other inventions in various fields of science, such as chemistry, physics, medicine, education and others, were also recalled.
After all, as we said earlier, this is not surprising. After all, any discovery or invention is another step into the future, which improves our life, and often prolongs it. And if not every, then very, very many discoveries deserve to be called great and are extremely necessary in our life.
Alexander Ozerov, based on the book by Ryzhkov K.V. "One Hundred Great Inventions"
The greatest discoveries and inventions of mankind © 2011
Some of the greatest people of all time are the founders of modern civilization in which mankind now lives. Thanks to genius minds, modern man has at his disposal devices and technologies that bring maximum comfort to his life.
Let's get to know these famous people. Who are the most famous inventors?
10.
Opens a list of the greatest scientists and inventors. His invention is considered to be an aerodynamic machine, with the help of which meteorological instruments were lifted into the air. Lomonosov is also credited with creating the prototype of a modern aircraft. In addition, he is one of the greatest physicists and chemists of his time. The interests and activities of the scientist were versatile and extensive. He was fond of astronomy, geography, geology, history, philology and other sciences.
9.
Humanity owes the creation of radio and radio engineering to such a great mind as. The Russian inventor took part in the creation of the first radio workshop. For his services to the Fatherland in the development of science, he was awarded many prizes. In 1898 he received the prestigious award of the Imperial Russian Technical Society "for a receiver for electrical oscillations and devices for telegraphing at a distance without wires." In addition, Popov was engaged in teaching activities. Among the subjects he taught were physics, electrical engineering and mathematics.
8.
Russian self-taught scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky belongs to the most famous inventors of the USSR. It was he who is considered the founder of theoretical astronautics and aerodynamics. Tsiolkovsky is the inventor of the wind tunnel. At the end of the 19th century, he managed to create an airplane design with metal frame, but the device was built only after two decades. In addition, Tsiolkovsky was a creative person who created a number of works of art.
7.
Included in the list of the most known to the world inventors, writers and politicians... Among all the discoveries of this brilliant man, one can single out the creation of a lightning rod, a Franklin furnace, a glass harmonica, etc. His contribution to medicine is the invention of a flexible urinary catheter. None of Franklin's discoveries were ever patented by him. The scientist was of the opinion that any of the inventions should be opened free of charge.
6.
He is one of the greatest minds of all mankind. It is difficult to overestimate his contribution to science. First of all, Archimedes is known as a brilliant mathematician. Among his practical inventions are siege weapons, as well as mirrors capable of setting fire to material by focusing the sun's rays. The latter invention was used to set fire to sails on Roman ships. In addition, the mathematician contributed to the development of mechanics. He was one of the first to demonstrate the complete theory of leverage in practice. To this day, his invention, which is called the Archimedes screw, is relevant. With the help of this device, water can be transferred from low-lying reservoirs to irrigation canals.
5.
He is one of the most famous minds of science in the United States. The inventor was able to obtain over six hundred patents in his entire life. The scientist has contributed to the development of industrial robots, automated warehouses and wireless radio telephones. He created a fax machine, a VCR and even a video camera. The magnetic tape cassette is also his invention. Lemelson was considered one of the most famous figures of his time. He was an active champion of the rights of independent scientists, which made him disliked by patent offices and many commercial companies. Lemelson was a true workaholic who worked 14 hours a day. Almost every night, the scientist got up several times to write down his next brilliant idea in a notebook, and in the morning he could demonstrate new projects of his future inventions.
4.
Unrecognized during his lifetime as a great scientist, today he is one of the ten most famous inventors. He made a huge contribution to the creation of equipment that operate on alternating current. In addition, thanks to Tesla, multiphase systems, synchronous generators and more appeared. His discoveries marked the beginning of the second industrial revolution. The inventor's contribution to science is related to the fundamentals of robotics, remote control and computer science. Nikola Tesla holds over a hundred patents. Only descendants could appreciate his merits in the world of inventions.
3.
He is one of the most popular scientists who made a huge contribution to the development of mankind. One of the great minds was able to create a telephone as a result of his work with deaf patients. The audiometer is also Bell's brainchild. In addition, he owns such human creations as a metal detector and one of the first airplanes. Subsequently, the inventor created the Institute. Volta, where the improvement of telephony, electrical communications and the phonograph was made. The institute was opened using the proceeds from the creation of a telephone company. He also created the National Geographic Foundation.
2.
He is one of the greatest minds of all time and one of the most famous inventors. Edison holds over 1000 patents in the USA alone and about 3000 worldwide! It is he who owns such merits in the world of inventions as the improvement of the telegraph, telephone and cinema equipment. He is considered one of the first to invent the successful incandescent light bulb. He owns such an invention as a phonograph. In the 28th year of the last century, the great scientist was awarded one of the most prestigious awards - the Gold Medal of the Congress. Edison worked 17 hours a day. It was hard work and perseverance that helped him achieve such success.
1.
Tops the list of the most famous and great inventors of all time. Glory to the scientist came with the invention of the first automobile. He was the first to design a mobile device with an internal combustion engine. After that, the first automobile company appeared, which began to actively implement the innovations of Karl Benz and created the first car with the name Mercedes Benz. The scientist received a patent for a two-stroke gasoline engine in 1878. Later he patented all the important components and systems of the future mobile transport. Benz's contribution to the development of science and progress is not appreciated. Thanks to this man, billions of people move freely around the world on a four-wheeled structure. By the way, the first car had only three wheels.
During 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 the results of large-scale social surveys and the opinions of scientists on this topic. It is quite possible to be guided by 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 life.
Naturally, fire comes first. It was his development that became a turning point in When people realized what fire is and how you can use it, they began to develop their activity at night, protect themselves from predators with it and prepare various (at that time) food. Many have kept it in caves for years, not allowing it to fade. After all, the path to self-production of fire was very long.
There is even an opinion that thanks to fire, the process of evolution began to go faster. After all, bipedal Homo erectus cooked starchy food on it, consuming it, they ensured the rapid assimilation of polysaccharides, contributing to the intensive development of the brain.
Writing
This is definitely also the best invention of mankind. A persuasive speech is not even needed to prove this statement. After all, it was the emergence of writing that laid the foundation for the development of civilization and contributed to the exchange of knowledge between different peoples and cultures. Although it all began in the distant 9000-7000 years. BC, from the early pictograms of Asia Minor (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 has given 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. It was created.In the future, his invention was improved, as well as the method of paper production.
Book
Many say that it is she who is the best invention of mankind. The book, however, deserves this status. Let many now perceive it as a work of print in a binding. But this is only because people are used 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 mankind and its heritage. It is a verbal and historical experience, mystery and pleasure. Reading books, people become more educated and intellectually savvy, enrich their vocabulary, learn to reflect and analyze. They are improving as personalities with a capital letter. It's just a shame that in our age of modern technology people forget about books and don't read as much as they used to.
Electricity
Speaking of a period closer to our time, it would be logical to start with it. In terms of scale, this is indeed 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 this case, electricity has a modern understanding.
Its first functional source was created in the 18th century. Then it was possible to invent a volt pole - a device for obtaining a discharge.
And, I must say, many people interviewed said that they consider the greatest human creation ... a light bulb. You can see why. Day gives way to night, but life does not stop, due to the fact that in our life there are lighting means - light bulbs. Their first prototype was invented by the German watchmaker Heinrich Gebel in 1854. After 26 years, the light bulb was improved by the American inventor Thomas Edison. It was he who gave our world a switch, a base and a cartridge. The tungsten filament was invented in 1890 by the electrical engineer Alexander Lodygin, who also proposed filling the light bulbs with inert gas.
Ball pen
In fact, it is not at all surprising that this thing has crept in among such large-scale discoveries. According to the results of a survey given in the UK, it turned out that most people believe that the ballpoint pen is the best invention of mankind. This simple and everyday piece was created by a Hungarian journalist named in 1938. It is important to note that he was assisted by his brother Georg, who was a chemist by profession.
First, the inventors patented a ballpoint pen in Hungary. But then the Second World War began. In this regard, the brothers moved to Argentina and patented the invention there. After some time, they sold the production rights to ballpoint pens to a company called Eversharp. They were paid $ 1,000,000, which was a huge amount at the time.
Since 1943, the mass production of ballpoint pens has been carried out, which today are indispensable office supplies 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 the life of a modern person. The population of the planet learned about such things as video communication, remote 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 it is used by ~ 4 billion people, and this number is increasing every day. It all started in 1962. It was then that Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider presented the first detailed concept to the world. computer network... 5 years later, work began on the creation of the ARPA Net Internet network. And the first server was installed on 09/02/1969. 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, newsgroups, mailing lists and message boards appeared. And today there is almost everything on the Internet.
Creations from the "noughties"
After a short excursion into history, you can tell about the best inventions of mankind of the 21st century. A new era began with the creation in 2001. Now it is the basis of all LED displays.
In 2002, a breakthrough in medicine was made, marked by the creation of an artificial retina. Then, the following year, technical engineers developed an interface for mentally manipulating objects.
The year 2004 was marked by two amazing inventions at once. 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 presented to mankind.
In 2007, there were no discoveries, but in 2008 the world learned about a passive element from microelectronics, which can change its resistance depending on the charge flowing through it. It was named a memristor.
In the next two years, four more discoveries were made. For the first time, they transferred thoughts to the Internet, created a biological 3D printer, LG specialists developed an ultra-mobile PC, and biologists bred the first living cell, the DNA of which was replaced with an artificial one. It was all really amazing. Much surprises even now. That is why it is so difficult to determine the best invention of mankind.
Until mid-tenths
2012 was also marked by large-scale developments. Then an air display, a virtual reality helmet was created and a method for the production of special soluble electronics was developed.
In 2013, it was possible to establish a laser space communication. And in 2014, they invented the MEMS nanoinjector and a less significant but funny thing - smart chopsticks. Then, in 2015, a “sleeping” bacterium (robotic nano-device) was introduced to the world. It functions as a supersensitive moisture sensor due to the presence of special nano-structures on the surface.
Last years
I would like to finish the story by designating the TOP-10 of the best inventions of mankind for the past, 2016.
The first place is taken by the floating Flyte light bulb, which manages to hover and rotate due to electromagnetism. It glows thanks to the induction resonating connection.
The second place is rightly taken by the Tesla solar roof, which converts the radiation of a luminary into electricity.
The next amazing invention is the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 sneaker with automatic lacing. The dream of all fans of the movie "Back to the Future" has become a reality.
In fourth place is the intelligent multifunctional alarm clock Hello Sense, which monitors sleep cycles and gives the command to wake up at the most suitable moment for its owner.
Also in 2016, there were Eagle 360 tires that rotate in all directions, a "smart" toothbrush, and dishes for people with cognitive problems. In addition, the world saw a powerful and sweet potato fortified with vitamin A, and a tiny drone Dji Mavic Pro, 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, in 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.
It would seem that any invention must be ingenious. But the desire to come up with something unusual sometimes leads to such absurd inventions that it turns out to surprise by all 200%, but not everyone wants to use such an innovation.
The most useless inventions
Probably this man was very fond of women, if it came to his mind to invent 3-legged tights. Indeed, it is a pity for women who throw away 1/6 of their salary to buy tights because of the slightest tightening or a "running" loop. So there were three-legged tights, which were patented in the USA in 1997. And they are not for mutant women. They are dressed like regular tights, and the "third leg" is hidden at the waist. If the tights on one leg are torn, it is enough to replace the “spoiled leg” with a third stocking, and everything will be fine.What's not funny about the subway hat patented in Japan? Put it on your head, pulled it over your eyes, and rest while the train rides. And in order not to oversleep your stop, there is a special slot in it, where a plate with the name of the desired station is inserted. A kind passenger neighbor will always wake up if the owner of such a hat suddenly falls asleep.
Alarm clock for those who are constantly late for work. It looks no different from the usual alarm clock. But a small button the size of a match head is located among the needles densely stuck into the body. It is problematic even for a normal person to press it. But what about those who have spent a stormy night the day before, or whose hands are shaking after a merry feast?
Rotary ice cream was patented in America. The balls inside the cup are constantly moving. It remains only to stick out your tongue and hope that at least a drop of delicacy will reach the “destination”.
Among the eccentric inventors, there are really talented people who have left their "mark" in the world of discoveries.
The most famous inventions
Among residents different countries the world conducted a survey on the most famous invention of mankind. Oddly enough, most of the world's inhabitants did not attach much importance to those inventions that "shook" the world. 
The first place was taken by such an invention as letters. Words and sentences are made of them. This is the language of communication, without which it is impossible to imagine human existence. No inventions or technologies could have come into being if there were no letters, signs, and language.
Anesthesia. It is impossible to imagine how even the simplest operation can be carried out without it. The term "anesthesia" belongs to an ancient Roman physician and pharmacologist who lived in the 1st century AD. He managed to isolate narcotic extracts from mandrake root, which had an analgesic effect.
Laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, which relieves pain after several inhalations, was invented by the English chemist Humphrey Davy. And the invention of anesthesia using diethyl ether belongs to Dr. Morton. From that moment on, surgery learned to control pain.
Antibiotics have protected humanity from epidemics and deadly diseases. The inventor of penicillin, the first antibiotic, was Alexander Fleming, who patented this miraculous medicine in 1928.
How did the invention of the computer change the world?
In the 50s, scientists invented "computers" resembling huge machines, the main task of which was to correctly calculate the trajectory of space flights. These inventions were called computing. Steve Jobs became a computer genius, a man-legend, who patented 230 inventions in the field of information technology. Thanks to his genius, not only laptop computers appeared, but also iPods and iPhone mobile phones.The computer has become not only a means of collecting and processing information. This is not only a way to transfer any data to almost all parts of the world. This invention is irreplaceable in process control. With the help of computers, automated control of production processes, automatic robots, mechanisms for calculating control and measuring data takes place.
They are of great importance in the field of medicine when making diagnoses and examining the body, during the most complex operations, up to transplantation of the heart and other human organs.
Computers are indispensable in the military-technical field. Calculation of flight trajectories of spaceships and satellites, their launch into space, studying the bowels of the earth, predicting natural disasters and observing changes in nature, searching for and extracting minerals, the ability to control the operation of nuclear power plants - these are a meager part of the possibilities that a person received with the invention of the computer.
The most significant invention in the history of mankind
It is rather difficult to single out the most significant invention. Scientists have come to the conclusion that this is not a rocket, not a light bulb, not a television or radio, not the Internet or an iPhone. This is a book. Because the flight of spaceships and airplanes, the mastery of electrical or atomic energy and much more became possible thanks to the invention of the book. Neither the advent of the computer, television or high technology could replace the book. She is the most ancient, reliable carrier and keeper of any information that does not need any external energy. She still fulfills her main task - to educate and teach people. 
Perhaps the most notable know-how was the invention of the wheel. Some units with wheels are truly impressive, for example, the fastest motorcycles can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour in 2.5 seconds. ...
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Modern technologies are rapidly moving forward, making the frames of science fiction films a matter of the near future. They so imperceptibly and organically enter our life that already now there are a number of inventions that make us wonder. We present to your attention a list - Top 10 the most interesting inventions of mankind of the 21st century... Perhaps some of them will turn out to be completely unclaimed, but they have the potential to significantly change our life. It presents both inventions to solve specific problems and technologies that can find application in a variety of areas.
1. Devices for reading minds
In the near future, you can not dream of transferring complex thoughts directly from the brain to various devices. But back in 1998, a gadget went on sale that allows paralyzed people to turn on and off the light with the power of thought. And in 2008, Japanese scientists led by Junichi Ushiba allowed a paralyzed person to give the simplest commands to a character in a computer social game. Already several large companies are now selling telepathic devices that allow you to control applications or toys. They are actively cooperating with game manufacturers, which, given a good development of events, will give a significant result in the future. The use of such devices for medical purposes is also promising. For this reason, a mind reading device, in the future, could become one of the the most useful inventions of mankind.
2.
Studies on overweight people who were not helped by diet showed that most of them secretly ate food, which nullified all efforts. It is impossible to organize such observation for each patient in everyday life. This problem is designed to solve the invention of scientists from the University of Taiwan, which allows you to monitor the amount and frequency of meals. In the future, it is planned to make it more informative and wireless. In addition to nutritionists and psychologists, it can also be useful for doctors of other professions. Of course, if its creators do not abandon work on it and they manage to do everything planned.
3.
Such robots are very useful when performing operations that require special precision and undoubtedly, they can be considered as the most important inventions of mankind made in the 21st century. It may seem that the era of such devices has not yet arrived. But they are already mass-produced and widely used. The most famous surgical robot "daVinci" is a manipulator controlled by a surgeon. Hundreds of thousands of operations are performed on such systems around the world every year. And the American robot "Star" is known for performing intestinal surgery on its own, so it is possible that in the future there will even be competition in this area.
4.
The 3D printer is one of the most useful and most unusual inventions of mankind. This device is primarily associated with simple, home-made plastic figures. But the number of areas in which they are already applied or may be useful is overwhelming. They help engineers design, reducing time and costs. Useful and small items can be printed on them at home. In some industries, especially small-scale ones, the production of parts on 3D printers will be cheaper than on classic lines.
Even in making food, growing organs, and creating medicines, this technology can prove useful. The US and UK authorities have already had to declare illegal any weapon made on 3D printers. Well, for fans of stories about robots that capture the world, it will be interesting to know that there are models that can print more than half of the details for themselves.
5.
Some people believe that this technology has no future, because this moment very few people use it. But these devices give big companies a chance to generate huge profits, so their development will not keep you waiting. The game industry is the most promising for them. In addition, work is underway to organize live broadcasts from sporting events and significant events using virtual reality devices. Movies and TV shows with their help will be able to place a person inside the stories being told, they are already being actively used to train American soldiers. And that's not all: healthcare, education, real estate sales are all potential applications for virtual reality.
6. Sixth Sense
If the previous technology immerses a person in virtual reality, then this device, on the contrary, helps it penetrate our world. This invention can be attributed to the list, which contains the most interesting inventions of mankind. Sixth Sense allows you to use almost any surface as a display and interact with it using your hands with special marks on the fingers. The prototype, made by MIT students, is assembled from available parts and costs only $ 350. The system allows you to find information on the Internet about objects, simply by looking at them, displaying it on any surface. Or dial a phone number by projecting the numbers onto your hand. At the moment, it is at the development stage and is far from its mass release.
7.
They are used by the military with might and main, and even a civilian can buy a model from a store that allows them to take photos and videos from a great height. Their main difference is that the UAV requires a constant exchange of information with the control panel. And drones can perform tasks offline. They are planned to be used for distributing the Internet, delivering medicines, food and other goods. They can also measure indicators in places hazardous to humans. They are already being used for advertising purposes and even as waiters.
8. Holograms
Many people remember scenes from science fiction films, where a conversation is conducted with a person's hologram, which creates the full effect of his presence in the room. At the moment, there are no such technologies. But it is already possible to reproduce a sufficiently high-quality image on the stage. One of the most famous examples of this is Tupac's hologram. And the Japanese Hatsune Miku is generally a completely artificial star who gave real concerts. The first prototypes are presented, providing 3D images of not very high quality. You can even interact with them using your hands.
9.
Caring for critically ill patients is difficult and exhausting work. It is not surprising that inventors from different countries offer their own technical solutions to facilitate it. In the future, such robots may show themselves as one of the most important inventions of mankind. The Japanese have created a robot that can move a person from bed to chair and back, moving long distances. And students at the University of Massachusetts presented an android capable of delivering various subjects and self-learning along the way. Today robots are not able to provide normal human care, they can only perform a few actions. Whether they will be able to replace nurses in full - the future will show.
10. Growing organs
Organ growing is unusual, incredibly rewarding and the most interesting invention of mankind, made in the 21st century and opening up prospects for practically eternal life. The lack of organs suitable for transplantation leads to the fact that many people simply do not wait for their turn or cannot afford such an operation. There is also a thriving black market offering illicit body parts. But cells have an amazing ability to self-organize into complex tissues, which already allows scientists to conduct successful experiments to obtain new organs.
The use of patient cells minimizes the risk of rejection. The cultivation of skin for extensive burns is already actively used, the method of obtaining artificial trachea has been worked out. Teeth, cartilage, blood vessels, muscles, blood, kidneys, bladder - this is far from full list what scientists have managed to obtain in artificial conditions and transplant to animals. Naturally, these technologies have not been worked out and science will have to solve a lot of problems for their widespread implementation.