Great Modern

Inventions
that Changed the
World
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018
The Electric Dynamo – Michael Faraday (1831)

• Dynamo - electrical generator that

creates direct current using a
commutator
- was coined in 1831
by Michael Faraday, who utilized his
invention toward making many discoveries
in electricity

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Analytical Engine (Computer) – Charles Babbage (1860s)

Analytical Engine
• forerunner of the modern
computer
• has the ability to be
programmed and calculate

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Pasteurization – Louis Pasteur (1864)
• a way to prevent the growth of
bacteria in substances such as wine,
beer and milk
• made milk much safer to drink

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Plastic – John Wesley Hyatt (1869)
Cellulose Nitrate and Camphor were
combined to produce a moldable versatile
material – Celluloid.
a waxy, flammable, white or transparent solid with a strong
aroma; a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Telephone – Alexander Bell (1876)
Alexander Bell
• Scottish-born American inventor
• a teacher for the deaf at Boston
University
• Patented on March 7, 1876

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Phonograph – Thomas Edison(1877)
• recording and reproduction of sound
• called a gramophone in its later
forms
• called a record player since the
1940s

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Lightbulb – Thomas Edison (1879)
• first public demonstration of
incandescent light bulb on
December 31, 1879
"We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich
will burn candles.“ Thomas Edison

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Bicycle – John Kemp Starley (1885)
• introduction of a chain to link pedals
to back wheel

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

Motor Carriage – Karl Friedrich Benz (1885)
Karl Friedrich Benz
• German engine designer and
automobile engineer
• His Benz Patent Motorcar from
1885 is considered the first
practical automobile

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Aluminium 1886

Until the 1890s, Aluminium was

considered a precious metal because
it was so hard to isolate. However,
Ohio chemist, Charles Martin Hall
discovered how to isolate Aluminium,
through a process of electrolysis.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Pneumatic Tire – John Boyd Dunlop(1888)
Tire was developed as a way to make
tricycle riding more comfortable. His first
attempt involved using an old garden
hose fitted with air. He later developed
this idea using a rubber pneumatic tire
and filed for a patent in 1888. It was later
used on both bikes and motor cars.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Box Camera – 1888
George Eastman Kodak developed the first
small Kodak box camera made
photography much more accessible to the
public.
Brownie is the name of a long-running
popular series of simple and
inexpensive cameras made by Eastman
Kodak.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Electrons discovered 1897

John Joseph Thompson was the first

scientist to show that the atom wasn’t the
smallest particle, but, was actually
composed of even tinier particles of which
electrons were one.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Radioactivity Measured - 1898
Marie Curie played a key role in the
discovery and measurement of
radioactivity. Her discoveries led to the
successful implementation and use of X-
ray machines by the First World War

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Transatlantic Telegram

Marconi developed the first long-distance

wireless communication. On 12 December
1901, the first telegram was sent across
the Atlantic in Morse code.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Different Blood Types 1901

Karl Landsteiner isolated different

blood groups enabling the first
successful blood transfusion later.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Aeroplane 1903
The Wright brothers piloted the first
successful heavier than air aeroplane on
Dec 17th, 1903. Within a few years,
aeroplanes were successfully navigating
long distances and soon began to
transform both wartime and global travel.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Vacuum – 1908
James Murray Spangler invented the
electric vacuum cleaner. The first model
used a broomstick, pillow and a box
containing electric motor and fan. He
applied for a patent in 1908. William
Hoover helped finance its development
for the mass market.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Radar 1924

Edward Appleton developed a way

of detecting aircraft using sonic
radar. This proved useful in the
Second World War for the British
who pioneered the use of radar.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Email 1972
The first true email system was
MIT’s CTSS MAIL, in 1965. But, it
only worked for those logged into
the system. Email networks included
the first ARPANET email sent in 1972
developed by Ray Tomlinson.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 The Personal computer 1980s

In the 1980s, the microchip enabled

households to have their own
personal computer. This enabled
people to print letters, use for
relaxation and multiple other uses.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 The Mobile Phone 1980s
The mobile phone enabled people to
take calls on the move, rather than
be tied to a landline. Mobile phones
also enabled text messages to be
sent.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 Internet/World Wide Web 1990

Tim Berners Lee wrote software for

the World Wide Web (WWW) in
1990. This helped to revolutionize
the internet and make it freely
available to the world.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018

 The Smartphone 2000s

The Smartphone combined many

technologies in one. The modern
smartphone has enabled calls, texts,
internet access, camera and a variety
of apps.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY ACN/ 2018