inventions that changed the world
Inventions that Changed the World
Necessity is the mother of invention, is a common saying and indeed. Some inventions that changed the world were fueled by the desire to fulfill some or the other necessity.
- The first invention that should be mentioned is that of gunpowder. Historians may argue that gunpowder was not invented but discovered. Anyhow, the discovery of gunpowder, drastically changed the way battles were fought.
- Then Archimedes screw, was a revolutionary invention that was invented on some simple principles of physics, in order to facilitate irrigation. Initially this invention was used in order to simplify agriculture. Today we use it in every possible gadget and machine.
- The Indus valley civilization is credited as the innovator of the plow and hoe. These two inventions facilitated early agricultural activities. There are several other places where the plow and hoe had been used. Egyptian paintings, relics from Babylon and primitive farming techniques from South America show that this invention was discovered by several civilizations.
- Arithmetic is something that I thoroughly hate when it comes to studying it in textbooks, but from a historical point of view, it is quite interesting. Aryabhatta, a mathematics genius was first initiator of modern mathematical concepts such as zero, decimals, geometry, trigonometry, and algebra. It would have been impossible to live without such concepts.
- Surgery is a profession that came into being very late is a misconception. Sushruta, a medical practitioner from India, around 800 BC, performed cataract surgeries, plastic surgeries, successfully in his time. An Ayurveda practitioner, Sushruta wrote a book Sushruta Samhita, during the course of his practice. In his book he described, 120 surgical instruments, 300 procedures, and 8 categorizes of surgeries. Believe it or not, we do use all the procedures and also the instruments even today.
- The Chinese and Egyptian civilizations played a highly instrumental role in the development of paper. It led to the development to communication, literature, and rapid spread of knowledge. The paper, in different forms was eventually used by several other civilizations.
- One great discovery that helped save many lives was penicillin. Penicillin was the first discovered antibiotic. It has become the basis of many other essential antibiotic synthesis. This discovery is credited to a famous scientist by the name of Alexander Fleming from Scotland.
- The wheel had been invented a long time ago and as the spread of trade and commerce began to attain greater speed, James Watt and Thomas Newcomen, came up with genuine mechanisms to use the power of steam. Their invention set things into such a great motion that they have never slowed down.
- Among the significant inventions that altered the course of human history, Thomas Edison's bulb holds a special place. The invention has two great merits - one it gave light to the world and second it proved that impossible situations can be overcome with patience and sheer logic.
- The modern world has become a place of extremely fast communications. The person who can be credited to have started the revolution is Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone is probably the one that has influenced the modern world the most.