It also brings two biggest dangers, namely the proliferation of nuclear weapons and human cloning.
The Century of Invention: Creation and Destruction
Many amazing ideas and many people's lives were born in the 20th century.
Live more comfortably, healthily and live longer than before, but at the same time make human beings
Mastered the tools to destroy yourself.
Let's take an inventor's eye in 1900 and use some magical power.
Look at life after a century.
Because of this, he will know some machines, such as cars, telephones and airplanes.
Machines were all invented a century ago.
There are also some machines, such as spaceships, lasers and deep-sea ships. , only
This is what futurists living in his time imagined.
Other machines he can't imagine: computers, internet, nuclear energy, foundations.
Because of engineering or something.
The past 100 years began with carriages and pens. Knowledge belongs only to
Libraries and a few upper-class people, as well as diseases, epidemics and deformities, will be caught prematurely.
To human life.
At the end of this century, robot messengers were sent from the earth to the solar system.
The outermost layer has e-mail and satellite live broadcast, and knowledge is obtained through the Internet.
In order to popularize, breakthroughs in the medical field have also made plagues, smallpox and cataracts become bibles.
Story telling.
As the century of physics gives way to the century of biotechnology, more miracles will appear.
Sometime next year, molecular biologists will publish the first draft of human genes.
Science writer Matt Ridley wrote in his forthcoming book Genes
: "In a few short years, our knowledge of our genes will change from ignorance to ignorance.
Just like the back of my hand. "
"I sincerely believe that we live in the greatest era of knowledge in human history.
There's nothing we don't understand. "
It is predicted that after 25 years, DNA can be destroyed.
The genetic composition of the patient was analyzed, and the doctor could prescribe the correct prescription for the patient according to the analysis results.
Transgenic drugs for treating various cancers, hemophilia, heart disease and sickle cell disease.
Anemia and other diseases.
It is also possible to find ways to prevent and treat AIDS, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease.
Complex brain diseases, such as Down's disease (a hereditary chronic chorea) and mad cow disease.
Vaccine or method.
Nano-robots the size of bacteria can swim with people's blood flow and check.
Measure important signals of human body or remove dangerous deposits in arteries.
However, there is another side to the story.
The 20th century began in an atmosphere full of hope, and people are convinced that science is promoting.
A tool for human progress. Jules verne once said optimistically: "As long as people can."
There is always someone who can do what he wants. "
But two world wars and a cold war made many outstanding scientists become
Destruction, not progress.
With the coming of 2 1 century, people often feel the research carried out in the laboratory.
Fear and doubt.
Two breakthroughs in the field of knowledge-nuclear fission and DNA research have also brought
The two greatest dangers are the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the danger of human cloning.
The philosopher Russell once wrote: "Science has improved human's control over nature."
Ability, so it is considered possible to increase human happiness and prosperity. Only in this case.
It can be based on rationality, but in fact, human beings are always bound by passion and instinct.
. "
The following are some of the most important inventions and discoveries of this century:
Plane: 1903, Wright brothers, two bicycle manufacturers, made their first plane flight.
Dynamic flight test. 1930, British engineer Frank Whittle applied for a jet plane for the first time.
Patents for engines. But Germany's achievements in aviation research make it the first.
Heinckel Hull 178, a country that has successfully studied jet aircraft, was developed by German.
The plane flew into the blue sky at 1939.
The first jetliner, Britain's Comet 1, was successfully tested in 1949. 2
0 years later, Boeing 7 47 wide-body jet developed on the basis of this aircraft.
Airplanes make international air travel faster, more comfortable and cheaper. Future development project
Including a very large passenger plane that can accommodate 700 passengers; The latest supersonic Concorde:
And the incredible "air car"-a car that can still fly in the air.
Television: When it comes to the invention of television, people usually think of the Scottish Project.
John baird. He first made a device with 8 imaging lines for him at 1923.
Applied for a patent. 1930, the first TV set was put on the market, and he killed the equipment.
It's called a TV receiver.
1932, the BBC began to transmit the world's first set of timed broadcast electricity.
Watch the show. Today, TV programs have been transmitted through wireless relay stations, cables and satellites.
Travel all over the world. But public opinion is still debating whether it is beneficial to education or culture.
Debate about natural disasters.
Penicillin: the specific drug of this century, which was invented by Alexander, a Scot, in 1928.
Fleming found it. At that time, he found a mold that could kill bacteria in a Petri dish.
But it was not until 10 years later that three researchers from Oxford University discovered this kind of research.
When mold was purified and used as medicine, his discovery was widely accepted.
Use. The mass production of penicillin began at 1943, which was greatly improved during World War II.
Push. Penicillin saved countless lives and led to the birth of the whole antibiotic family.
Atomic fission: The controversial atomic age began at 1942. At that time, as
Part of the Manhattan project to develop nuclear weapons is located in the University of Chicago Gymnasium.
The nuclear reactor has reached a critical state.
On July 1945, the first atomic bomb was in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
The explosion succeeded. A month later, two atomic bombs (a uranium bomb and a plutonium bomb) were in phase.
After the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. After World War II, between the United States and the Soviet Union
Confrontation dragged the world into a terrible arms race. Nuclear energy is now in developed countries.
To wide application.
Electronic computer: The first practical electromechanical computer was made in England in 1943.
Mathematics was invented by alan turing. This computer called "Giant" is used to decipher.
Nazi code.
Since then, constant innovation has made electronic computers smaller and smaller, but their capabilities have been improved.
Thousands of times higher: transistor (1947), integrated circuit (1 959) and micro.
The invention of processor (1970) improved the speed of data operation; Hard disk (1956)
The invention of modem (1980) and mouse (1983) improved the gain.
Ability to retrieve data. There will be some "smart" devices in the future: watches, for example.
Dialog box, which can remind you to buy milk in time, such as refrigerator.
Birth control pill: 1954 was invented by American doctor gregory pincus. This kind of mouth
Taking pills-a mixture of two hormones that inhibit ovulation-can trigger a
Sex and social revolution. For the first time, women can effectively control their fertility, enabling them to
Choose whether and when to have children. In the process of this revolution, women put
Get rid of the shackles of sexual freedom and the right to work, and finally make them politically and
The economy has reached an unprecedented position.
DNA:1953 On February 28th, British scientist francis crick was in Cambridge.
A bar announced, "We have discovered the secret of life." Crick and America
Human James Walson determined that DNA is a double helix molecule existing in the nucleus,
Can determine heredity.
Deciphering the genetic codes of humans, animals and plants has opened the way for conquering diseases and increasing food production.
Expand broad prospects. In the next1/4th century, researchers may be interested in cancer and heart.
Diseases, hemophilia, diabetes and many fatal diseases find gene therapy. But genetic research
This also raises ethical issues such as cloning.
Laser: The concept of laser originated from the idea of laser wave put forward by Einstein in 19 17.
. But it was not until 40 years later that Gordon Gould, a doctoral student at Columbia University in new york,
Found the powerful power of "stimulating radiation to emit an amplified beam" (that is, laser), and will
After this light beam is applied to cutting heated substances and measuring distances, the idea becomes.
Reality.
Gould spent nearly 30 years patenting his discovery. At that time,
The laser technology he discovered has been widely used in many fields, such as welding and scanning.
, surgery, computer, CD, VCD and retail.
Organ transplantation: 1967 is a milestone. That year, South African doctor Christie.
Ann Bernard performed the world's first heart transplant for a patient. And research control
Drugs for organ transplant rejection have been continuously developed, and today's doctors can
Transplanting hands, liver, skin, retina and even testicles for patients. from now on
In the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, the area that needs to be overcome will be brain cell metastasis.
Plants, and allogeneic transplantation-that is, transplanting animal organs into the human body.
IVF: luis brown celebrated her 2 1 birthday this year. This kind of English
China girl is the first test-tube baby in the world-an egg taken from her mother.
And her father's sperm. The first application of embryo freezing technology is 1984.
Embryo transfer started on 1990. Test tube technology brings hope and joy to infertile couples.
At the same time, it also caused some ethical problems. For example, women in their 50 s or even 60 s
Do you have the right to have children, because parents died when children were young.
Space exploration:1On October 4th, with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1
A small satellite orbiting the earth and sending out a beep signal was successfully launched.
The space age has begun. 1961April 12, Soviet astronaut yuri gagarin became a member of the Soviet Union.
The first man to go into space. 1969 On July 20th, neil armstrong landed on the moon.
This ball marks that Americans have won the race to the moon. Other space powers are Western Europe (
European Space Agency), China and Japan.
Satellites shorten the distance around the world and provide people with cheap and instant communication.
Voice, television, radio and data link services are also used for navigation, weather forecasting and science.
Scientific research provides information. Man has begun to explore the planets in the solar system. follow
With the completion of the International Space Station in the next millennium, manned space flight will enter a new era.
Internet: It is a tool to break the information fortress, which enables people to obtain information cheaply.
This knowledge becomes possible. The Internet was developed by a secret communication network of the Pentagon.
Get up. It is like a spider web, even if a part of the network cable is interrupted, the whole network is still.
In good condition. The first network communication, good data packet exchange, is 196 9, in Nanjia.
Between the computers of two laboratories in the state.
In 1989, the Internet was widely used among people. British computer odd number
Only Tim Berners Lee has designed a system that is not limited by central system engineering and special software.
Bundle, easy-to-use connection mode and data transmission address. Today's network users have
It is estimated that it will increase to 500 million by 2003.