Technical achievements
comprehensive
The automobile industry and other industries began to use assembly lines. This large-scale production makes commodity prices lower and output more. Therefore, the car has become an important means of transportation. The invention of the spaceship made the world smaller. Spacecraft leads people to the universe, and the exploration of the universe makes us know more about the world outside the earth. The popularity of mass media such as radio, television and movies has brought great influence to mankind. They entertain the public and can also spread all kinds of political information. The invention of pesticides and fertilizers has greatly increased the agricultural output value and brought new environmental pollution. Major discoveries in the fields of basic physics, such as relativity and quantum physics, have brought the inventions of nuclear weapons, nuclear power and lasers to mankind. Cosmology has made great progress, the "Big Bang" theory was established, and human beings began to study the origin of the universe. The invention of washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions and other electrical appliances has greatly improved people's quality of life. The rise of the Internet in the 1990s has greatly influenced human life, changed the original way of life and brought mankind into the information age.
charged
The wide application of electricity in the 20th century brought light to the world, and provided energy for almost every job and cause in modern society: lighting, heating, air conditioning ... Electrification led to countless inventions, making life safer, healthier and more convenient, so that it is difficult to imagine life without electricity. Its influence is enormous, touching the vast majority of people on this planet.
automobile
1900, an ordinary person has to walk 1200 miles in his life, usually with his feet, usually in his own village or town. Today, the average American adult travels only 65,438+00,000 miles by car every year, and there are 500 million cars in the world. In any case, automobiles have become the main means of transportation for people and goods in the world, and the automobile industry has become a stable source of economic growth.
plane
At the beginning of the 20th century, American Wright brothers made great contributions to the history of aircraft development in the world. 1903, the first manned plane "Voyager" 1 was built and successfully tested. Therefore, they won the honorary award of 1909 from the US Congress. In the same year, they established Wright Aircraft Company. Since the invention of the airplane, it has become an indispensable means of transportation for modern civilization. It profoundly changes and affects people's lives.
supply water
At the beginning of the 20th century, water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera ravaged the world. Dysentery is the most common water-borne disease and the third leading cause of death. The success of water supply system has prolonged life expectancy, reduced infant mortality, greatly improved agricultural productivity and improved the quality of life all over the world.
electron
From vacuum tubes and transistors to microprocessors, electronic devices are getting smaller, more powerful and more efficient. The core of the electronic system sweeping the world in the second half of the 20th century is the integrated circuit. Brilliant technologies and inventions are hidden in intangible elements, which make wireless communication, satellite broadcasting, air traffic control system and many other new technologies improve the quality, safety and convenience of modern life.
roentgen rays
The greatest feat of the 20th century: X-ray. Introduction: Electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between ultraviolet and gamma rays. It was discovered by German physicist W.K. Roentgen in 1895, so it is also called Roentgen ray. Ultra-hard x-rays with wavelength less than 0. 1 angstrom, hard x-rays with range of 0. 1~ 1 angstrom, and soft x-rays with range of1~1angstrom.
Radio and television
The use of radio and television is a great substitute for social change in the 20th century, which opens a window to other lives, distant regions of the world and emerging history.
Agricultural mechanization
In the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, it took a lot of manpower to grow or harvest a crop for several weeks, and every four farmers fed 10 people. Today, the grain crops in the whole midwest can be sown in 10 and harvested in 20 days. A farmer can provide food for 97 Americans. The popularization of advanced agricultural technology in the world provides a guarantee for the fight against famine in the new Millennium.
computer
Computer An electronic computer used for high-speed calculation can perform both numerical calculation and logical calculation, and also has the functions of storage and memory.
In the 20th century, the computer changed from a big and bulky machine to a portable tool and became an important part of every major industry. The real computer revolution lies not in the number of bytes, but in the fact that all people, regardless of their geographical location and political views, can share information and learn from each other.
Generally speaking, "the first electronic digital computer recognized in the world" is considered by most people as "ENIAC" which came out in 1946. It is mainly used to calculate the trajectory. It is made by Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, USA. It has a huge volume, covers an area of over 170 square meters, weighs about 30 tons, and consumes nearly 150 kilowatts of electricity. Obviously, such computers are expensive and inconvenient to use. This statement is widely used in basic computer textbooks. In fact, in 1973, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States, the earliest electronic digital computers should be john atanasoff, an associate professor of physics at Iowa State University, and his graduate assistant Clifford E. Berry (19 18- 1963) in1939/kloc-. The reason for this misunderstanding is that a man named Moakley in ENIAC's research group plagiarized John Atanasov's research results in 194 1 and applied for a patent in 1946. For various reasons, this error was not reversed until 1973. (See "john atanasoff" in Baidu Encyclopedia for details. I hope everyone will remember ABC and john atanasoff, and I hope this mistake can be corrected in future textbooks). Later, in order to commend and commemorate john atanasoff's great contribution in the computer field, former US President Bush awarded john atanasoff the "National Science and Technology Award", the highest American science and technology award. This is the latest stage of computer development since 1970s. By 1970, "Cray" made of LSI and VLSI made computers enter the fourth generation. With the invention of VLSI, electronic computers are constantly upgrading to miniaturization, miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence and systematization. In the 1990s, computers developed in the direction of "intelligence", creating computers similar to human brains, which can do thinking, learning, memory and network communication.
telephone
1793, the Chape brothers in France set up a 230-kilometer-long support line between Paris and Lille to relay information. This is a communication system consisting of 16 signal towers. The signalman controls the different angles of the bracket through the rope and pulley at the bottom to express relevant information. At that time, France and Austria were at war, and it took only one hour for the signal system to transmit the news of Dai Shengli-on-Aceh from the Austrian army to Paris. In the 20th century, the telephone has changed from limited use to the core of advanced technology that forms the basis of modern lifestyle. The almost instantaneous connection between friends, family, work and country makes it possible to improve communication in life, industry and economy.
Air conditioning and refrigeration
In the 20th century, Carrier founded the company, which is still one of the largest air-conditioning companies in the world. But in the 20 years after the invention of air conditioning, it has always been a machine, not a person. Until 1924, in a shopping mall in Detroit, many people often fainted because of the sultry weather. Three central air conditioners were first installed, which was a great success. The cool environment has greatly increased people's desire for consumption. Since then, air conditioning has become a powerful tool for merchants to attract customers, and the era of air conditioning serving people has officially arrived. With the improvement of air conditioning and refrigeration system, work and entertainment are no longer subject to the weather, and human beings have truly adapted the environment to their own needs.
highway
Freeways have opened up our country, enabling goods and services to reach remote places and promoting the development of suburbs. Provide more employment opportunities, medical care, services, education and cultural resources for people everywhere.
spacecraft
1957, the Soviet satellite 1 pierced the atmosphere, shook the world and started the space race, which aroused the most important engineering plan in American history. The resulting space program has a great influence on people all over the world.
internet
In the 1960s, the Internet was conceived as a tool to connect universities and government research centers, allowing various computers to exchange information and share resources through the national network. It is changing cultural patterns, business practices, consumer goods industries and research and education. Its possible future use has just begun to manifest itself.
In addition, the greatest technological achievements include imaging technology, household appliances, health technology, petroleum technology, laser and optical fiber, nuclear technology and high-performance materials.
Nuclear energy and nuclear technology
The energy produced and released by nuclear fission and fusion reaction is far greater than that produced by mechanical energy and chemical energy. The peaceful use of nuclear energy provides mankind with a safe, clean and inexhaustible energy treasure house.
1942, the United States built the world's first atomic reactor, and realized the chain nuclear fission reaction controlled manually for the first time. 1945 the first atomic bomb exploded successfully. 1952 the first light nuclear fusion hydrogen bomb exploded successfully. 1954, the Soviet Union built the world's first atomic power station. After the 1960s, nuclear power plants entered the practical stage and have become an important energy source, accounting for about 1/5 of the global total power generation.
Nuclear technology is also widely used in agriculture, medical care, materials, archaeology and environmental protection. The mass production of radioisotopes began in the 1940s, and Billy invented the dating method of C 14 in 1947. In 195 1, radioactive elements such as Co60 are used to treat cancer. Since 1970s, computed tomography (CT) has been widely used in clinic, and it developed into magnetic resonance scanning (MRI) in the early 1980s.
Aerospace and space technology
1903- 19 14, tsiolkovsky put forward the navigation theory powered by rockets, which laid the foundation of astronautics. 19 19, Goddard put forward the mathematical principle of rocket flight, and successfully launched the world's first liquid fuel rocket in 1926. From 65438 to 0942, the liquid military flying arrow designed and launched by Braun became the blueprint of rocket development in various countries after World War II.
1957, the Soviet union launched the world's first artificial earth satellite with the rocket device of intercontinental missiles, and the "space age" began. 196 1 year, the Soviet union launched a manned spacecraft, and humans flew into space for the first time. 1969, American Apollo 1 1 landed on the moon, and man left his first footprint on the moon. 197 1 year, the Soviet union built a space station, and for the first time, human beings had an activity base in space. 198 1 year, the United States successfully launched the space shuttle, and since then, humans have been free to enter and leave space. Since the late 1950s, human beings have begun to explore the moon, planets in the solar system and distant interplanetary space. Up to now, more than 65,438+000 space probes have been launched to reveal the formation and evolution of the universe, explore the origin of life and the influence of space environment on human living environment.