The article invites 12 scientists, historians and technical experts to list the wheel (the wheel is considered as one of the greatest inventions of mankind, and it is generally believed that its large-scale use began about 6000 years ago.
) The greatest innovation since it came out.
Here are their results:
1. Printing machine (65438+11930s)
The invention of the printing press is a turning point, which marks the beginning of free replication of knowledge.
2. Electricity (/kloc-end of 0/9)
The electric light bulb was born, as well as the following inventions 4, 9, 16, 24, 28, 44, 45, and most objects in modern life.
3. Penicillin (1928)
1928 was discovered by accident, but antibiotics were widely used after World War II.
At that time, antibiotics became a panacea for diseases that used to be considered incurable.
4. Semiconductor electronic products (mid-20th century)
This is the material basis of the virtual world.
5. Optical lens (13rd century)
The invention of glasses greatly improved the collective IQ of human beings, which eventually led to the birth of microscopes and telescopes.
6. Paper (2nd century)
"With paper, painting became a natural thing, but before the invention of paper, people could not afford it economically.
"-Charles Mann (American contemporary science and technology writer)
7. Internal combustion engine (end of 20th century)
Internal combustion engines convert air and fuel into power, eventually replacing steam engines.
8. Vaccinia vaccine (1796)
1796, British doctor edward jenner used vaccinia virus to prevent smallpox.
But it was not until Louis Pasteur developed the rabies vaccine in 1885 that the medical community and some governments began to accept that making a person sick could prevent him from getting sick.
9. Internet (1960s)
Internet is the infrastructure of the digital age.
10. Steam engine (17 12)
The steam engine provided power for factories, trains and ships, and promoted the development of the industrial revolution.
1 1. Nitrogen fixation technology (19 18)
Fritz Haber, a German chemist and the father of chemical weapons, won the Nobel Prize for inventing synthetic ammonia.
The method of synthesizing ammonia has been used to produce new fertilizers that are crucial to the green revolution.
12. Health system (1mid-9th century)
The advent of health system is one of the main reasons why human beings live 40 years longer than 1880.
13. Refrigeration technology (65438+1950s)
"The discovery of refrigeration has changed our way of eating and even our way of life, and its far-reaching significance is almost equivalent to the discovery of cooking methods.
"-George Dyson (American contemporary science and technology writer)
14. gunpowder (10 century)
With the invention of gunpowder, human beings "outsourced" killing to machines.
15. Aircraft (1903)
Airplanes have changed the way we travel and fight and our world view.
16. Personal computers (11970s)
Like lever (item 48) and abacus (item 43), personal computers have improved human capabilities.
17. Compass (12nd century)
Compasses show us the way, even at sea.
18. Cars (ended on 19)
Cars have changed our daily life, culture and scenery.
19. industrial steelmaking technology (65438+1950s)
Bessemer steelmaking process makes it possible to produce steel on a large scale, which has become the basis of modern industry.
20. Oral contraceptives (1960)
Oral contraceptives set off a social revolution.
2 1. Nuclear fission (1939)
Nuclear fission technology has given mankind new power to destroy and create.
22. Green Revolution (mid-20th century)
The combination of synthetic fertilizer (1 1 item) and scientific plant breeding (38 items) has greatly increased the world grain output, and more than 65,438 billion people have been spared from hunger.
23. sextant (1757)
People can use sextant to locate stars and make maps.
24. Telephone (1876)
With the telephone, people's voices can "spread".
25. In alphabetical order (BC 1000)
People can use this method to retrieve knowledge.
26. Telegraph (1837)
Joel Morkill (American contemporary economic historian) said that before the invention of the telegraph, "the speed of information transmission was as slow as a person riding a horse".
27. mechanical clocks and watches (15th century)
A mechanical clock can be used to time.
28. Radio (1906)
Radio demonstrated the ability of electronic mass media to spread ideas for the first time.
29. Photography (1early 9th century)
Photography technology has changed news, art and culture, and also changed the way people witness its true colors.
30. Ploughshare (18th century)
First of all, the plough share has the ability to cultivate and turn over the soil at the same time.
Without plows, agriculture as we know it would not exist in northern Europe and the midwest of the United States.
3 1. Archimedes screw pump (3rd century BC)
People think that this ancient Greek scientist is one of the earliest water pump designers.
This kind of water pump has changed the irrigation method, and many sewage treatment plants are still using it.
32. Cotton gin (1793)
The cotton gin once institutionalized the cotton industry in the southern United States.
33. Pasteurization (1863)
This is one of the achievements that louis pasteur's theory of bacteria was put into practical application for the first time.
Pasteurization refers to the sterilization of wine, beer and milk by heating, which is usually considered as one of the most effective public health interventions in history.
34. Gregorian calendar (1582)
Gregorian calendar (now Gregorian calendar) was improved from julian calendar: it jumped forward by 65,438+00 days, making the world synchronized with the four seasons.
35. Oil refining technology (1mid-9th century)
Without oil refining technology, oil drilling technology (item 39) will become meaningless.
36. Steam Turbine (1884)
Turbines play an important role in today's energy infrastructure: turbines account for 80% of the world's total power generation.
37. Cement (BC 1000)
Cement laid the foundation of civilization.
38. Scientific Plant Breeding Method (1920s)
At the beginning of the 20th century, some scientists discovered a paper written by Austrian botanist gregor Mendel in 1866, but it has long been forgotten.
Only then did we find a method of plant breeding.
39. Oil Drilling Technology (1859)
Oil drilling technology promotes the development of modern economy, but it also leads to climate change.
40. Sailing boat (4000 BC)
Sailing has changed people's way of traveling, fighting and world outlook.
4 1. Rocket Technology (1926)
"This is the only way for us to leave the earth so far."
42. Paper money (1 1 century)
"Paper money" is an abstract concept at the core of modern economy.
43. Abacus (3000 BC)
Abacus is one of the earliest tools to improve human intelligence.
44. Air conditioning equipment (1902)
Without air conditioning, would people start businesses in Houston or Bangalore?
45. Television (early 20th century)
Television has brought the world to people's homes.
46. Anesthesia method (1846)
In response to the first public exhibition of Ether, George W. Oliver Vendel Homas wrote: "The scene of extreme pain has been completely forgotten, and the eyebrows locked by suffering have been smoothed forever."
47. Nails (2000 BC)
Nails "give people a place to live, thus prolonging their life"-Leslie Berlin (American contemporary historian)
48. Lever (3000 BC)
The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids without wheels.
It is believed that they relied heavily on leverage at that time.
49. Assembly line (19 13)
The assembly line turned the manual economy into a mass market economy.
50. Combine harvester (11930s)
Combine harvesters have promoted agricultural modernization, and people can engage in new jobs.