Discoveries and inventions of modern times. Brilliant inventions made by accident (16 photos)

Humanity could not exist without constant progress, the discovery and implementation of new technologies, inventions and discoveries. Today, many of them are already outdated and are no longer needed, while others, like a wheel, still serve.

The whirlpool of time swallowed many discoveries, and some were recognized and implemented only after tens and hundreds of years. Numerous questions have been asked to find out which inventions of mankind are the most significant.

One thing is clear - there is no consensus. Nevertheless, a universal ten of the greatest discoveries in human history was compiled.

Surprisingly, it turned out that the achievements of modern science have not shaken the significance of some basic discoveries for most people. Most inventions are so old that it is impossible to accurately name their author.

Fire. It's hard to challenge first place. People discovered beneficial features fire for quite a long time. With its help it was possible to warm up and illuminate, change the taste properties of food. Initially, man dealt with “wild” fire arising from fires or volcanic eruptions. Fear gave way to curiosity, and the flame migrated into the cave. Over time, man learned to make fire himself, which became his constant companion, the basis of the economy, protection from animals. As a result, many subsequent discoveries became possible only thanks to fire - ceramics, metallurgy, steam engines, etc. The path to making fire on their own was long - for years people kept home fires in their caves until they learned how to make it using friction. Two sticks of dry wood were taken, one of which had a hole. The first one was placed on the ground and pressed. The second one was inserted into the hole and began to be quickly rotated between the palms. The wood heated up and ignited. Of course, such a process required a certain skill. With the development of mankind, other ways of producing open fire arose.

Wheel. The Cart is closely related to this discovery. Scientists believe that the prototype of the wheel was the rollers that were placed under stones and tree trunks during transportation. Probably, then someone observant noticed the properties of rotating bodies. So, if the log-roller in the center was thinner than at the edges, then it moved more evenly, without deviating to the sides. People noticed this, and a device appeared, now called a stingray. Over time, the design changed; all that remained of the solid log were two rollers at the ends connected by an axis. Later, they generally began to be made separately, fastening them together only later. And so the wheel was discovered, which immediately began to be used in the first carts. Over the next centuries and millennia, people worked hard to improve this important invention. At first, solid wheels were rigidly connected to the axle, rotating with it. But at the turn the heavy cart could break. And the wheels themselves were imperfect; they were originally made from a single piece of wood. This led to the fact that the first carts were rather slow and clumsy, and they were harnessed to strong but leisurely oxen. A major step in evolution was the invention of the wheel with a hub mounted on a fixed axle. To reduce the weight of the wheel itself, they came up with the idea of ​​cutting cuts in it, strengthening it with transverse braces for rigidity. In the Stone Age, it was impossible to create a better option. But with the advent of metals in human life, wheels received metal rims and spokes, they were able to rotate tens of times faster and were no longer afraid of stones and wear. Fleet-footed horses began to be harnessed to the cart, and the speed increased noticeably. As a result, the wheel became a discovery that gave perhaps the most powerful impetus to the development of all technology.

Writing. Few would deny the significance of this invention for the entire development of mankind. Where would the development of our civilization go if at a certain stage we had not learned to record the necessary information with certain symbols? This made it possible to save it and transmit it. It is obvious that without writing our society in its current form simply would not exist. The first forms of symbols for transmitting information arose about 6 thousand years ago. Before this, people used more primitive signals - smoke, branches... Later, more complex methods of data transmission arose, for example, the Incas used knots for this. Laces different color tied in various knots and attached to a stick. The addressee deciphered the message. This kind of writing was also practiced in China and Mongolia. However, writing itself appeared only with the invention graphic symbols. Pictographic letters were first adopted. On them, in the form of a drawing, people schematically depicted phenomena, events, objects. Pictography was widespread back in the Stone Age, and it did not require much learning. But to convey complex thoughts or abstract concepts this type of writing was not suitable. Over time, symbols began to be introduced into pictograms to denote certain concepts. Thus, crossed hands symbolized exchange. Gradually, primitive pictograms became clearer and more defined, and writing became ideographic. Its highest form was hieroglyphic writing. It first originated in Ancient Egypt, then spread to the Far East - Japan, China. Such symbols already made it possible to reflect any thoughts, even the most complex ones. But for an outsider it was very difficult to understand the secret, and for someone who wanted to learn to read and write, it was necessary to learn several thousand characters. As a result, only a few could master this skill. And only 4 thousand years ago the ancient Phoenicians came up with an alphabet of letters and sounds, which became a model for many other peoples. The Phoenicians began to use 22 consonant letters, each of which denoted a different sound. The new writing made it possible to convey any word graphically, and learning to write became much easier. Now it has become the property of the entire society, this fact contributed to the rapid spread of the alphabet throughout the world. It is believed that 80% of the alphabets common today have Phoenician roots. The last significant changes to the Phoenician letters were made by the Greeks - they began to denote not only consonants, but also vowel sounds with letters. The Greek alphabet, in turn, formed the basis of most European ones.

Paper. This invention is closely related to the previous one. The inventors of paper were the Chinese. It's hard to call this an accident. Since ancient times, China has been famous not only for its love of books, but also complex system bureaucratic management with constant reports. That is why there was a special need for inexpensive and compact writing material. Before the advent of paper, people wrote here on silk and bamboo tablets. However, these materials were poorly suited - silk was expensive, and bamboo was heavy and bulky. They say that some works required a whole cart to transport them. The invention of paper came from the processing of silk cocoons. The women boiled them, and then, spreading them out on a mat, ground them until smooth. The water was filtered from it to obtain silk wool. After this treatment, a thin fibrous layer remained on the mats, which, after drying, turned into paper suitable for writing. Later, they began to use rejected cocoons for its targeted preparation. This paper was called cotton paper and was quite expensive. Over time, the question arose - is it possible to make paper not only from silk? Or any fibrous raw material, preferably of plant origin, is suitable for these purposes. The story goes that in 105, a certain official, Cai Lun, was able to create a new type of paper from old fishing nets. Its quality was comparable to silk, and the price was much lower. This discovery became important both for the country and for the entire civilization. People received high-quality and accessible writing material, an equivalent replacement for which has never been found. The following centuries brought several important improvements to papermaking technology, and the process itself began to develop rapidly. In the 4th century, paper finally replaced bamboo planks; it soon became known that production was possible from cheap plant materials - tree bark, bamboo and reed. This was especially important, because bamboo grows in huge quantities in China. Production secrets were kept in the strictest confidence for several centuries. But in 751, some Chinese, during a clash with the Arabs, were captured by them. So the secret became known to the Arabs, who for five centuries profitably sold paper to Europe. In 1154, paper production was established in Italy, and soon the skill was mastered in Germany and England. In subsequent centuries, paper became widespread, conquering ever new areas of application. Its significance is so great that our era is even sometimes called the “paper era.”

Gunpowder and firearms. This European discovery played a huge role in the history of mankind. Many people knew how to make an explosive mixture; Europeans were the last of the civilized peoples who learned how to do it. But it was they who were able to derive practical benefit from this discovery. The first consequences of the invention of gunpowder were the development firearms and a revolution in military affairs. Social changes followed - invincible knights in armor retreated before the fire of cannons and rifles. Feudal society received a strong blow from which it could no longer recover. As a result, powerful centralized states emerged. Gunpowder itself was invented in China many centuries before its appearance in Europe. An important component of the powder was saltpeter, which in some areas of the country was generally found in its native form, resembling snow. Setting fire to a mixture of saltpeter and coal, the Chinese began to observe small outbreaks. At the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries, the properties of saltpeter were first described by the Chinese physician Tao Hung-ching. Since then, this substance has also been used as a component of some medications. The appearance of the first sample of gunpowder is attributed to the alchemist Sun Sy-miao, who prepared a mixture of sulfur and saltpeter, adding pieces of locust wood to them. When heated, a strong flash of flame occurred, which was recorded by the scientist in his treatise “Dan Jing”. The composition of gunpowder was further improved by his colleagues, who experimentally established three main components - potassium nitrate, sulfur and coal. The medieval Chinese could not scientifically explain the effects of the explosion, but soon adapted to use gunpowder for military purposes. However, this did not have a revolutionary effect. The fact is that the mixture was prepared from unrefined components, which only gave an incendiary effect. Only in the 12th-13th centuries did the Chinese create weapons that resembled firearms, and the rocket and firecracker were also invented. Soon the Mongols and Arabs learned the secret, and from them the Europeans. The secondary discovery of gunpowder is attributed to the monk Berthold Schwartz, who began to grind a crushed mixture of saltpeter, coal and sulfur in a mortar. The explosion singed the tester's beard, but the idea came into his head that such energy could be used to throw stones. At first, the gunpowder was floury, and it was inconvenient to use, since the powder stuck to the walls of the barrels. After this, they noticed that it was much more convenient to use gunpowder in lumps and grains. This also produced more gases when ignited.

Communication means - telephone, telegraph, radio, Internet and others. Even 150 years ago, the only way to exchange information between Europe and England, America and the colonies was only by steamship mail. People learned about what was happening in other countries with a delay of weeks and even months. So, news from Europe to America took at least 2 weeks. That is why the advent of the telegraph radically solved this problem. As a result, a technical innovation appeared in all corners of the planet, allowing news from one hemisphere to reach the other in a matter of hours and minutes. During the day, interested parties received business and political news and stock market reports. The telegraph made it possible to transmit written messages over distances. But soon the inventors thought about a new means of communication that could transmit the sounds of a human voice or music over any distance. The first experiments on this issue were carried out in 1837 by the American physicist Page. His simple but clear experiments proved that it was in principle possible to transmit sound using electricity. A series of subsequent experiments, discoveries and implementations led to the appearance in our lives today of the telephone, television, the Internet and other modern means of communication, which have turned the life of society upside down.

Automobile. Like some of the greatest inventions before it, the automobile not only influenced its era, but also spawned a new one. This discovery is not limited to the transport sector alone. The automobile shaped modern industry, spawned new industries, and reshaped manufacturing itself. It has become massive and continuous. Even the planet has changed - now it is surrounded by millions of kilometers of roads, and the ecology has deteriorated. And even human psychology has become different. Today, the influence of the car is so multifaceted that it is present in all spheres of human life. There were many glorious pages in the history of the invention, but the most interesting one dates back to the first years of its existence. In general, the speed with which the car has reached its maturity cannot fail to impress. In just a quarter of a century, an unreliable toy has turned into a massive and popular vehicle. There are now about a billion cars in the world. The main features of a modern car were formed 100 years ago. The predecessor of the gasoline car was the steam car. Back in 1769, the Frenchman Cunu created a steam cart that could transport up to 3 tons of cargo, moving, however, at a speed of up to 4 km/h. The machine was clumsy, and working with the boiler was difficult and dangerous. But the idea of ​​moving by steam captivated followers. In 1803, Trivaitik built the first steam car in England, which could carry up to 10 passengers and accelerate to 15 km/h. London onlookers were delighted! The automobile in the modern sense appeared only with the discovery of the internal combustion engine. In 1864, a vehicle by the Austrian Marcus was born, which was driven by a gasoline engine. But the glory of the official inventors of the car went to two Germans - Daimler and Benz. The latter was the owner of a factory producing two-stroke gas engines. There were enough funds for leisure and the development of their own cars. In 1891, the owner of a rubber products factory, Edouard Michelin, invented a removable pneumatic tire for a bicycle, and 4 years later tires began to be produced for cars. In the same 1895, the tires were tested during racing, although they were constantly punctured, but it became clear that they give cars a smooth ride, making the ride more comfortable.

Electric lamp. And this invention appeared in our lives recently, in late XIX century. First, lighting appeared on city streets, and then it entered residential buildings. Today it is difficult to imagine the life of a civilized person without electric light. This discovery had enormous consequences. Electricity revolutionized the energy sector, forcing industry to change significantly. In the 19th century, two types of light bulbs became widespread - arc and incandescent lamps. The first to appear were arc lamps, the glow of which was based on a phenomenon called a voltaic arc. If you connect two wires connected to a strong current and then move them apart, a glow will appear between their ends. This phenomenon was first observed by the Russian scientist Vasily Petrov in 1803, and the Englishman Devi described such an effect only in 1810. The use of a voltaic arc as a source of illumination was described by both scientists. However, arc lamps had an inconvenience - as the electrodes burned out, they had to be constantly moved towards each other. Exceeding the distance between them entailed a flickering of light. In 1844, the Frenchman Foucault developed the first arc lamp in which the length of the arc could be adjusted manually. Just 4 years later, this invention was used to illuminate one of the squares in Paris. In 1876, the Russian engineer Yablochkov improved the design - the electrodes, replaced by coals, were already located parallel to each other, and the distance between the ends always remained the same. In 1879, the American inventor Edison set about improving the design. He came to the conclusion that for a light bulb to glow for a long time and brightly, a suitable material for the filament was needed, as well as creating a rarefied space around it. Edison carried out a lot of experiments on a grand scale; it is estimated that at least 6 thousand different compounds were tested. The research cost the American 100 thousand dollars. Edison gradually began to use metals for thread, eventually settling on charred bamboo fibers. As a result, in the presence of 3 thousand spectators, the inventor publicly demonstrated the electric light bulbs he had developed, illuminating not only his house, but also several neighboring streets. Edison's light bulb was the first to have a long life and be suitable for mass production.

Antibiotics. This place is devoted to wonderful medicines, in particular penicillin. Antibiotics became one of the main discoveries of the last century, revolutionizing medicine. Today, not everyone realizes how much they owe to such medicinal drugs. Many will be surprised to learn that even 80 years ago, tens of thousands of people died from dysentery, pneumonia was a deadly disease, sepsis threatened the death of almost all surgical patients, typhus was dangerous and difficult to cure, and pneumonic plague sounded like a death sentence. But all these terrible diseases, like others that were previously incurable (tuberculosis), were defeated with antibiotics. The drugs had a significant impact on military medicine. Earlier most of the soldiers died not from bullets at all, but from festering wounds. After all, millions of cocci bacteria penetrated there, causing pus, sepsis, and gangrene. The most that the surgeon could do was amputate the affected part of the body. It turned out that it is possible to fight dangerous microorganisms with the help of their own brothers. Some of them, in the process of their life activity, release substances that can destroy other microbes. This idea appeared back in the 19th century. Louis Pasteur discovered that anthrax bacilli are killed by certain other microbes. Over time, experiments and discoveries gave the world penicillin. For seasoned field surgeons, this medicine became a true miracle. The most hopeless patients got back on their feet, having overcome blood poisoning or pneumonia. The discovery and creation of penicillin is considered one of the most significant discoveries in the history of all medicine, giving a huge impetus to its development.

Sail and ship. The sail arose in human life a long time ago, when there was a desire to go to sea and build boats for this. The first sail was an ordinary animal skin. The sailor had to hold it with his hands and constantly orient it relative to the wind. When people came up with the idea of ​​using masts and yards is unknown, but already in the most ancient images of ships of times Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, various devices for working with a sail and rigging are visible. Thus, it is clear that the sail originated in prehistoric times. It is believed that the first large sailing ships appeared in Egypt, and the Nile became the first navigable river. Every year the mighty river overflowed, cutting off cities and regions from each other. So the Egyptians had to master shipping. At that time, ships played a much larger role in the economic life of the country than carts on wheels. One of the first types of ships is the barque, which is more than 7 thousand years old. Its models have come to us from temples. Since there was little wood in Egypt for the construction of the first ships, papyrus was used for these purposes. Its features determined the design and shape of the ships. They were a crescent-shaped boat, knitted from bundles of papyrus, with the bow and stern curved upward. The hull of the vessel, for strength, was tied together with cables. Over time, trade with the Phoenicians gave the country Lebanese cedar, and the tree became firmly established in shipbuilding. Compositions from 5 thousand years ago give reason to believe. That then the Egyptians used a straight sail mounted on a two-legged mast. It was possible to sail only downwind, and if there was a crosswind, the mast was quickly removed. About 4,600 years ago, the single-legged mast began to be used, which is still used today. It became easier for the ship to walk, it gained the ability to maneuver. However, at that time the rectangular sail was very unreliable, and moreover, it could only be used with a tailwind. So it turned out that the main engine of the ship at that time was the muscular power of the rowers. Then the maximum speed of the ships of the pharaohs was 12 km/h. Merchant ships traveled mainly along the coast, without going far out to sea. The next step in the development of ships was made by the Phoenicians, who initially had excellent building materials. 5 thousand years ago, with the beginning of the development of maritime trade, the Phoenicians began to build ships. Moreover, their sea vessels initially had design features from boats. Stiffening ribs, covered with boards on top, were installed on the single shafts. The Phoenicians may have been inspired to think about such a design by animal skeletons. In fact, this is how the first frames appeared, which are still used today. It was the Phoenicians who created the first keel ship. At first, two trunks connected at an angle acted as the keel. This gave the ships more stability, becoming the basis for the future development of shipbuilding and determining the appearance of all future ships.

Some of the most significant discoveries occurred during periods called the New and Modern times. When does the countdown of these periods begin? What discoveries were made during this time?

Beginning of the New Time

Modern times are called the period when humanity stepped to a new stage in the development of its potential. But when exactly did this happen?

Modern times are usually referred to as the period between the Middle Ages and Recent history. Some suggest starting from the 17th century, when the English Revolution began in 1640. But breakthroughs in achievements and changes in society begin in the 15th century, so many researchers consider this the beginning new era or early modern times.

Even at the end of the Middle Ages, important discoveries and inventions were made. In 1440, Johann Guttenberg invented the printing press, and books on not only religious, but also scientific and entertainment topics gradually developed. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovers America and European colonization begins.

Society changes views and turns to the essence human personality. England is relinquishing its supremacy catholic church, the reformation movement and Protestantism are born. Science begins to develop, the first scientific communities are created: the Royal Society, the French Royal Army of Sciences. Inventions of modern times since the 16th century: mechanical calculator, vacuum pump, barometer, pendulum clock. Galileo Galilei invents the telescope, Descartes creates a coordinate system. A microscope, a telescope and glass glasses appeared.

time since the 18th century

More from late XVII century, the bourgeoisie is born. gives impetus to the development of capitalism and industrial society.

Technical discoveries and inventions of modern times are sometimes made completely by accident. So, John Watt was visited by the thought of a steam engine when he looked at the bouncing lid of a boiling kettle. Thomas Newkman built the first reciprocating steam engine in 1712.

Other inventions of the New Age: parachute, steamboat, piano, tuning fork, hot air balloon. In the 18th-19th centuries, the kaleidoscope, stereoscope, arc welding, a steam locomotive, a lighter and matches (and the lighter much earlier).

Inventions of modern times

Modern times begin their countdown from the 20th century, namely from 1918. At that time, technological progress made significant progress. The first vehicles with engines were invented, allowing them to easily cover significant distances. Many mechanisms were improved, and humanity was burning electricity with all its might.

It's time for development natural sciences. Chemistry and physics are of particular importance. In the 20th century, K. Lansteiner discovered the blood group for the first time, Freud worked on the theory of psychoanalysis, and P. Ehrlich discovered the possibilities of chemotherapy. A. Fleming discovers penicillin in 1929 - the world's first antibiotic.

Wars and conflicts between states contribute to the active study of physics and nuclear energy. In 1905, A. Einstein discovered the theory of relativity, N. Bohr worked on the quantum theory of atoms. The atomic nucleus is discovered 1911), artificial radioactivity (F. and I. Joliot-Curie, 1934), the nuclear nucleus of uranium is split for the first time (O. Hahn, F. Stassman, 1938).

Outer space is being studied and new discoveries are being made in astronomy. Cosmic rays are discovered (W. Hess, 1911-1913), Hubble's law about the expansion of the Universe (E. Hubble, 1929). It becomes known about cosmic radio emission (K. Jansky, 1931).

Bright inventions and discoveries of the 20th century

The discoveries and inventions of modern times are significantly superior to previous eras. During Cold War America and the USSR compete both in the creation of nuclear weapons and in space exploration. The first rocket developments, space stations and ships appear. Soviet Union releases the first artificial satellite of the Earth, takes the first steps towards traveling to the Moon - space stations and lunar rovers are launched onto the surface of the satellite.

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space. In 1969, American Neil Armstrong lands on the moon.

It would not have been possible to see Armstrong walking on the moon if television had not been invented in the same century. Vladimir Zvorykin, Philo Farnsworth and others contributed to the development of this miracle of technology.

In 1946, the first ENIAC computer was created in the USA; its predecessor inventions were more like a calculator. Charles Babbage is considered the inventor of the first prototype of a computer.

Important inventions of modern times are also the scuba gear of J. I. Cousteau (1943), the helicopter of A. M. Cheremukhin (1930), the jet engine of V. P. Glushko (1930), the laser of Theodor Meiman (1960) and atomic bomb(1945), the name of the creator of which is kept in the strictest confidence.

Conclusion

During the period of New and Contemporary times in history, many great discoveries and inventions that were necessary for humanity were made. We still use many of them today.

The history of mankind is closely connected with constant progress, development of technology, new discoveries and inventions. Some technologies are outdated and become history, others, such as the wheel or sail, are still in use today. Countless discoveries were lost in the whirlpool of time, others, not appreciated by their contemporaries, waited for recognition and implementation for tens and hundreds of years.

Editorial Samogo.Net conducted her own research designed to answer the question of what inventions are considered the most significant by our contemporaries.

Processing and analysis of the results of online surveys showed that there is simply no consensus on this matter. However, we managed to create an overall unique rating greatest inventions and discoveries in human history. As it turned out, despite the fact that science has long moved forward, basic discoveries remain the most significant in the minds of our contemporaries.

Fire undoubtedly took first place.

People early discovered the beneficial properties of fire - its ability to illuminate and warm, to change plant and animal food for the better.

The “wild fire” that broke out during forest fires or volcanic eruptions was terrible for man, but by bringing fire into his cave, man “tamed” it and “put” it into his service. From that time on, fire became a constant companion of man and the basis of his economy. In ancient times, it was an indispensable source of heat, light, a means of cooking, and a hunting tool.
However, further cultural achievements (ceramics, metallurgy, steelmaking, steam engines, etc.) are due to the complex use of fire.

For many millennia, people used “home fire”, maintaining it year after year in their caves, before they learned to produce it themselves using friction. This discovery probably happened by accident, after our ancestors learned to drill wood. During this operation, the wood was heated and, under favorable conditions, ignition could occur. Having paid attention to this, people began to widely use friction to make fire.

The simplest method was to take two sticks of dry wood, and make a hole in one of them. The first stick was placed on the ground and pressed with the knee. The second one was inserted into the hole, and then they began to quickly and quickly rotate it between the palms. At the same time, it was necessary to press hard on the stick. The inconvenience of this method was that the palms gradually slid down. Every now and then I had to lift them up and continue rotating again. Although, with certain dexterity, this can be done quickly, nevertheless, due to constant stops, the process was greatly delayed. It is much easier to make fire by friction, working together. In this case, one person held the horizontal stick and pressed on top of the vertical one, and the second quickly rotated it between his palms. Later, they began to clasp the vertical stick with a strap, moving it to the right and left to speed up the movement, and for convenience, they began to put a bone cap on the upper end. Thus, the entire device for making fire began to consist of four parts: two sticks (fixed and rotating), a strap and an upper cap. In this way, it was possible to make fire alone, if you pressed the lower stick with your knee to the ground and the cap with your teeth.

And only later, with the development of mankind, other methods of producing open fire became available.

Second place in the responses of the online community they ranked Wheel and Cart

It is believed that its prototype may have been rollers that were placed under heavy tree trunks, boats and stones when dragging them from place to place. Perhaps the first observations of the properties of rotating bodies were made at the same time. For example, if for some reason the log roller was thinner in the center than at the edges, it moved more evenly under the load and did not skid to the side. Noticing this, people began to deliberately burn the rollers in such a way that the middle part became thinner, while the sides remained unchanged. Thus, a device was obtained, which is now called a “ramp.” In the course of further improvements in this direction, only two rollers at its ends remained from a solid log, and an axis appeared between them. Later they began to be made separately and then rigidly fastened together. Thus the wheel in the proper sense of the word was discovered and the first cart appeared.

In subsequent centuries, many generations of craftsmen worked to improve this invention. Initially, solid wheels were rigidly attached to the axle and rotated with it. When moving around smooth road such carts were quite suitable for use. When turning, when the wheels must rotate at different speeds, this connection creates great inconvenience, since a heavily loaded cart can easily break or tip over. The wheels themselves were still very imperfect. They were made from a single piece of wood. Therefore, the carts were heavy and clumsy. They moved slowly, and were usually harnessed to slow but powerful oxen.

One of the oldest carts of the described design was found during excavations in Mohenjo-Daro. A major step forward in the development of transportation technology was the invention of a wheel with a hub mounted on a fixed axle. In this case, the wheels rotated independently of each other. And so that the wheel rubs against the axle less, they began to lubricate it with grease or tar.

To reduce the weight of the wheel, cutouts were cut out in it, and for rigidity they were reinforced with transverse braces. It was impossible to come up with anything better in the Stone Age. But after the discovery of metals, wheels with a metal rim and spokes began to be made. Such a wheel could rotate tens of times faster and was not afraid of hitting rocks. By harnessing fleet-footed horses to a cart, man significantly increased the speed of his movement. It is perhaps difficult to find another discovery that would give such a powerful impetus to the development of technology.

Third place rightfully occupied Writing

There is no need to talk about how great the invention of writing was in the history of mankind. It is impossible to even imagine what path the development of civilization could have taken if, at a certain stage of their development, people had not learned to record the information they needed with the help of certain symbols and thus transmit and store it. It's obvious that human society it simply could not have appeared in the form in which it exists today.

The first forms of writing in the form of specially inscribed characters appeared about 4 thousand years BC. But long before that there were various ways transmission and storage of information: using a certain way of folded branches, arrows, smoke from fires and similar signals. From these primitive warning systems, more complex methods of recording information later emerged. For example, the ancient Incas invented an original “writing” system using knots. For this purpose, wool laces of different colors were used. They were tied with various knots and attached to a stick. In this form, the “letter” was sent to the addressee. There is an opinion that the Incas used such “knot writing” to record their laws, write down chronicles and poems. “Knot writing” was also noted among other peoples - it was used in ancient China and Mongolia.

However, writing in the proper sense of the word appeared only after people invented special graphic signs to record and transmit information. The oldest type of writing is considered pictographic. A pictogram is a schematic drawing that directly depicts things, events, and phenomena about which we're talking about. It is assumed that pictography was widespread among various peoples during the last stage of the Stone Age. This letter is very visual, and therefore does not require special study. It is quite suitable for transmission small messages and for writing simple stories. But when the need arose to convey some complex abstract thought or concept, I immediately felt limited opportunities pictogram, which is completely unsuited to recording what cannot be depicted in pictures (for example, such concepts as vigor, courage, vigilance, good dream, sky blue, etc.). Therefore, already at an early stage in the history of writing, the number of pictograms began to include special conventional icons that denote certain concepts (for example, the sign of crossed hands symbolized exchange). Such icons are called ideograms. Ideographic writing also arose from pictographic writing, and one can quite clearly imagine how this happened: each pictorial sign of a pictogram began to become increasingly isolated from others and associated with a specific word or concept, denoting it. Gradually, this process developed so much that primitive pictograms lost their former clarity, but gained clarity and definiteness. This process took a long time, perhaps several thousand years.

The highest form of ideogram was hieroglyphic writing. It first appeared in Ancient Egypt. Later, hieroglyphic writing became widespread in Far East- in China, Japan and Korea. With the help of ideograms it was possible to reflect any, even the most complex and abstract thought. However, for those not privy to the secrets of the hieroglyphs, the meaning of what was written was completely incomprehensible. Anyone who wanted to learn to write had to memorize several thousand symbols. In reality, this took several years of constant exercise. Therefore, in ancient times, few people knew how to write and read.

Only at the end of 2 thousand BC. The ancient Phoenicians invented a letter-sound alphabet, which served as a model for the alphabets of many other peoples. The Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 consonant letters, each of which represented a different sound. The invention of this alphabet was a big step forward for humanity. With the help of the new letter it was easy to convey any word graphically, without resorting to ideograms. It was very easy to learn. The art of writing has ceased to be the privilege of the enlightened. It became the property of the entire society, or at least a large part of it. This was one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the Phoenician alphabet throughout the world. It is believed that four-fifths of all currently known alphabets arose from Phoenician.

Thus, from a variety of Phoenician writing (Punic) Libyan developed. The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek writing came directly from Phoenician. In turn, on the basis of the Aramaic script, Arabic, Nabataean, Syriac, Persian and other scripts developed. The Greeks made the last important improvement to the Phoenician alphabet - they began to denote not only consonants, but also vowel sounds with letters. The Greek alphabet formed the basis of most European alphabets: Latin (from which French, German, English, Italian, Spanish and other alphabets in turn originated), Coptic, Armenian, Georgian and Slavic (Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian, etc.).

Fourth place, takes after writing Paper

Its creators were the Chinese. And this is no coincidence. Firstly, China, already in ancient times, was famous for its book wisdom and complex system of bureaucratic management, which required constant reporting from officials. Therefore, there has always been a need for inexpensive and compact writing material. Before the invention of paper, people in China wrote either on bamboo tablets or on silk.

But silk was always very expensive, and bamboo was very bulky and heavy. (An average of 30 hieroglyphs were placed on one tablet. It is easy to imagine how much space such a bamboo “book” must have taken up. It is no coincidence that they write that a whole cart was required to transport some works.) Secondly, only the Chinese knew the secret of production for a long time silk, and papermaking developed from one technical operation of processing silk cocoons. This operation consisted of the following. Women engaged in sericulture boiled silkworm cocoons, then, laying them out on a mat, dipped them into water and ground them until a homogeneous mass was formed. When the mass was taken out and the water was filtered out, silk wool was obtained. However, after such mechanical and thermal treatment, a thin fibrous layer remained on the mats, which, after drying, turned into a sheet of very thin paper suitable for writing. Later, workers began to use rejected silkworm cocoons for purposeful paper production. At the same time, they repeated the process that was already familiar to them: they boiled the cocoons, washed and crushed them to obtain paper pulp, and finally dried the resulting sheets. Such paper was called “cotton paper” and was quite expensive, since the raw material itself was expensive.

Naturally, in the end the question arose: can paper be made only from silk, or can any fibrous raw material, including plant origin, be suitable for preparing paper pulp? In 105, a certain Cai Lun, an important official at the court of the Han emperor, prepared a new type of paper from old fishing nets. It was not as good as silk, but was much cheaper. This important discovery had enormous consequences not only for China, but also for the whole world - for the first time in history, people received first-class and accessible writing material, for which there is no equivalent replacement to this day. The name of Tsai Lun is therefore rightfully included among the names greatest inventors in the history of mankind. In subsequent centuries, several important improvements were made to the papermaking process, allowing it to develop rapidly.

In the 4th century, paper completely replaced bamboo tablets from use. New experiments have shown that paper can be made from cheap plant materials: tree bark, reed and bamboo. The latter was especially important since bamboo grows in huge quantities in China. The bamboo was split into thin splinters, soaked in lime, and the resulting mass was then boiled for several days. The strained grounds were kept in special pits, thoroughly ground with special beaters and diluted with water until a sticky, mushy mass was formed. This mass was scooped up using special form- a bamboo sieve mounted on a stretcher. A thin layer of mass along with the mold was placed under the press. Then the form was pulled out and only a sheet of paper remained under the press. The compressed sheets were removed from the sieve, piled, dried, smoothed and cut to size.

Over time, the Chinese reached the highest art in paper making. For several centuries, they, as usual, carefully kept the secrets of paper production. But in 751, during a clash with the Arabs in the foothills of the Tien Shan, several Chinese masters were captured. From them the Arabs learned to make paper themselves and for five centuries sold it very profitably to Europe. Europeans were the last of the civilized peoples who learned to make their own paper. The Spaniards were the first to adopt this art from the Arabs. In 1154, paper production was established in Italy, in 1228 in Germany, and in 1309 in England. In subsequent centuries, paper became widespread throughout the world, gradually conquering more and more new areas of application. Its significance in our lives is so great that, according to the famous French bibliographer A. Sim, our era can rightfully be called the “paper era.”

Fifth place occupied Gunpowder and Firearms

The invention of gunpowder and its spread in Europe had enormous consequences for the subsequent history of mankind. Although the Europeans were the last of the civilized peoples to learn how to make this explosive mixture, they were the ones who were able to derive the greatest practical benefit from its discovery. The rapid development of firearms and a revolution in military affairs were the first consequences of the spread of gunpowder. This, in turn, entailed profound social changes: armor-clad knights and their impregnable castles were powerless against the fire of cannons and arquebuses. Feudal society such a blow was dealt from which it could no longer recover. In a short time, many European powers overcame feudal fragmentation and became powerful centralized states.

There are few inventions in the history of technology that would lead to such grandiose and far-reaching changes. Before gunpowder became known in the West, it already had a long history in the East, and it was invented by the Chinese. The most important component of gunpowder is saltpeter. In some areas of China it was found in its native form and looked like flakes of snow dusting the ground. Later it was discovered that saltpeter is formed in areas rich in alkalis and decaying (nitrogen-delivering) substances. When lighting a fire, the Chinese could observe the flashes that occurred when saltpeter and coal burned.

The properties of saltpeter were first described by the Chinese physician Tao Hung-ching, who lived at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. Since that time, it has been used as a component of some medicines. Alchemists often used it when conducting experiments. In the 7th century, one of them, Sun Sy-miao, prepared a mixture of sulfur and saltpeter, adding to them several shares of locust tree. While heating this mixture in a crucible, he suddenly received a powerful flash of flame. He described this experience in his treatise Dan Jing. It is believed that Sun Si-miao prepared one of the first samples of gunpowder, which, however, did not yet have a strong explosive effect.

IN further composition gunpowder was improved by other alchemists, who experimentally established its three main components: coal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. The medieval Chinese could not scientifically explain what kind of explosive reaction occurs when gunpowder is ignited, but they very soon learned to use it for military purposes. True, in their lives gunpowder did not have the revolutionary influence that it later had on European society. This is explained by the fact that for a long time the craftsmen prepared the powder mixture from unrefined components. Meanwhile, unrefined saltpeter and sulfur containing foreign impurities did not give a strong explosive effect. For several centuries, gunpowder was used exclusively as an incendiary agent. Later, when its quality improved, gunpowder began to be used as an explosive in the manufacture of land mines, hand grenades and explosive packages.

But even after this, for a long time they did not think of using the power of the gases generated during the combustion of gunpowder to throw bullets and cannonballs. Only in the 12th-13th centuries did the Chinese begin to use weapons that were very vaguely reminiscent of firearms, but they invented firecrackers and rockets. The Arabs and Mongols learned the secret of gunpowder from the Chinese. In the first third of the 13th century, the Arabs achieved great skill in pyrotechnics. They used saltpeter in many compounds, mixing it with sulfur and coal, adding other components to them and setting up fireworks of amazing beauty. From the Arabs, the composition of the powder mixture became known to European alchemists. One of them, Mark the Greek, already in 1220 wrote down in his treatise a recipe for gunpowder: 6 parts of saltpeter to 1 part of sulfur and 1 part of coal. Later, Roger Bacon wrote quite accurately about the composition of gunpowder.

However, another hundred years passed before this recipe ceased to be a secret. This secondary discovery of gunpowder is associated with the name of another alchemist, the Feiburg monk Berthold Schwartz. One day he began to pound a crushed mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and coal in a mortar, which resulted in an explosion that singed Berthold's beard. This or other experience gave Berthold the idea of ​​using the power of powder gases to throw stones. He is believed to have made one of the first artillery pieces in Europe.

Gunpowder was originally a fine flour-like powder. It was not convenient to use, since when loading guns and arquebuses, the powder pulp stuck to the walls of the barrel. Finally, they noticed that gunpowder in the form of lumps was much more convenient - it was easy to charge and, when ignited, produced more gases (2 pounds of gunpowder in lumps gave a greater effect than 3 pounds in pulp).

In the first quarter of the 15th century, for convenience, they began to use grain gunpowder, which was obtained by rolling the powder pulp (with alcohol and other impurities) into a dough, which was then passed through a sieve. To prevent the grains from grinding during transportation, they learned to polish them. To do this, they were placed in a special drum, when spun, the grains hit and rubbed against each other and became compacted. After processing, their surface became smooth and shiny.

Sixth place ranked in the polls : telegraph, telephone, Internet, radio and other types of modern communications

Until the middle of the 19th century, the only means of communication between the European continent and England, between America and Europe, between Europe and the colonies was steamship mail. Incidents and events in other countries were learned about with a delay of weeks, and sometimes even months. For example, news from Europe to America was delivered in two weeks, and this was not the longest time. Therefore, the creation of the telegraph met the most urgent needs of mankind.

After this technical novelty appeared in all corners of the world and telegraph lines encircled the globe, it took only hours, and sometimes minutes, for the news to travel along electrical wires from one hemisphere to the other. Political and stock market reports, personal and business messages could be delivered to interested parties on the same day. Thus, the telegraph should be considered one of the most important inventions in the history of civilization, because with it the human mind achieved the greatest victory over distance.

With the invention of the telegraph, the problem of transmitting messages over long distances was solved. However, the telegraph could only send written dispatches. Meanwhile, many inventors dreamed of a more advanced and communicative method of communication, with the help of which it would be possible to transmit live sound over any distance. human speech or music. The first experiments in this direction were undertaken in 1837 by the American physicist Page. The essence of Page's experiments was very simple. He assembled an electrical circuit that included a tuning fork, an electromagnet, and galvanic elements. During its vibrations, the tuning fork quickly opened and closed the circuit. This intermittent current was transmitted to an electromagnet, which just as quickly attracted and released a thin steel rod. As a result of these vibrations, the rod produced a singing sound, similar to that produced by a tuning fork. Thus, Page showed that it is in principle possible to transmit sound using electric current, it is only necessary to create more advanced transmitting and receiving devices.

And later, as a result of long searches, discoveries and inventions, mobile phone, television, the Internet and other means of communication of humanity, without which it is impossible to imagine our modern life.

Seventh place ranked in the top 10 according to survey results Automobile

The automobile is one of those greatest inventions that, like the wheel, gunpowder or electric current, had a colossal influence not only on the era that gave birth to them, but also on all subsequent times. Its multi-faceted impact extends far beyond the transport sector. The automobile shaped modern industry, gave birth to new industries, and despotically restructured production itself, giving it a mass, serial, and in-line character for the first time. It transformed the appearance of the planet, which was surrounded by millions of kilometers of highways, put pressure on the environment and even changed human psychology. The influence of the car is now so multifaceted that it is felt in all spheres of human life. It has become, as it were, a visible and visual embodiment of technological progress in general, with all its advantages and disadvantages.

There have been many amazing pages in the history of the car, but perhaps the most striking of them dates back to the first years of its existence. One cannot help but be amazed by the speed with which this invention has gone from inception to maturity. It only took a quarter of a century for the car to turn from a capricious and still unreliable toy into the most popular and widespread vehicle. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it was identical in its main features to a modern car.

The immediate predecessor of the gasoline car was the steam car. The first practical steam car is considered to be a steam cart built by the Frenchman Cugnot in 1769. Carrying up to 3 tons of cargo, it moved at a speed of only 2-4 km/h. She also had other shortcomings. The heavy car had very poor steering control and constantly ran into the walls of houses and fences, causing destruction and suffering considerable damage. The two horsepower that its engine developed were difficult to achieve. Despite the large volume of the boiler, the pressure dropped quickly. Every quarter of an hour, to maintain pressure, we had to stop and light the firebox. One of the trips ended in a boiler explosion. Fortunately, Cugno himself remained alive.

Cugno's followers were luckier. In 1803, Trivaitik, already known to us, built the first steam car in Great Britain. The car had huge rear wheels about 2.5 m in diameter. A boiler was attached between the wheels and the rear of the frame, which was served by a fireman standing on the back. The steam car was equipped with a single horizontal cylinder. From the piston rod, through the connecting rod and crank mechanism, the drive gear rotated, which was meshed with another gear mounted on the axis of the rear wheels. The axle of these wheels was hinged to the frame and turned using a long lever by the driver sitting on a high beam. The body was suspended on high C-shaped springs. With 8-10 passengers, the car reached speeds of up to 15 km/h, which, undoubtedly, was a very good achievement for that time. The appearance of this amazing car on the streets of London attracted a lot of onlookers who did not hide their delight.

The car in the modern sense of the word appeared only after the creation of a compact and economical internal combustion engine, which made a real revolution in transport technology.
The first gasoline-powered car was built in 1864 by the Austrian inventor Siegfried Marcus. Fascinated by pyrotechnics, Marcus once set fire to a mixture of gasoline vapor and air with an electric spark. Amazed by the force of the ensuing explosion, he decided to create an engine in which this effect could be used. In the end, he managed to build a two-stroke gasoline engine with electric ignition, which he installed on an ordinary cart. In 1875, Marcus created a more advanced car.

The official fame of the inventors of the car belongs to two German engineers - Benz and Daimler. Benz designed two-stroke gas engines and owned a small factory for their production. The engines were in good demand, and the Benz business flourished. He had enough money and leisure for other developments. Benz's dream was to create a self-propelled carriage powered by an internal combustion engine. Benz's own engine, like Otto's four-stroke engine, was not suitable for this, since they had a low speed (about 120 rpm). When the speed dropped slightly, they stalled. Benz understood that a car equipped with such an engine would stop at every bump. What was needed was a high-speed engine with a good ignition system and an apparatus for forming a combustible mixture.

Cars were rapidly improving Back in 1891, Edouard Michelin, owner of a rubber products factory in Clermont-Ferrand, invented a removable pneumatic tire for a bicycle (a Dunlop tube was poured into the tire and glued to the rim). In 1895, production of removable pneumatic tires for cars began. These tires were first tested in the same year at the Paris - Bordeaux - Paris race. The Peugeot equipped with them barely made it to Rouen, and then was forced to retire from the race, as the tires were continuously punctured. Nevertheless, specialists and car enthusiasts were amazed at the smooth running of the car and the comfort of driving it. From that time on, pneumatic tires gradually came into use, and all cars began to be equipped with them. The winner of these races was again Levassor. When he stopped the car at the finish line and stepped onto the ground, he said: “It was crazy. I was doing 30 kilometers per hour!” Now at the finish site there is a monument in honor of this significant victory.

Eighth place - Light bulb

In the last decades of the 19th century, electric lighting entered the life of many European cities. Having first appeared on the streets and squares, it very soon penetrated into every house, into every apartment and became integral part life of every civilized person. This was one of the major events in the history of technology, which had enormous and varied consequences. The rapid development of electric lighting led to mass electrification, a revolution in the energy sector and major shifts in industry. However, all this might not have happened if, through the efforts of many inventors, such a common and familiar device as the light bulb had not been created. Among greatest discoveries In human history, it undoubtedly belongs to one of the most honorable places.

In the 19th century, two types of electric lamps became widespread: incandescent and arc lamps. Arc lights appeared a little earlier. Their glow is based on such an interesting phenomenon as a voltaic arc. If you take two wires, connect them to a sufficiently strong current source, connect them, and then move them apart a few millimeters, then between the ends of the conductors something like a flame with a bright light will form. The phenomenon will be more beautiful and brighter if, instead of metal wires, you take two sharpened carbon rods. When the voltage between them is high enough, a light of blinding intensity is formed.

The phenomenon of a voltaic arc was first observed in 1803 by the Russian scientist Vasily Petrov. In 1810, the same discovery was made by the English physicist Devi. Both of them produced a voltaic arc using a large battery of cells between the ends of charcoal rods. Both of them wrote that the voltaic arc can be used for lighting purposes. But first it was necessary to find a more suitable material for the electrodes, since charcoal rods burned out in a few minutes and were of little use for practical use. Arc lamps also had another inconvenience - as the electrodes burned out, it was necessary to constantly move them towards each other. As soon as the distance between them exceeded a certain permissible minimum, the light of the lamp became uneven, it began to flicker and went out.

The first arc lamp with manual adjustment of arc length was designed in 1844 French physicist Foucault. He replaced charcoal with sticks of hard coke. In 1848, he first used an arc lamp to illuminate one of the Parisian squares. It was a short and very expensive experiment, since the source of electricity was a powerful battery. Then various devices were invented, controlled by a clock mechanism, which automatically moved the electrodes as they burned.
It is clear that from the point of view of practical use, it was desirable to have a lamp that was not complicated by additional mechanisms. But was it possible to do without them? It turned out that yes. If you place two coals not opposite each other, but in parallel, so that an arc can form only between their two ends, then with this device the distance between the ends of the coals always remains unchanged. The design of such a lamp seems very simple, but its creation required great ingenuity. It was invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Yablochkov, who worked in Paris in the workshop of academician Breguet.

In 1879, the famous American inventor Edison took up the task of improving the light bulb. He understood: in order for the light bulb to shine brightly and for a long time and have an even, unblinking light, it is necessary, firstly, to find a suitable material for the filament, and, secondly, to learn how to create a very rarefied space in the cylinder. Many experiments have been done with various materials, which were staged on a grand scale characteristic of Edison. It is estimated that his assistants tested at least 6,000 different substances and compounds, and over 100 thousand dollars were spent on experiments. First, Edison replaced the brittle paper charcoal with a stronger one made from coal, then he began to experiment with various metals and finally settled on a thread of charred bamboo fibers. That same year, in the presence of three thousand people, Edison publicly demonstrated his electric light bulbs, illuminating his home, laboratory, and several surrounding streets with them. It was the first long-life light bulb suitable for mass production.

penultimate, ninth place in our top 10 occupy Antibiotics, and in particular - penicillin

Antibiotics are one of the most remarkable inventions of the 20th century in the field of medicine. Modern people They are not always aware of how much they owe to these medicinal drugs. Humanity in general very quickly gets used to the amazing achievements of its science, and sometimes it takes some effort to imagine life as it was, for example, before the invention of television, radio or steam locomotive. Just as quickly, a huge family of various antibiotics entered our lives, the first of which was penicillin.

Today it seems surprising to us that back in the 30s of the 20th century, tens of thousands of people died annually from dysentery, that pneumonia in many cases was fatal, that sepsis was a real scourge of all surgical patients, who died in large numbers from blood poisoning, that typhus was considered a most dangerous and intractable disease, and pneumonic plague inevitably led the patient to death. All these terrible diseases (and many others that were previously incurable, such as tuberculosis) were defeated by antibiotics.

Even more striking is the impact of these drugs on military medicine. It’s hard to believe, but in previous wars, most soldiers died not from bullets and shrapnel, but from purulent infections caused by wounds. It is known that in the space around us there are myriads of microscopic organisms, microbes, among which there are many dangerous pathogens.

Under normal conditions, our skin prevents them from penetrating into the body. But during the wound, dirt got into open wounds along with millions of putrefactive bacteria (cocci). They began to multiply with colossal speed, penetrated deep into the tissues, and after a few hours no surgeon could save the person: the wound festered, the temperature rose, sepsis or gangrene began. The person died not so much from the wound itself, but from wound complications. Medicine was powerless against them. In the best case, the doctor managed to amputate the affected organ and thereby stopped the spread of the disease.

To combat wound complications, it was necessary to learn to paralyze the microbes that cause these complications, to learn to neutralize the cocci that got into the wound. But how to achieve this? It turned out that you can fight microorganisms directly with their help, since some microorganisms, in the course of their life activity, release substances that can destroy other microorganisms. The idea of ​​using microbes to fight germs dates back to the 19th century. Thus, Louis Pasteur discovered that anthrax bacilli are killed by the action of certain other microbes. But it is clear that resolving this problem required enormous work.

Over time, after a series of experiments and discoveries, penicillin was created. Penicillin seemed like a real miracle to seasoned field surgeons. He cured even the most seriously ill patients who were already suffering from blood poisoning or pneumonia. The creation of penicillin turned out to be one of the most important discoveries in the history of medicine and gave a huge impetus to its further development.

And lastly, tenth place ranked in survey results Sail and ship

It is believed that the prototype of the sail appeared in ancient times, when people just started building boats and ventured out to sea. In the beginning, simply stretched animal skin served as a sail. The person standing in the boat had to hold and orient it relative to the wind with both hands. It is unknown when people came up with the idea of ​​strengthening the sail with the help of a mast and yards, but already on the oldest images of the ships of the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut that have come down to us, one can see wooden masts and yards, as well as stays (cables that keep the mast from falling back), halyards (lifting gear and lowering sails) and other rigging.

Consequently, the appearance of a sailing ship must be attributed to prehistoric times.

There is much evidence that the first large sailing ships appeared in Egypt, and the Nile was the first high-water river on which river navigation began to develop. Every year from July to November, the mighty river overflowed its banks, flooding the entire country with its waters. Villages and cities found themselves cut off from each other like islands. Therefore, ships were a vital necessity for the Egyptians. They played a much greater role in the economic life of the country and in communication between people than wheeled carts.

One of the earliest types of Egyptian ships, which appeared about 5 thousand years BC, was the barque. It is known to modern scientists from several models installed in ancient temples. Since Egypt is very poor in timber, papyrus was widely used for the construction of the first ships. The features of this material determined the design and shape of ancient Egyptian ships. It was a sickle-shaped boat, knitted from bundles of papyrus, with bow and stern curved upward. To give the ship strength, the hull was tightened with cables. Later, when regular trade with the Phoenicians was established and large quantities of Lebanese cedar began to arrive in Egypt, the tree began to be widely used in shipbuilding.

An idea of ​​what types of ships were built then is given by the wall reliefs of the necropolis near Saqqara, dating back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. These compositions realistically depict the individual stages of the construction of a plank ship. The hulls of ships, which had neither a keel (in ancient times it was a beam lying at the base of the ship’s bottom) nor frames (transverse curved beams that ensured the strength of the sides and bottom), were assembled from simple dies and caulked with papyrus. The hull was strengthened by means of ropes that covered the ship along the perimeter of the upper plating belt. Such ships hardly had good seaworthiness. However, they were quite suitable for river navigation. The straight sail used by the Egyptians allowed them to sail only with the wind. The rigging was attached to a two-legged mast, both legs of which were installed perpendicular midline vessel. At the top they were tightly tied. The step (socket) for the mast was a beam device in the ship's hull. In the working position, this mast was held by stays - thick cables running from the stern and bow, and it was supported by legs towards the sides. The rectangular sail was attached to two yards. When there was a side wind, the mast was hastily removed.

Later, around 2600 BC, the two-legged mast was replaced by the one-legged one that is still in use today. The single-legged mast made sailing easier and gave the ship the ability to maneuver for the first time. However, the rectangular sail was an unreliable means that could only be used with a fair wind.

The main engine of the ship remained the muscular power of the rowers. Apparently, the Egyptians were responsible for an important improvement in the oar - the invention of rowlocks. They did not yet exist in the Old Kingdom, but then they began to attach the oar using rope loops. This immediately made it possible to increase the stroke force and speed of the vessel. It is known that selected rowers on the ships of the pharaohs made 26 strokes per minute, which allowed them to reach a speed of 12 km/h. Such ships were steered using two steering oars located at the stern. Later they began to be attached to a beam on the deck, by rotating which it was possible to select the desired direction (this principle of steering a ship by turning the rudder blade remains unchanged to this day). The ancient Egyptians were not good sailors. They did not dare to go out to the open sea with their ships. However, along the coast, their trading ships made long journeys. Thus, in the temple of Queen Hatshepsut there is an inscription reporting on the sea voyage carried out by the Egyptians around 1490 BC. to the mysterious land of incense Punt, located in the region of modern Somalia.

The next step in the development of shipbuilding was taken by the Phoenicians. Unlike the Egyptians, the Phoenicians had an abundance of excellent building materials for their ships. Their country stretched in a narrow strip along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Vast cedar forests grew here almost right next to the shore. Already in ancient times, the Phoenicians learned to make high-quality dugout single-shaft boats from their trunks and boldly went to sea with them.

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, when maritime trade began to develop, the Phoenicians began to build ships. A sea vessel is significantly different from a boat; its construction requires its own design solutions. The most important discoveries along this path, which determined the entire subsequent history of shipbuilding, belonged to the Phoenicians. Perhaps the skeletons of animals gave them the idea to install stiffening ribs on single-tree poles, which were covered with boards on top. Thus, for the first time in the history of shipbuilding, frames were used, which are still widely used.

In the same way, the Phoenicians were the first to build a keel ship (initially, two trunks connected at an angle served as the keel). The keel immediately gave the hull stability and made it possible to establish longitudinal and transverse connections. Sheathing boards were attached to them. All these innovations were the decisive basis for the rapid development of shipbuilding and determined the appearance of all subsequent ships.

Other inventions in various fields of science were also recalled, such as chemistry, physics, medicine, education and others.
After all, as we said earlier, this is not surprising. After all, any discovery or invention is another step into the future, which improves our lives, and often prolongs it. And if not every, then very, very many discoveries deserve to be called great and extremely necessary in our lives.

Alexander Ozerov, based on the book by Ryzhkov K.V. "One Hundred Great Inventions"
The greatest discoveries and inventions of mankind © 2010

About the creative activity of the mind. The creative activity of the mind is realized in different ways in one or another sphere of material or spiritual culture - in science, technology, economics, art, politics, etc. For example, in natural science, the most significant result of creativity is discovery - the establishment of new, previously unknown facts, properties and patterns of the real world. I. Kant makes the following distinction between discovery and invention: they discover something that exists in itself, remaining unknown, for example, Columbus discovered America. An invention is the creation of something that did not previously exist, for example, gunpowder was invented. Discovery and invention are always the completion of what is sought. A truly scientific discovery consists in finding a fundamental solution to problems that have not yet been solved, problems that have not yet been solved. It happens that the new is only an original combination of old elements. Creative thought is that which leads to new results either through combinations of conventional methods, or by a completely new method that violates previously accepted ones. As soon as the principle for solving a problem is found, it ceases to be creative. The movement of thoughts along beaten paths is no longer creative thinking. It is thanks to creativity that progress is made in science, technology, art, politics and in all other spheres of public life. The roots of every discovery, according to V.I. Vernadsky, lie far in the depths, and, like waves rushing against the shore, human thought splashes many times around the prepared discovery until the ninth wave arrives.

The paths leading to discovery can be very bizarre. Sometimes chance leads us down these paths. For example, the Danish physicist H. Oersted once showed students experiments with electricity. There was a compass next to the conductor included in the electrical circuit. When the circuit closed, the magnetic compass needle deviated. Noticing this, one inquisitive student asked the scientist to explain this phenomenon. Oersted repeated the experiment: he closed the circuit again, and the compass needle deviated again. As a result of repeated experiments and logical reasoning, the scientist made a great discovery, which was to establish the connection between magnetism and electricity. This discovery, in turn, served as the most important stage for other discoveries, in particular the invention of the electromagnet.

In the creative activity of a scientist, there are often cases when the author himself presents the result as if it suddenly “emerged” for him. But behind the ability to “suddenly” grasp the essence of a matter and feel “full confidence in the correctness of the idea” are accumulated experience, acquired knowledge and the hard work of a searching thought.

The logical path of scientific and technical creativity associated with discovery and invention begins with the emergence of a corresponding guess, idea, hypothesis. Having put forward an idea and formulated a problem, the scientist finds its solution, and then refines it through calculations and testing by experience. From the emergence of an idea to its implementation and testing in practice, there is often a painfully long path of search.

Discovery as a resolution of contradictions. One of the characteristic features of the creative work of thought is the resolution of contradictions. This is understandable: any scientific discovery or technical invention represents the creation of a new one, which is inevitably associated with the negation of the old. This is the dialectic of the development of thought. The creative process is quite logical. This is a chain of logical operations in which one link naturally follows another: setting a problem, foreseeing the ideal final result, finding a contradiction that interferes with achieving the goal, discovering the cause of the contradiction and, finally, resolving the contradiction.

Let's give examples. In shipbuilding, to ensure the seaworthiness of a ship, optimal consideration of opposite conditions is necessary: ​​in order for a ship to be stable, it is advantageous to make it wider, and to make it faster, it is advisable to make it longer and narrower. These requirements are opposite. In mining technology, an increase in the cross-sectional size and depth of mines came into conflict with the growing pressure of rocks. To resolve this contradiction, it was necessary to switch from the square section of the shafts to a round one and replace the wooden fastening of the shafts with a metal one. Perhaps the technical contradictions in aircraft manufacturing are especially evident. An airplane is a structure in which two principles fight irreconcilably: strength and weight. The car must be made strong and light, and strength and lightness are always “at war” with each other.

The history of science and technology shows that the vast majority of inventions are the result of overcoming contradictions. P. Kapitsa once said that a physicist is interested not so much in the laws themselves as in deviations from them. And this is true, since by studying them, scientists usually discover new patterns.

To make a discovery means to correctly establish the proper place of a new fact in the system of theory as a whole, and not simply to discover it. Understanding new facts often leads to the construction of a new theory.

The idea of ​​ether dominated the physical concept of the world for a long time. The discovery that “removed” the idea of ​​ether was carried out by the American physicist A.A. Mikel-son. If light propagates in the motionless ether, and the Earth flies through the ether, then two light rays - one launched in the direction of the Earth's flight, and the other in the opposite direction - must move relative to the Earth at different speeds. A very accurate experiment showed that there is no difference in speeds. The idea of ​​a stationary ether came into conflict with direct experience and was rejected.

Creative imagination and fantasy are closely related to the development of a person’s ability to change and transform the world. With its help, a person realizes both inventions and plans that have raised man so high above the animal. Fantasy and dreams are associated with anticipation of the future. DI. Pisarev wrote:

“If a person were completely deprived of the ability to dream... if he could not occasionally run ahead and contemplate with his imagination in whole and complete beauty the very creation that is just beginning to take shape under his hands - then I absolutely cannot imagine "What motive would compel a man to undertake and complete extensive and tedious work in art, science, and practical life."

1 Pisarev D.M. Selected works: In 2 vols. M., 1935. T. II. P. 124.

Fantasy has its own laws, different from the laws of ordinary logic of thinking. Creative imagination allows one to grasp the general meaning of a new design and the paths leading to it by barely noticeable or completely unnoticeable details and individual facts for the naked eye. All other things being equal, a rich imagination protects a scientist from beaten paths. A person deprived of creative imagination and a guiding idea may not see anything special in the abundance of facts: he is accustomed to them. Habits in scientific thinking are the crutches on which, as a rule, everything old rests. To accomplish great things you need independence from established prejudices.

1 Thus, characterizing the achievements of domestic astrophysics, V.A. Ambartsu-myan noted that we are successfully developing the point of view according to which powerful processes occurring in the Universe are associated with the transition from a more dense to a less dense state. Our scientists claim that colossal explosions occur in the cores of galaxies. Under the pressure of facts, American astronomers came to the same conclusion, although several years ago they categorically denied that the radio galaxy was the result of explosions. What played a role in this was that our scientists rejected the prejudice that lived in science and according to which, in general, everything that exists must be explained on the basis of something diffuse, chaotic, having negligible density (see: Ambartsumyan V.A. Marxist-Leninist methodology and progress of science // Methodological problems of science. Materials of the meeting of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. M., 1964. P. 19).

The power of creative imagination allows a person to look at familiar things in a new way and discern features in them that have not been noticed by anyone before.

The English engineer Brown was tasked with building a bridge across the Tweed River that would be durable and at the same time not too expensive. One day, while walking through his garden, Brown noticed a cobweb stretching over the path. At that very moment the idea occurred to him that a suspension bridge on iron chains could be built in a similar way.

Creative imagination is cultivated throughout the course of a person’s life, through the assimilation of the treasures of spiritual culture accumulated by mankind. Art plays a significant role in nurturing creative imagination. It develops imagination and gives great scope for creative ingenuity. It is far from accidental that great thinkers and scientists have an exceptionally high aesthetic culture, and a number of prominent physicists and mathematicians consider beauty and a developed sense of beauty to be a heuristic principle of science, an essential attribute of scientific intuition. It is known that P. Dirac put forward the idea of ​​the existence of the proton for purely aesthetic reasons. K.E. Tsiolkovsky has said more than once that the basic ideas of his concept of space travel were formed under the strong influence of science fiction literature.

Discoveries never grow out of nowhere. They are the result of the scientist’s consciousness being constantly filled with intense searches for solutions to some creative problems.

In scientific discoveries and technical inventions, analogy plays a significant role, as many scientists note. It is present in almost all discoveries, but in some it is the basis. For example, in the famous discovery universal gravity When Newton, unlike all his predecessors who saw an apple falling to the ground, saw the attraction of the apple by the earth, there was also an analogy between the movement of celestial and thrown upward bodies. Sharp observation leads to the achievements of something new: Sherlock Holmesian attention to “little things”, the ability to notice what hundreds and thousands of people pass by without attention. In the process of scientific research - experimental or theoretical - a scientist seeks a solution to a problem. This search can be carried out by touch, at random, and purposefully. In every creation there is a guiding idea. It is a kind of guiding force: without it, a scientist inevitably dooms himself to wandering in the dark.

1 One day, walking down the street in the rain, Russian scientist N.E. Zhukovsky, immersed in his thoughts, stopped in front of a stream that he needed to step over. Suddenly his gaze fell on a brick lying in the middle of a stream of water. Zhukovsky began to carefully look at how the position of the brick changed under the pressure of water, and at the same time the nature of the stream of water running around the brick changed... This observation prompted the scientist to solve the hydrodynamic problem.

Regardless of the content, any scientific discovery has a certain general logic of movement: from searching and isolating facts, their selection to processing the data obtained as a result of observation and experiment. Next, thought moves towards classification, generalization and conclusions. On this basis, hypotheses arise, they are selected and subsequently tested in practice, in experiments. A theory is then formulated and a prediction is made.

But logic far from exhausts the spiritual resources of creative thinking.

"The necessary role of imagination and intuition in scientific research cannot be underestimated. Breaking with the help of irrational leaps ... the rigid circle in which deductive reasoning encloses us, induction based on imagination and intuition makes it possible to realize great conquests of thought; it lies at the basis of all true achievements of science... Thus (a striking contradiction!), human science, essentially rational in its foundations and in its methods, can achieve its most remarkable achievements only through dangerous sudden leaps of mind, when abilities freed from the heavy fetters of strict reasoning manifest themselves which are called imagination, intuition, wit."

2 Broglie L. de. Along the paths of science. M., 1962. S. 294-295.

Inventions and discoveries contribute to the development of progress, simplify our lives and improve its quality. But these achievements must be distinguished from each other.

Definition

Invention most often they call something new, created by man to solve problems that arise in different fields of activity, in the most convenient, previously unknown way. A material object can be invented ( washing machine) or something not related to material (new method in production). It must be said that in addition to useful ones, there are also useless inventions (chewing gum), and even harmful ones (cigarettes).

Opening– the primary detection of phenomena, properties of objects, and patterns that objectively exist in the universe. Discoveries significantly increase the level of human knowledge of the surrounding reality.

Comparison

One of the essential points that distinguishes an invention from a discovery is that the invented thing or method of action has never existed before. Discovery is the identification of something that has always been present in the world, but was previously outside of human knowledge.

For example, an hourglass was once invented, which became a very popular thing that helps keep track of time. Before the invention of such watches, there were no such watches in the world, so it cannot be said that they were discovered. At the same time, no one would call the law of universal gravitation an invention. This is precisely a discovery, since such a law existed and was in effect before Newton formulated it.

Let us now analyze how inventions appear. First of all, such a process involves the use of certain knowledge and experience, appeal to intuition, creative work, and design. Often an invention is the result of the intense efforts of many people.

At the same time, some discoveries can be called an accidental discovery, when something important is discovered completely unplanned, helping to explain the phenomena of reality or bringing practical benefit. The source of other discoveries is a hypothesis, which is subsequently confirmed by experience.

Knowing the difference between an invention and a discovery is especially important when questions arise about patenting achievements. With regard to the invention, such a procedure is recognized as legitimate, since in this case, thanks to to a specific person or a group of people, something valuable and unique appears in the world. Discoveries cannot be patented (for example, it would be absurd to patent the laws of thermodynamics).

In conclusion, there is a strong relationship between the two types of achievement. The invention involves the use of previously discovered patterns to obtain a specific product. And discoveries are often made without the use of previously created inventions.