It's difficult to imagine our lives without any form of movement.
Wheels are one of the most ancient discoveries in all of humankind.
However, none of us question how the wheel was actually discovered?
Wheels have made it much easier for all of us to travel. The creation of
the wheel is perhaps the most significant discovery. As soon as the
wheel was invented, there was a revolt in the manufacturing industry.
The first inventor of the wheel remains unknown. What is known, is the
fact that the first ever wheel was discovered approximately 3,000 years
ago where weavers and potters were the first to utilise them.
The containers that were prepared by the potters were helpful for
carrying the essentials; drinking water and nutritious food. There was
yet another enhancement by utilising the wheels for moving on the
vehicles. The advanced version of these same wheels are now being used
by the cars which we use today, for our own convenience.
There was always a regular growth in the advancement of inventing new
and innovative designs the wheel. The wheels that we now see in heavy
vehicles were also invented during the early centuries, but the
differences are huge. The initial designs were much simpler in
comparison to the designs we see today.
Unlike other inventions that took place around 5000 B.C. or even
earlier, wheels are still commonplace today and are still high in
demand. Many contemporary discoveries are derived from the ancient and
original wheel. It's clear that if there was no invention of the wheel,
there would be no vehicles. Our roads would have been empty and
aeroplanes would not have been able to take to the skies.
As result of the wheel, there has been great development in the field of
industrialisation. The different manufacturing factories and companies
are a productive outcome of wheels. If the wheel had been a relatively
new invention, the inventor would have received worldwide acclaim.
Although what we determine to be a simple idea, the concept at that time
was truly groundbreaking and ingenius - a concept that has withstood
the ultimate test of time.
Invention of the Automobile
The invention of the automobile can be traced back as far as 1769,
when one Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, devised the very first concept - a
complex, three wheeled steam engine. The idea never really took off, as
it could not compete with horse powered transportation which were easier
to handle, faster, less expensive and more commercially viable.
Horses were at the heart of the transport industry, with every
individual business relying on horses to pull their vehicles. The steam
train was named the iron horse, the bicycle was named the poor man's
horse and the trolley car was named the horseless carriage. Horsepower
was used to define performance, and is still commonplace to this day.
James Watt adopted the term "horsepower" to express the pulling power of
a steam train, which was calculated as 33,000 foot-pounds per minute
based upon his experience in working with horses. The horse industry was
immensely powerful and those looking to force the automobile through in
its place would meet a lot of resistance from those companies turning
over significant profits.
"The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty, a fad."
- President of Michigan Savings Bank, 1901
Cars had to become practical, to be simple to use, offer benefits over
horses and be affordable, yet profitable. In 1807, Francois Isaac de
Rivaz, a Swiss inventor, invented the very first internal combustion
engine using hydrogen as fuel. This prompted a whole host of engineers
to develop this idea further. Karl Benz created an internal combustion
engine powered by gasoline in 1879. Daimler and Mayback, two successful
German engineers, began producing automobiles in 1889, manufacturing
thirty cars powered by a bi-cylinder, 1.5hp gas engine with four-speed
transmission. Benz produced twenty five cars all powered by a
four-stroke gas engine.
Both companies soon merged to become the Daimler-Benz Company, creating
both Daimler and Mercedes Benz brands. The speed of these cars were more
than a match for horses, but the ignition still sputtered as a result
of the fuel used within the internal combustion engines. This problem
was resolved over the next few years by using a lead additive.
Those against the introduction of automobiles warned the public of the
dangers of cars, including air pollution and noise, which created an air
of uncertainty. This resistance forced cars to be used on a separate
roadway to that of horses. Those in favour of the car responded, by
expressing problems with horses such as the amount of food and water
they required, and also the quantities of manure they deposited behind.
In the height of Summer, the smell and flies attracted were
insufferable. Cars obviously didn't get hungry, tired or produce manure
like their 4 legged competitors.
Henry Ford was an intelligent man who understood the process of
commercialising inventions to turn a profit. He made it his mission to
develop a car which could compete against horses in terms of
affordability, competitiveness and profitability. His vision was for the
car to progress along an assembly line, with worked staged at specific
locations with specific tasks. This concept allowed one vehicle to be
manufactured in as little as 90 minutes - seven times faster than rival
manufacturers. A quick drying paint was used to keep up the speed of
production but was only available in one colour - black.
Car components soon became universal, allowing parts to be
interchangeable, therefore driving down costs of both manufacturing and
repair work. Ford led automobiles to become affordable, profitable and
competitive and the progression from horses to cars escalated - quickly
becoming the number one transportation method in the world.
Invention of the Steam Engine
The invention of the engine has played a major role in the
environment we live in today - surrounded by transport and industries
all reliant on an engine of some description. The engine we see today
is a progression of the steam engine, using the same principles, but
applied in a more developed manner in the modern world. Every single
engine works the same way - a conversion of burning fuel into kinetic
energy. It's near enough impossible to imagine a world without the
engine, so let's look at the history of the engine and how it has come
to the forefront of our industrialized world.
The first incarnations of the steam engine were wood-powered, before
coal was discovered as a superior replacement, allowing the invention of
the steam engine to be one of the most pivotal developments in decades.
Most valued during the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine offered
an increase in transportation speeds, and an obvious positive impact
across industrial industries.
It is a well known fallacy that the lead inventor of the steam engine,
James Watt, was inspired by watching the power of steam lifting off a
kettle lid. In all truth, Watt was truly inspired when working on a
Newcomen engine at the University of Glasgow, where he attempted to
repair the engine in May, 1765. It's necessary to look at the engine
variations leading up to this point, to properly understand the
development of the steam engine.
Thomas Savery, an English inventor/engineer, developed a water pimp
which utilized steam from a boiler to create its power. The idea itself
was brilliant, but Savery could not really make the most out of it,
allowing Thomas Newcomen, an English blacksmith to step in and improve
things, in 1712.
Newcomen's contraption was most commonly used in coal mines to pump
water - where steam was condensed in cylinders creating a fractional
vacuum underneath the piston. Air pressure would naturally apply to the
top of the piston, forcing it downwards in a regular motion.
James Watt then took over the reins, and the development of the steam
engine really began to gather pace. The Scottish engineer noticed from
Newcomen's design that a vast amount of heat energy was escaping from
the mechanism heating the cylinders. Watt's vision was to use a
completely separate condenser, connected to the cylinder via a simple
valve, wherein the cylinder would be kept hot, yet the condenser would
be kept cold. Watt patented his steam engine in 1769, though it was to
be a few years before the engine became available.
As the years progressed, Watt made some alterations to his initial
design, including insulation, oil lubrication and a gear system for
controlling the motion of the piston. His reformed engine was
introduced in 1783.
The steam engine had a dramatic impact all over the world. Setting
aside the obvious improvements to transportation speeds, the engine also
allowed factories freedom from the reliance on water power. Countries
rich in coal began to reap the financial benefits attached - the UK
using its own coal reserves to expand the British Empire in both the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Trains powered by steam engines
proved highly advantageous during the industrialization period.
The steam engine invented by James Watt may, in the current day, look
rather basic in comparison to modern day technology, but it was Watt's
creation which produced the fundamentals for the engine's development
through time.
Invention of the Airplane
The discovery of the airplane accelerated development in the
transport industry. The time taken to travel greater distances has been
dramatically reduced, and places have become increasingly more
accessible.
Despite the Wright Brothers universally credited with the invention of
the airplane, the emergence of the plane can be traced back an entire
century before the brothers took to the sky. Sir George Cayley, born in
Scarborough, in 1773, built his first model helicopter in 1796. In
1804, he successfully designed and manufactured a glider, before
publishing three papers detailing the fundamental principles of
aeronautics. It was within these papers that the ideas of thrust and
lift were first explained.
The two people most commonly linked with the invention of the airplane
are the Wright Brothers. Wilbur Wright was born on 16th April, 1867
while his brother, Orville, was born on 19th August, 1871. Both left
education at an early stage to set up their own bicycle repair store.
Otto Lilienthal, a German aviator, was a man who the Wright Brothers
closely followed, keeping up to date with his research and experiments.
Lilienthal died in a glider accident, which inspired the brothers to
take matters into their own hands and continue their own research into
aeronautics. This love of mechanics drove them to experiment with the
principles of airplanes and flight, carrying out extensive tests for
many years. One of these many tests focused on the wings. The brothers
set about building a set of wings similar to that of a bird, albeit
with a moveable rudder. This was known as "wing warping" and was the
benchmark for their design. It was in 17th December, 1903, that the
brothers unveiled their first ariplane, the first plane that had been
capable of a controlled flight with no landing damage and a constant
speed.
The brothers made it part of their research to photograph each prototype
they tested, also persuading an attendant from a lifesaving station to
capture Orville in flight. The "flying machine", as it was referred to
at that point, rose to an altitude of 10 feet, travelled 120 feet and
took just 12 seconds. Two further successful
flights
took place later that day prompting the brothers to contact their
father to tell him to get in touch with the press about their recent
flights. Unfortunately, many dismissed their claims, so Wilbur ventured
into Europe to spread the word. Their news was finally accepted, and
the brothers received worldwide fame for their work.
Invention of the Radio
The invention of the radio was a great achievement in terms of
communication between two positions. The inventors of the telephone and
telegraph had already introduced the technology of wire-to-wire
communication. Thus, the inventor of radio based his idea heavily on the
technology that existed in the telephone and telegraph.
This invention was no immediate, but staggered over a number of years.
The discovery of radio waves actually provided the platform for the
invention of the radio. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves that can
carry information in the form of pictures, sound and other details.
Therefore, the radio was based on a number of scientific findings.
In the 1800's, a physicist from Scotland had predicted radio waves. A
German physicist then proved this theory by showing that radio waves are
the same as light or heat waves. This allowed wireless technology to
launch.
Nicola Tesla, a Serbian Scientist, designed the first radio in 1892. He
also designed a Radio Controlled Robotic Boat using similar
technologies.
Sir Oliver Lodge brought considerable improvement to the original design
in the form of a coherer, a primitive form of radio signal detector. He
is the first person to transmit a successful radio signal.
The invention of the radio is obviously a great milestone. It has
enabled the news to be transmitted on a very broad basis. The way the
news was conveyed on the radio was completely different from the
conventional method of print in the daily newspaper.
The invention of the radio was a huge step in the field of technology.
Since the time it was invented most of us have forgotten how useful a
radio can prove to be even in the present world where computers and
laptops have dominated. The sound that can be heard emitting from radio
speakers is mainly attributed to the transmission of radio signals,
known as a process called modulation. The modulation of electromagnetic
waves transmit the signals at a low frequency.
The oscillating electromagnetic fields emit electromagnetic radiation.
These radiated waves go through a process of modulation in regards to
the frequency, amplitude and pulse width. The waves then transform into
sound that are responsible for carrying information.
The invention of radio made it easy for any person hear the world news.
The radio was the most widely used device, despite the popularity of
both the telegraph and telephone, invented during the same period.
The invention of Audion, the first radio tube responsible for improving
the clarity brought about a complete new generation of radio. This was a
time when people could enjoy their favourite music on the radio.
The addition of digital radio has improved the quality of broadcast
further, reducing interference and delivering a superior end product.
Invention of the Computer
Personal computers are now commonplace in most homes throughout
the world, and are relied on heavily by both individuals and businesses.
The invention of the computer is relatively new, emerging into our
lives relatively late in the 20th century. The technology to build such
intricate and sophisticated systems was simply not available prior to
this, though advancements in microelectronics made the vision of a
computer a realistic one. The two innovations in electronics which
allowed for this were the integrated circuit, which was manufactured in
1959, and the microprocessor, which appeared in 1971. The integrated
circuit allowed the internal memory solutions to be shrunken down into
manageable components, whereas the microprocessor reduced the size of a
central processing unit down to a single chip.
The microprocessor revolutionised electronics as we know it, a small
silicon chip which can process thousands of simultaneous calculations,
and replace the need for thousands of independent transistors. Developed
by Ted Hoff, in California, part of the Intel Corporation, the
microprocessor opened up new opportunities for machines, as the
processor itself was capable of handling large flows of data, performing
logical calculations and almost behaving with intelligence.
The first desktop computer system was manufactured for person use in
1974, courtesy of Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS). The
computer was termed Altair, and retailed for as little as $400. The
popularity of the Altair soared to unimaginable heights, everyone
appearing keen to sample this new machine. This sparked a whole host of
computers being developed by other companies, or by young ambitious
entrepreneurs. The first well known and reputable company to produce
their own computer was Tandy Corporation, which launched its own model
in 1977. This model proved a hit, and became the most popular of the
computers on the market at that time for two main reasons. It included a
keyboard, to improve input, and also included a cathode ray tube to
provide a CTR monitor. It also allowed information to be stored on
cassette tapes, and was also programmable.
A couple of engineers, Stephen Wozniack and Steven Jobs, then began
their own business venture which would become known as Apple Computers.
The pair manufactured the Apple I, which was a homemade microprocessor,
from Jobs' parents' garage of all places. The Apple I was then
marketed to the public and was later sold to electronics enthusiasts and
hobbyists. This led to the creation of Apple Computer, Inc., and in
April, 1977, the Apple II was launched, the world's first personal
computer system. The system was designed exclusively by the Apple team
and included a keyboard and most notably colour graphics. The Apple II
retailed at $1290.
Apple introduced brand new features to its computer system, expandable
memory, disk-drive systems, improved data storage, and the
aforementioned colour graphics. Apple Computers became the fastest
growing business in American business history, with rival companies
being set up as a result of Apple's huge success.
1981 saw IBM introduce their model of microcomputer, generically named
the IBM PC. The 16-bit microprocessor prompted cravings for faster and
more powerful processors. In the middle of the 1980's, a few more
improvements were introduced to the computer world. 32-bit computers
were revealed, which allowed for enough power to prove beneficial in a
small to medium business environment.
User friendliness was targeted as key for most computer users, and the
development or a Graphical User Interface certainly epitomised this.
The GUI, replaced the requirement of entering complex commands, and
brought in a much simpler 'point and click' strategy. Douglas Engelbart
created an "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System": which
effectively became the "mouse", which has obviously has remained a
standard with modern day PC's. Voice recognition software now exists to
rival mouse input, and computer technology continues to grow at earth
shattering speeds, which opens up exciting ideas for the not so distant
future of computers.
The invention of the computer was clearly one of the most revolutionary inventions ever to grace the business world.
Invention of the Light Bulb
The very first electric light was invented as early as 1800 by
English inventor, Humphry Davy. Through various experimentations with
electricity, he invented a basic electric battery, soon followed by
electric light once he realised that carbon glowed, producing light when
connected to the battery. This reaction is called an electric arc.
In 1860, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan set about attempting to develop a
practical, long-lasting form of electric light. It was he who realised
that carbon paper filament worked well, however did burn up relatively
quickly. In 1878, his new lamp inventions were showcased in Newcastle,
England.
1877 saw American Charles Francis Brush develop a series of carbon arcs
in order to illuminate a public square in Ohio, USA. A few streets,
some large office buildings and some stores all utilised electric
lights, but the extent of usage was not at all common.
Typically credited as
the 'inventor of the light bulb',
Thomas Alva Edison
experimented with thousands upon thousands of alternative filaments to
find the best material for a long-lasting, high glow solution. 1879 was
the year Edison finally realised that a carbon filament within an
oxygen-free bulb glowed, but would not burn up for approximately 40
hours. Later, Edison invented a bulb that would not expire for over
1500 hours.
Lewis Howard Latimer improved upon Edison's bulb with a new carbon
filament which he patented in 1881. Latimer was part of Edison's
research team, termed "Edison's Pioneers", and in 1882 began to
manufacture and distribute his own carbon filaments.
At the turn of the century, in 1903, Willis R. Whitney introduced a
'fix' to the light bulb, so that the inside of the bulb would not darken
as the filament began to glow, thus producing more vivid and bright
light. William David Coolidge then invented a tungsten version of the
traditional filament, which lasted longer than any other filament. This
incandescent light bulb revolutionised the way in which we live today.
Invention of the Internet
The Internet is something which many of us now take for granted,
but the invention of the Internet, is still recent. The Internet is
essentially a network connecting thousands of smaller networks into a
single global network. The Internet model and the Transmission Control
Protocols used to implement the idea were developed in 1973 by Vinton
Cerf, an American computer scientist. His project was backed by the
United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA), directed by Robert Khan, an American engineer.
The Internet initially was used to connect University networks and
research labs within the United States. The World Wide Web, as we now
know it, was developed in 1989 by Timothy Berners-Lee, an English
scientist, for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
"The design of the Internet was done in 1973 and published in 1974.
There ensued about 10 years of hard work, resulting in the roll out of
Internet in 1983. Prior to that, a number of demonstrations were made of
the technology - such as the first three-network interconnection
demonstrated in November 1977 linking SATNET, PRNET and ARPANET in a
path leading from Menlo Park, CA to University College London and back
to USC/ISI in Marina del Rey, CA." . - Vinton Cerf
The Internet is better described as an interconnection of various
computer networks which enable each connected machine to communicate
directly. Smaller Internets exist, called Intranets, which are
typically used within a single organisation.
The Internet grew to phenomenal levels over a short period of time. In
1996, more than 25 million computers had been connected to the Internet
across 180 different countries.
The Internet makes use of gateways to connect separate networks to a
single network. Gateway interconnections are established across
telephone lines, optical fibres and radio links. New networks can be
added by welcoming new gateways into the network. Data sent from one
machine is tagged, using a unique address which identifies that
particular machine, and to ensure the information is sent to the correct
destination.
Addressing is crucial to the success of the Internet and commonly uses
the dotted decimal approach, for example 168.124.1.0. This address is
often associated with a web address, with the numeric address and the
URL paired up in an addressing table, to eradicate the need to remember
number strings. Once data is sent from one machine, the data travels
from gateway to gateway until it reaches the network belonging to the
destination machine. The Internet has no central repository, and
therefore is unique in its methodology.
The Internet Protocol is a key element to a successful Internet. The
Internet Protocol determines how a gateway receives a request and what
to do with that request once received. The Transmission Control
Protocol then verifies that the information has been sent and received
successfully, allowing the data to be re-sent if an error occurs during
transmission.
The Internet has changed our world bringing a wealth of information to
our fingertips. The sharing of information has accelerated with the
introduction of the Internet, with new, fresh content accessible second
after second. More applications are being introduced to the Internet,
and with the rising popularity of Internet enabled phones, the Internet
will only continue to grow at a tremendous rate opening up thousands
more opportunities to all of us. The invention of the Internet is
indeed, one of the most recent revolutionary inventions which have been a
major success and welcome addition to our world.
Invention of the Printing Press
The invention of the printing press took place in approximately
1450 AD, by a German inventor by the name of Johannes Gutenburg. During
this time, there were many cultural changes in Europe which sparked the
requirement of a quick, inexpensive method of producing large amounts
of documents. Gutenberg received
investment from banks and local business in order to work on a viable solution.
Gutenberg's original concept remained relatively unchanged until the
19th century. In the early 1800's, the advancements in technologies
meant that the printing press had to be amended to cope with the modern
world and growing demand. Iron materials replaced wooden materials for
printing, which added to the efficiency of the invention of the printing
press.
In 1884, Linotype was introduced, a way in which a machine produces
movable type, as opposed to hand versions, which greatly improved
productions speeds. Prior to this advancement, each letter had to be
applied to an iron tray, an extremely slow and laborious process. This
update again kept the printing press modern, and the efficiency at the
highest possible level.
The invention of the printing press relied heavily on Chinese paper
merchants. The Chinese have a long history of knowing the best ways to
create paper, thought to precede Egyptians. The Chinese had also begun
experimenting with inks, movable clay, and block printing long before
Gutenberg embarked on his own invention. Gutenberg basically took all
the assets of the Chinese invention and applied them to a more
sophisticated machine.
The printing press functions as follows. Initially, each and every
letter of the alphabet was carved into a steel punch, which was
subsequently hammered onto a piece of copper, known as a blank. This
copper was then inserted into a mould, and an alloy consisting of lead,
bismuth and antimony was poured inside. This alloy cools very quickly,
allowing the reverse image of any letter to be handled within minutes.
Each letter were pieced together, and arranged within a frame. Once
this stage was reached, the printer could press, ink and print them as
many times as necessary. As you can imagine this was a relatively slow
process, so was reserved for books and newspapers which were high in
demand.
Without the invention of the printing press, both the cultural and
industrial revolutions would not have taken place. The printing press
also redefined the operations within the church. The bible was
published in an array of different languages for the first time, leading
to a reduced number of church followers. Many began questioning the
authenticity of the church, since there was no mention in the bible of a
requirement to pay church taxes, which existed at the time.
The broadcasting of words and ideas began to spread much more quickly
and more widespread with the invention of the printing press. The
availability of books and documents also increased. The invention of
the printing press allowed ideas and documents to reach wider audiences,
and improve the sharing of information and literature, on a global
scale.
Invention of the Camera
A camera is a device which enables the recording of still and
moving photographs within seconds. Without the camera, it was not
possible to capture and preserve good memories.
The camera was first designed by Joseph N. Niepce, a retired French
Military Officer. He invented his first camera in 1826 in France. This
camera was known as "Obscura", comprising of two wooden boxes out of
which one box had a lens and the other had a screen, which was green in
colour. He then invented a diaphragm, which helped in the clarity by
sharpening the image.
The first discovery of the camera was made by a German Mathematician,
Friedrich Risner. As there were more and more developments in the
technology of the camera, this led to improvement in the quality of
pictures, film, flash and colour pictures. With all these improvements
and the developments in the camera, today we are able to see our past in
our present.
Alhazen invented the first Pinhole Camera, also known as "Camera
Obscura". It made people aware of the true reason as to why the image
was often upside down. Joseph N. Niepce made the first photographic
image. Joseph's main idea was to capture the image by making the light
draw the
picture.
With many inventors, there was a development of modern photography. In
1829, it was Louis Daguerre, who in partnership with Joseph N. Niepce,
made a major improvement in photography. However, soon after the death
of Joseph N. Niepce, Louis took over the charge to develop photography,
which was named after him as the daguerreotype. He, together with the
son of Niepce, sold the rights to the government of France. He quickly
gained wide popularity and subsequently, there were as many as seventy
photo studios developed in the city of
New York.
Wet Plates Negatives
In the era of 1800, centaury wet plates negatives came into existence.
Solutions of collodion were used. A wet plate was created by using a
silver salt, which was coated over the glass. It is called a negative
wet plate. There was just one disadvantage of the wet plate; the images
were made to be developed before the emulsion could dry up.
Dry Plate Negatives
Here, instead of a solution, a dried solution of gelatin was spread over
the dry plate. It was much easier to store these plates for a
considerable period, as it did so without drying up. These plates had a
capacity to absorb light rapidly, which is evident in today's cameras.
Colour Photographs
In the 1940's, films were created using three dye layers that combined
to form a colour image. In addition, a modern process was used to create
colour photograph's using dye colours.
Invention of the Barcode
Perhaps one of the most under rated inventions belongs to the
barcode. Barcodes aren't given much thought by the majority of
consumers, but these codes were fairly recently implemented, in a
working fashion, in 1970.
A small food store owner decided one day that keeping records of the
inventory of his stock and their associated prices was an extremely
laborious process and so, in 1948, he took it upon himself to contact
The Drexel Institute of Technology in a bid to work towards a feasible
solution. Bernard Silver rose to the challenge and set out to
investigate this problem, and began working on a solution involving an
automatic way of keeping track of items which had been sold. Bernard
Silver and a group of students from the institute realised their answer
in the form of ultraviolet rays, ink and a scanner.
The system did work initially, but possessed two major negatives. The
system was incredibly costly making implementation on a large scale much
more economically draining and the system was also notorious as being
unstable. If the invention was to become commonplace in grocery stores,
these two problems had to be ironed out to provide a more viable
solution.
The patent for the bar code system was filed by Silver and one of his
students, Woodland. The patent was not granted immediately; in fact it
took three years for the patent agency to grant their invention patent
for the bar code, occurring on 7th October, 1952. The invention of the
barcode is patent number 2,612,994, Classifying Apparatus and Method,
the official title of the patent.
Despite this patent being issued, the system was still not welcomed by
the majority of store owners. It wasn't until 1966, that the system
began creeping its way into more and more grocery stores. This system
was soon criticised, as there was no central mechanism for controlling
uniformly coded items. In 1970, Logicorn developed Universal Grocery
Products Identification code (UGPIC), soon shortened to Universal
Identification Number (UPC). It was Marsh's superstore in Troy, which
was the very first store to install this sophisticated barcode reading
system and its popularity has soared ever since, obviously now
commonplace in all types of stores worldwide.
The first product to have ever been added to the barcode system was a pack of Wrigley's chewing gum.
The invention of the bar code may not appear as complex, ground
breaking, or as revolutionary as many other inventions, but few have
been as understated, yet so effectively time-saving, efficient and
manageable.
Invention of the Television Set
The televison set was invented by not one person
but a group of numerous personnel. The principal idea was based on
photoconductivity of the element selenium, founded by Willoughby Smith
in 1873. All televisions make use of an image which is scanned to
produce a representation time signal, which is then reversed and decoded
by the human eye.
On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird demonstrated the first
public television, which transmitted live moving images. Several months
later, 3 July 1928, Baird demonstrated the first colour television. In
1923, Charles Francis Jenkin demonstrated his own version of a primitive television set.
Strangely enough, colour televisions were patented before black and
white televisions were even fully functional. The reason being the fact
that inventors knew this was possible and each wanted to claim the idea
as their own.
Camarena invented the "Chromoscopic adapter for television
equipment", which was a basic transmission mechanism for colour
television. It was he who received the patent for colour televisions
initially in September 15, 1942 adapted in 1960 and further in 1962.
Exclusively electronic systems relied on research by both Philo Taylor
Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin, in order to mass distribute television
programming evident in the modern world.
The first regular transmissions originated in Germany, 1935, using 180
scan lines to deliver the picture. 2 years later these lines increased
to 441 in an effort to improve quality.
The first launch outwith Germany was England, 1936, from Alexandria Place. Baird's system was established but only spanned 4 months, since it contained 240 lines, whereas its successor EMI-Marconi's System A contained 405 lines and delivered a greater quality of picture.
It took almost 20 years for the television to be commonplace in an
American household, as in the mid 1950's programming was typical in the
majority of homes across the world.
