What were the inventions and discoveries in the 20th century?

Plastics originated from 1909 the manufacturing method of phenolic plastics invented by American L. Baekeland. After learning about the invention of plastic, the happiest thing in the world is the elephant. For hundreds of years, everything from the handle to billiards has been made of ivory.

19 In the 1980s, the supply of ivory gradually decreased and billiards rose, which once triggered a crisis. Phelan and Cowland, the largest billiards producers in the United States, can't wait to offer a gold prize worth $65,438+0,000 pounds-a considerable prize-to recruit any "invention genius" who can provide synthetic products instead of ivory.

Until 1907, the Belgian inventor Leo Baekeland, who had made huge profits by inventing photographic paper for taking fast-moving photos, accidentally invented the compound of phenol and formaldehyde. This innovative pure synthetic plastic-phenolic plastic has the functions of heat protection, electricity protection and corrosion protection.

Not only is it good for billiards, but one of the great benefits of plastic is its versatility. Everything from telephones to toilets, ashtrays to airplane parts is made of plastic.

2. Satellite TV

The inventor of TV set is john baird, a British electronic engineer. In 1923, he applied for a patent for a device that can generate 8 lines of images. The first TV set was sold at the end of 1930.

1932, BBC broadcast the first standardized TV program in the world. Since then, mankind has begun to step into the television era. Today, people use satellites and other channels to spread TV signals to every corner of the earth.

Nowadays, the per capita possession of TV in the world is extremely high (one per 10 people on average), which started at 1927 and started in the hands of Americans.

3. penicillin

Before the 1940s, humans had not mastered a drug that could effectively treat bacterial infections with little side effects. At that time, if someone got tuberculosis, it meant that the person was going to die soon.

In order to change this situation, researchers have made a long-term exploration, but the breakthrough in this respect stems from an unexpected discovery. ?

In modern times, British bacteriologist Fleming first discovered the world's first antibiotic-penicillin in 1928, and alexander fleming discovered penicillin by a lucky mistake.

By 1943, pharmaceutical companies had discovered the method of mass production of penicillin. At that time, Britain and the United States were at war with Nazi Germany. This new medicine is very effective in controlling wound infection.

4. Nuclear weapons

In order to defeat the Axis fascism, the highest authorities in the United States decided to launch the Manhattan Project aimed at developing atomic weapons. At the end of the year, as part of the Manhattan Project, the first nuclear reactor was built and put into operation under a sports facility of the University of Chicago.

1On July 6th, 945, a mushroom cloud rose from the Atomic Energy Research Center in Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA, and the world's first atomic bomb exploded successfully. On August 6th and 9th of that year, the United States dropped two atomic bombs named "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

The Japanese emperor then announced his unconditional surrender. The atomic bomb seems to have made great contributions to the victory of World War II, but mankind has lived in the shadow of terrible atomic weapons ever since.

5. Computer

Computer is the foundation of human society entering the information age, but it was born because of war. 1943, in order to decipher the German code, the British mathematician alan turing designed the first electromechanical computer named "Giant". Although it is only an imaginary computer for decoding, it initiated the development of computer technology, which is changing with each passing day.

1947, the transistor computer came out; 1959, the integrated circuit computer was born; 1970, computer produced large-scale integrated circuits; Since 1980s, a new generation of microcomputers have mushroomed. On this basis, mankind has ushered in a new network era.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Invention of the 20th Century