The Computer:
The
first general-purpose computer, the nearly 30-ton ENIAC (1947), contains 18,000
vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors and 10,000 capacitors. In 1959, the INTEGRATED
CIRCUIT puts those innards on one tiny chip. Before the entire world
is networked, there is the ARPANET—four computers linked in 1969.
It introduces the concept of "packet switching," which simultaneously
delivers messages as short units and reassembles them at their destination. The
Apple II, Commodore Pet and Radio Shack's TRS-80 are introduced in 1977—four
years before IBM, soon to become synonymous with the term "PC,"
unveils its PERSONAL COMPUTER. In 1989, Sir Tim
Berners-Lee creates "hypertext markup language" (HTML) to make Web
pages and the "Uniform Resource Locator" (URL) to identify where
information is stored. These breakthroughs form the foundation of the WORLD
WIDE WEB.
1964_MUSIC
SYNTHESIZER
Robert Moog develops
the first electronic synthesizer to make the leap from machine to musical
instrument. Moog's device not only generates better sounds than other
synthesizers, it can be controlled by a keyboard rather than by punch cards.
The subsequent acceptance of electronic music is a crucial step in developing
audio technology for computers, cellphones and stereos.
1966_HIGH-YIELD RICE
The International
Rice Research Institute in the Philippines releases a semi-dwarf, high-yield
Indica variety that, in conjunction with high-yield wheat, ushers in the Green
Revolution. Indica rice thrives in tropical regions of Asia and South America,
raising worldwide production more than 20 percent by 1970.
1969_SMOKE DETECTOR
Randolph Smith and
Kenneth House patent a battery-powered smoke detector for home use. Later
models rely on perhaps the cheapest nuclear technology you can own: a chunk of
americium-241. The element's radioactive particles generate a small electric
current. If smoke enters the chamber it disrupts the current, triggering an
alarm.
1969_CHARGE-COUPLED
DEVICE
Bell Labs' George
Smith and Willard Boyle invent a charge-coupled device (CCD) that can measure
light arriving at a rate of just one photon per minute. Smith and Boyle's
apparatus allows extremely faint images to be recorded, which is very useful in
astronomy. Today, its most noticeable impact is in digital cameras, which rely
on CCD arrays containing millions of pixels.
1970_DIGITAL MUSIC
James Russell, a
scientist with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, invents the first
digital-to-optical recording and playback system, in which sounds are
represented by a string of 0s and 1s and a laser reads the binary patterns
etched on a photosensitive platter. Russell isn't able to convince the music
industry to adopt his invention, but 20 years later, Time Warner and other CD
manufacturers pay a $30 million patent infringement settlement to Russell's
former employer, the Optical Recording Co.
1971_WAFFLE-SOLE
RUNNING SHOES
Bill Bowerman, the
track coach at the University of Oregon, sacrifices breakfast for peak
performance when he pours rubber into his wife's waffle iron, forming
lightweight soles for his athletes' running shoes. Three years later,
Bowerman's company, Nike, introduces the Waffle Trainer, which is an instant
hit.
1962_Computer Mouse
"I
don't know why we call it a mouse. It started that way, and we never changed
it." Doug Engelbart, engineer, Stanford Research Institute, 1968
1969_Automated Teller Machine
"On
Sept. 2, our bank will open at 9:00 and never close again!" Long
Island branch of Chemical Bank, advertisement from 1969
1973_Cellphone
"Joel,
I'm calling you from a real cellular phone." Martin Cooper, leader of
Motorola's cellphone team, to Joel Engel, research head of rival AT&T's
Bell Labs, April 3, 1973
1978_In-Vitro Fertilization
"We'd
love to have children of our own one day. That would be such a dream come
true." Louise Brown Mullinder, the first test-tube baby, on her
wedding day, in 2003
 |
| Add caption |
smylessmyles