Battery (Voltaic Pile)This was the first reliable and predictable source of electricity, a battery that generated its own power. It led to many future innovations. Most notable is the telegraph, that relied on voltaic piles as a power source. During the Civil War, wagons filled with giant batteries deployed to the front lines and powered telegraphs. Volta’s … Continue reading "Battery (Voltaic Pile)"
Barcodes & Universal Product Code (UPC)Barcodes and UPC: Vastly sped checkout times. Reduced the number of staff and training required and the risk of the wrong price being rung. Increased the ability to electronically manage inventory, lowering carrying cost and spoilage risk. Enabled Just-In-Time ordering and itemized invoices. Transformed market research, enabling “big data” studies about items purchased together and … Continue reading "Barcodes & Universal Product Code (UPC)"
Steel Frame SkyscraperJenney left Harvard to study architecture at the prestigious École Centrale Paris, then the world’s most prominent architectural school. He graduated one year after Gustave Eiffel, builder of the Eiffel Tower. After time spent in the army, Jenney opened an architecture firm in Chicago. Urban legend is that while speaking to his wife, she set … Continue reading "Steel Frame Skyscraper"
Marine ChronometerThis device, an accurate clock that works on ships, allows sailors to much more accurately navigate. Before this innovation, sailors had to guess, and it was common for ships to miss their destination on a journey by hundreds of miles. This device reduced the risk and cost of long journeys by ship, lowering the cost … Continue reading "Marine Chronometer"
Nuclear Aircraft CarrierNuclear aircraft carriers are enormous ships capable of traveling the world indefinitely. Indeed, the ships feature relatively large flight-decks capable of launching and landing fixed-wing aircraft, typically fighters. At 1,123 ft. (342 m.) the USS Enterprise is an enormous ship. In contrast, only oil supertankers are larger. The Enterprise supported 4,600 service members. First launched … Continue reading "Nuclear Aircraft Carrier"
LASERLASER’s allow light to be intensely focused. There are many uses, from reading digital media at low power to cutting at higher powers. Countless applications rely on LASER technology. In 1957, Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes, of Bell Labs, worked on an infrared LASER, called an “optical MASER.” They patented the invention in 1958. In … Continue reading "LASER"
Public-Key Cryptography (Public key encryption)Public Key Cryptography (PKC) dramatically lowers the risk of information intercept and also lowers the risk of impersonation. PKC vastly increases security. For example, Google allows people to send queries to them encrypted. But they cannot decrypt the queries sent by others with what they give you, only Google can. Besides encrypting and decrypting, public … Continue reading "Public-Key Cryptography (Public key encryption)"
BroadcastingDavid Sarnoff David Sarnoff is the father of broadcasting. Sarnoff was a Jewish immigrant who became his family’s breadwinner at age 15. He worked as a Morse Code operator, rising up the ranks to become a supervisor. Eventually, he transitioned to radio to transmit messages over long distances. Early radio technology was for point-to-point communications, … Continue reading "Broadcasting"
Intrauterine Device (IUD)Intrauterine Devices (IUD’s) are long-lasting passive birth control for women. Once inserted they work anywhere from ten years to life. IUD’s are the most common birth-control method in the world. Background IUD’s were first developed in 1909 by Richard Richter of Waldenburg, Germany. Ernst Gräfenberg also supported the devices. He is the doctor the “G-Spot” … Continue reading "Intrauterine Device (IUD)"
Game TheoryGame theory serves as the foundation of systematized decisionmaking and modern economics. Indeed, Minimax game theory underlies modern economics and is responsible for countless economic insights, many of which won Nobel Prizes. Besides game theory, von Neumann eventually modeled the lenses behind the Los Alamos plutonium nuclear bomb. As a Jewish refugee from Europe whose … Continue reading "Game Theory"
InsulinInsulin keeps diabetics alive. Banting and Best discovered insulin, winning them the Nobel Prize. Banting stole most of the credit, but historians argue they co-discovered insulin together. They won the Nobel Prize together. Banting despised Best and the two never spoke again. To continue his work, Banting received a lifetime annuity by the Canadian government. … Continue reading "Insulin"
Air ConditioningCombining prior innovations and ideas, Carrier added his own ー related to humidity ー and created modern air conditioning. Tasked with controlling the humidity in a printing plant, because humidity affects paper, he found the connection between humidity and temperature. Carrier designed equipment to control humidity that also controlled temperature, modern air conditioning. By 1911, … Continue reading "Air Conditioning"
Mini Steel Mill (mini-mill)1969 Ken Iverson “Integrated” steel mills create steel from raw materials. They use the Bessemer process to transform raw materials into enormous amounts of steel. The plants are giant, inflexible, dirty, and expensive to erect and run. Ken Iverson worked at the Nuclear Corporation of America (eventually, Nucor), a conglomerate of assorted businesses pulled together … Continue reading "Mini Steel Mill (mini-mill)"
Hybrid CornGenetic modification by people have produced virtually all plants and animals in the western world. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts are all derived from a wild mustard plant in Europe. None of these vegetables exist but-for early genetic engineering. Similarly, all dogs, cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens are modern man-made creations. Scientists … Continue reading "Hybrid Corn"
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)Programmable Logic Controller’s (PLC’s) are small single-purpose computers. They control machines and are common in cars. You probably own more PLC’s than any other type of computer. Today, a single-car has a myriad of PLC’s, usually networked together. PLC’s replace hard-coded wiring, automating tasks. PLC’s often read input from analog sensors. Responding to temperature, sensing … Continue reading "Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)"
