天下电信成长百年汗青
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从“周幽王狼烟戏诸候”到“竹信”，从“漂泊瓶”到人类汗青上第一份电报—“天主缔造了多么的事迹！”，百年间，通讯技能借助当代科技飞速成长。此刻，让我们回过甚，看一看这一起上的风光。 中外电信史漫谈
据考，中国古代的商周时期人们就知道用狼烟来远间隔转达动静，各人最认识的就是“为博佳丽一笑，周幽王狼烟戏诸候”的故事。在国际电信同盟出书的《电话一百年》一书中提到，公元968年，中国人发现了一种叫“竹信”的对象，它被以为是本日电话的雏形。固然这些故事都反应了我们祖先的智慧才智，可是，要想相识近代电信科技的成长汗青，我们照旧得从欧洲提及。 发源于欧洲 1793年，法国查佩兄弟俩在巴黎和里尔之间架设了一条230千米长的接力方法传送信息的托架式线路。这是一种由16个信号塔构成的通讯体系。信号机由信号员在下边通过绳子和滑轮，哄骗支架的差异角度，暗示相干的信息。其时，法国和奥地利正在作战，信号体系只用一个小时就把从奥军手中篡夺埃斯河边孔代的胜利动静传到巴黎。往后，比利时、荷兰、意大利、德国及俄国等也先后成立了这样的通讯体系。听说查佩两兄弟之一是第一个行使“电报”这个词的人。 欧洲对付远间隔传送声音的研究始于17世纪。英国闻名的物理学家和化学家罗伯特·胡克起首提出了远间隔传送话音的提议。而在1796年，休斯提出了用发话器接力传送语音信息的步伐，而且把这种通讯方法称为—Telephone，一向延用至今。 1832年，美国大夫杰克逊在大西洋中飞行的一艘邮船上，给游客们讲电磁铁道理，游客中41岁的美国画家莫尔斯被深深地吸引住了。其时法国的信号机系统只能凭视力所及传讯数英里，莫尔斯空想着用电传播输电磁信号，瞬息之间把动静传送到数千英里之外。以后往后，莫尔斯的糊口产生了基础的转变。 莫尔斯从在电线中活动的电流在电线溘然截至时会迸出火花这一究竟获得开导：假如将电流截至半晌发出火花作为一种信号，电流接通而没有火花作为另一种信号，电流接通时刻加长又作为一种信号，这三种信号组合起来，就可以代表所有的字母和数字，笔墨就可以通过电流在电线中传到远处了。1837年，莫尔斯终于计划出了闻名的莫尔斯电码，它是操作“点”、“划”和“隔断”的差异组合来暗示字母、数字、标点和标记。1844年5月24日，在华盛顿国会大厦联邦最高法院集会会议厅里，莫尔斯亲手哄骗着电报机，跟着陆续串的“点”、“划”信号的发出，远在64公里外的巴尔的摩城收到由“嘀”、“嗒”声构成的天下上第一份电报。 谁发现了电话？ 今朝，各人公认的电话发现人是贝尔，他是在1876年2月14日在美国专利局申请电话专利权的。着实，就在他提出申请两小时之后，一个名叫E·格雷的人也申请了电话专利权。 在他们两个之前，欧洲已经有许多人在举办这方面的假想和研究。早在1854年，电话道理就已由法国人鲍萨尔假想出来了，6年之后德国人赖伊斯又一再了这个假想。道理是：将两块薄金属片用电线相连，一方发作声音时，金属片振动，酿成电，传给对方。但这仅仅是一种假想，题目是送话器和受话器的结构，奈何才气把声音这种机器能转换成电能，并举办传送。 最初，贝尔用电磁开关来形成一开一闭的脉冲信号，可是这对付声波这样高的频率，这个要领显然是行不通的。最后的乐成源于一个偶尔的发明，1875年6月2日，在一次试验中，他把金属片毗连在电磁开关上，没想到在这种状态下，声音奇奥地酿成了电流。说明道理，原本是因为金属片因声音而振动，在其相连的电磁开关线圈中感生了电流。此刻看来，这道理就是一个学过初中物理的门生也知道，可是谁人时辰这对付贝尔来说无疑长短常重要的发明。 格雷的计划道理与贝尔有所差异，是操作送话器内部液体的电阻变革，而受话器则与贝尔的完全沟通。1877年，爱迪生又取得了发现碳粒送话器的专利。同时，尚有许多人对电话的事变方法举办了各类百般的改造。专利之争错综伟大，直到1892年才算告一段落。造成这种排场的一个缘故起因是，其时美国最大的西部连系电报公司买下了格雷和爱迪生的专利权，与贝尔的电话公司反抗。长时期专利之争的功效是两边告竣一项协议，西部连系电报公司完全认可贝尔的专利权，以后不再问鼎电话业，互换前提是17年之内分享贝尔电话公司收入的20%。 技能成长 电话发现后的几十年里，环绕着电话的策划、技能等题目，大量的专利被申请，Strowger的“自动拨号体系”镌汰了人工接线带来的各种题目，干电池的应用缩小了电话的体积，装载线圈的应用镌汰了长间隔传输的信号丧失。1906年，Lee De发现了电子试管，它的扩音成果率领了电话处事的偏向。其后贝尔电话尝试室据此制成了电子三极管，这项研究具有重大意义。1915年1月25日，第一条跨区电话线在纽约和旧金山之间开通。它行使了2500吨铜丝，13万根电线杆和无数的装载线圈，沿途行使了3部真空管扩音机来增强信号。1948年7月1日，贝尔尝试室的科学家发现了晶体管。这不只仅对付电话成长有重大意义，对付人类糊口的各个方面都有庞大的影响。厥后几十年里，又有大量新技能呈现，譬喻集成电路的出产和光纤的应用，这些都对通讯体系的成长起了很是重要的浸染。 电话在中国 鸦片战役后，西方列强在中国打劫土地和财产的同时，也为中国带来了近代的邮政和电信。1900年，我国第一部市内电话在南京问世；1904年至1905年，俄国在烟台至牛庄架设了无线电台。中国迂腐的邮驿制度和民间通讯机构被先辈的邮政和电信慢慢更换。 中华民国时期，中国的邮电通讯如故在西方列强的节制中。加上比年战乱，通讯办法常常遭到粉碎。抗战时期，日本帝国主义出于战役必要和阴谋恒久统治中国的目标，改革和扩建了电信收集系统，他们操作其时中国经济、技能的落伍和政治制度的糜烂，通过在技能、装备、维修、打点等方面临中国的通讯奇迹举办节制。 1949年早年，中国电信体系成长迟钝，到1949年，中国电话的遍及率仅为0.05%，电话用户只有26万。 1949往后，中央人民当局敏捷规复和成长通讯。1958年建起来的北京电报大楼成为新中国通信成长史的一个重要里程碑。十年“文革”，邮电再次蒙受冲击，一向吃亏，营业成长停滞。到1978年，世界电话遍及率仅为0.38%，不及天下程度的1/10，占天下1/5生齿的中国拥有的话机总数还不到天下话机总数的1%，每200人中拥有话机还不到一部，比美国落伍75年！互换机自动化比重低，大部门县城、农村仍在行使“摇把子”，远程传输首要靠明线和模仿微波，纵然北京天天也有20%的远程电话打不通，15%的要在1小时后才气接通。在电报大楼打电话的人还要带着午饭去列队。 1978年，世界电话容量359万门，用户214万，遍及率0.43%。 改良开放后，落伍的通讯收集成为经济成长的瓶颈，自上世纪80年月中期以来，中国当局加速了基本电信办法的建树，到2003年3月，牢靠电话用户数达22562.6亿，移 动电话用户22149.1亿户。 古今中外，几多人曾经为了更快更好地转达信息而全力，在电信成长的一百多年时刻里，人们实行了各类通讯方法：最初的电报回收了相同“数字”的表达方法传送信息；厥后以模仿信号传输信息的电话呈现了；跟着技能的前进，数字方法以其明明的良好性再次获得重视，数字程控互换机、数字移 动电话、光纤数字传输……汗青的车轮还在提高。 百大哥电话 电话发现至今，从事变道理到形状计划都有不小的变革，下面就请各人跟从我们一路去逛逛这条电话百年成长的阶梯。这些电话都是天下各地的骨董电话保藏喜爱者们的藏品。 1878年，手持电话 这部电话是由Werner Siemens于1878年在德国制造的。它的听筒和发话器是一个，听话和措辞时瓜代行使。 1879年，盒式电话 这部电话配备了Viaduct制造公司出产的磁力发电机由红木制成，还配有一个柱状听筒。 1880年，贝尔电话 这是第一种在欧洲行使的电话。它代替了电报，比装有手柄的磁力动员机电话先辈。 1881、1882年，磁力发电机壁式电话 左面的电话称为美国贝尔型，1881年制造，由位于哥本哈根的国际贝尔电话公司行使。L.M.Ericsson制造。这款电话在上世纪末流行。 1885年，“埃菲尔铁塔”磁力发电机电话 这款电话由L. M. Ericsson于1885年制造。在其时这是第一款放在桌面上的电话。麦克风设在旋转臂上，曲柄用来接通互换机。 1885、1902年，磁力发电机壁式电话 由Ferdinand E. Stensen于1885年在哥本哈根制造，是最早的一部由丹麦人制造的电话。这款是在霍森的Emil Mdlers电话公司制造的。 1885年，木支架桌式电话 出产厂商及产地不详。 1892年，电动折叠橱式桌面电话 这种电话大都用于家庭、宾馆和电话亭。 1892年，带听筒的“埃菲尔铁塔式”电话 这是一部真正的经典电话，1892年，由L. M. Ericsson制造。这款电话传播全天下，出产近百万台。 1893年，“咖啡壶式”电话 这款电话在丹麦只有几个样品，对保藏者来说它最富吸引力和保藏代价。 1899年，数字机器墙式电话 这种数字机器电话有墙式和桌式两种。 1900年，竖立桌式电话 这种圆肚形桌式电话是青铜镀镍的。在挂杆下面有一块坚贞的电木。它尚有一个可以夸耀的外设听筒。 1900年，竖立锥形桌面电话 这部电话有个外号叫“油壶”，都是由于它的形状。 1900年，20线疏散电话 本款是所谓的20线疏散电话。只能用于内部通话，由L. M. Ericsson瑞典制造。 1901年，磁力发电机台式电话 本款是1901年由Ferdinand E. Stensens Telefonfabrik在哥本哈根制造的。留意看它的听筒，单独挂在挂钩上。也许是由于其时电话接入质量不高，偶然必须用两只耳朵听。 1902年，Kellogg角落台式电话 这种角落台式电话大都用于家庭、办公室和电话亭。它是由美国哈得伍得电话公司制造的。是从加利弗尼亚一个小镇的农民手中买到的。 1902年，公用电池墙式电话 这种电话不需动弹手柄，拿起发话器直接与接线员通话。它是从旧金山一个古玩店中买来的。 1904年，磁力发电机共线电话 本款电话在1904由L.M.Ericssom制造。此款电话可由四个用户共享一根电话线。 1753年2月17日，用电流举办通讯的假想初次在一本名为《苏格兰人》的杂志上提出，文章签名为C.M.。 1784年8月15日，一种叫“遥望通讯”的视觉通讯方法初次在法国里尔和巴黎之间行使。 1796年，英国人休斯提出了用发话器接力传送语音的步伐，并将之定名为Telephone，这个名字一向相沿至今。 1832年，俄海社交家希林建造出用电流计指针偏转来吸取信息的电报机。 1835年，美国人莫尔斯发现了用电磁学道理用于电报传输的电报机。 1837年6月，英国人库克得到第一个电报发现专利权，他建造的电报机起首在铁路上得到行使。 1837～1838年，莫尔斯又发现了将电流“通”和“断”来体例代表数字和字母的码—莫尔斯码。 1843年，莫尔斯建筑成了从华盛顿到巴尔的摩的电报线路，全长64.4公里。 1844年5月24日，莫尔斯在国会大厦向巴尔的摩发出了人类汗青上第一份电报：“天主缔造了多么的事迹！”。 1850年8月28日，第一条海缆由约翰和雅各布·布雷特兄弟俩在法国的格里斯-奈兹海角和英国的李塞兰海角之间的公海里铺设，可是，只拍发了几份电报就间断了。原本，有个打渔人用拖网钩起了一段电缆，并截下一节兴奋地向别人炫耀这种希罕的“海草”标本，诧异地说哪里装满了金子。 1876年3月10日，英国苏格兰人贝尔发现电话，“沃森老师，快来帮我”成了人类第一句通过电话传送的语音。其时贝尔将发话器中的酸液溅到了腿上。 1879年，天津与大沽北塘炮台之间架设了电报线。 1882年2月21日，丹高峻败电报公司在上外洋滩设立了电话互换所。 1895年，俄国人波波夫和意大利人马可尼别离发现了无线电报机。 1897年5月18日，马可尼举办凌驾布里斯托尔海峡的无线电通讯取得乐成。 1900年，上海南京电报局创办市内电话，其时只有16部电话。 1901年，马可尼实现了隔着大西洋的无线电通讯。 1903年，无线电话试验乐成。 1907年11月8日，法国发现家爱德华·贝兰在法国拍照协会大楼里演出了他的研制成就—相片传真。 1919年，帕尔姆和贝兰德发现了“纵横制接线器”。十年后，瑞典松兹瓦尔市建成了天下上第一个大型纵横制电话局。 1920年7月，中华邮政创办邮传电报营业。 1937年，英国人里夫斯提出用脉冲全部组合来传送语音信息的要领(脉冲编码调制)。 1945年10月，英国人A·C·克拉克提出静止卫星通讯的假想。 1946年，埃克特和莫奇利建成了天下上第一台电子计较机。 1947年，美国贝尔尝试室提出了蜂窝通讯的观念，将移 动电话的处事区分别成多少个小区，每个小区设立一个基站，组成蜂窝移 动通讯体系。 1950年12月，中国东北远程明线国际干线工程建成，北京到莫斯科有线载波电路开放。 1954年7月，美国水师操作月球外貌对无线电波的反射举办了地球上两地电话的传输试验。并于1956年在华盛顿和夏威夷之间成立了通讯营业。 1956年，在英国和加拿大之间的大西洋海底铺设完成了电话电缆，使远间隔的大陆之间电话通讯成为实际。 1957年10月4日，前苏联于乐成地发射了第一颗人造卫星“卫星1号”。 1958年8月，首部国产12载波电话装备在上海邮电器械厂研制乐成。 1960年1月，中国首套1,000门纵横制自动电话互换机在上海吴淞电话局开通行使。 1960年，美国物理学家梅曼用强盛的平凡光照到人造宝石上，制造出了比太阳光强1000万倍的激光。 1962年，美国研究乐成了脉码调制装备，用于电话的多路化通讯。 1965年，第一部由计较机节制的程控电话互换机在美国问世，符号着一个电话新期间的开始。 1966年，英籍华人高锟提出以玻璃纤维举办远距激光通讯的假想。 1969年，北京远程电信局安装乐成中国第一套全自动远程电话装备。 1969年，美国国防部高级研究打算署(ARPA)提出了研制ARPA网的打算，1969年建成并投入运行，符号著计较机通讯的成长进入了一个极新的纪元。 1970年，天下上第一部程控数字互换机在法国巴黎开通，这符号著数字电话的全面适用和数字通讯新期间的到来。 1972年，国际电报电话咨询委员会(CCITT)初次提出综合营业数字网—ISDN的观念。 1974年，中日海底电缆开始建树，这是中国参加建树的首条国际海底电缆。 1975年，中国自行研制计划的纵横制自动电话互换装备通过国度判断，开始批量出产。 1976年3月，中国本身研制的首条大容量传输体系—1800路中同轴电缆载波体系在北京、上海、杭州建成投产，全长1700公里。 1982年，欧洲创立了GSM，使命是制订泛欧移 动通讯周游的尺度。 1982年，中国第一批投币式公用电话在北京市东、西长安街等富贵街道呈现，共22个投币式公用电话亭。 1982年12月，从日本引进的首个万门程控市话互换体系在福州市电信局投产行使，建成中国首个引进的程控电话局。 1983年，AMPS蜂窝体系在美国芝加哥开通。 1904年，“蜘蛛式”民用波段电话 L. M. Ericsson’s第一部民用波段电话。 1905年，芝加哥的树式桌面电话 这部桌面电话被称作“大腹便便”，因其手柄的中部隆起而得名。 1905年，门廊对讲机 这是一部康涅狄格州电信公司的32门门廊对讲机。 1905年，11数字拨号桌式电话 它回收了11个数字拨号的方法。 1907年，“德国模式”的电台波段电话 于1907年在德国由E.Zwuetysch&Co制造，此款电话的呈现可以必然水平办理通话守候时刻太长的题目。 1907年，磁力发电机式电话 这部电话1907年由L.M.Ericsson制造。值得留意的是：接听电话时，要将听筒悬挂在疏散的挂钩上。这是其时电话出产商的同一尺度。 1908年，CH-08扩音器电话 由KTAS推出。 1910年，互联电话 这是一部由S.H. Couch公司出产的竖立桌面互联电话，用于办公室间的通讯。 1912年，办公用分列机 这部电话通过主机可同时带有17个分机，每个分机都可以打出去，而且分机之间也可相互接通。 1912年，CH-08壁式电话 此款电话出产于1912年，由丹麦人在哥本哈根制造的，可自动收发电报。 1912年，磁力发电机电话 由在L.M.Ericsson制造的电报传真电话，常常偏远地域或小岛上行使。 1914年，Magnavox抗噪音桌面电话 这部电话的奇异计划在于当对着发话器措辞时，声音穿过话顶部的小孔使电话中的振动板振动。噪音进入发话器时就会被消掉。其双旋转听筒有助于阻止无用的噪音。 1914年，Magnavox抗噪音桌式电话B1型 同样具有消除噪音的成果。 1914年，磁力发电机电话 于1914年在HORWENS制造，可以用来电报传真。 1915年，Veau桌式电话 资料不详。 1915年，家庭廉价壁挂电话 这部电话在东俄勒岗一个废弃的农场中发明。内地有近20个废弃的农场的墙上留有挂过电话的陈迹。 1920年，磁力发电机壁式电话 这部电话于1904制造，并于1920更新，配备了可接、听转换的旋转赤色按钮。 1927年，D-08半自动电话 第一部拨号电话，它的呈现将取代互换机的人工呼唤体系。拨号装置是在1927年安装的，它真正行使是在1978年。 1927年，交换发电振铃电话 由Kristian Kirks Telefonfabrikker在丹麦Horsens制造，70年月仍在行使。 1929年，自动壁式电话 资料不详。 1930年，D-30半自动镀金电话 此款电话是丹麦企业在1930完成制造的，其出格之处是外貌镀金，而其时大都电话黑暗的，而且此电话有拨号装置。 1930年，FL-30自动电话 30年月由丹麦制造的，它用字母拨号。同类电话行使了约莫48年。 1935年，自动电话 此款电话被用于与偏远地域的电信互换机的联结，它的计划受到30年月美国电话业的影响。 1943年，CB-43型电话 这部电话是由Kristian Kirks Telefonfabrikker在丹麦制造，它内部计划两种振铃声，用于区别市表里来电。 1951年，F-51自动拨号电话 这部电话是由Kristian Kirks Telefonfabrikker在二次天下大战之后制造的。 1952年，F-52自动拨号电话机 于1952制造，差异于昔日玄色电木原料，它是用象牙和较晚一些呈现的塑料原料制成。 1956年，“Ericofon”自动拨号电话 此款电话由瑞典L.M.Ericsson计划和制造，定名为Ericofon。它是用新型的原料制成的，比传统电话的听筒还轻得多。 1968年，F-68自动拨号电话 这部电话是七十年月最为常见的电话，它最初计划是在六十年月，在丹麦被普及制造出产。 1970年，F-68按钮拨号电话 丹麦初次行使的按钮电话，这部电话是用数字按钮取代原本的拨号方法。 1976年，76E/DK80型按钮拨号电话 在1972由Jutland Telephone公司最初制造的。 1979年，F-79按钮拨号式计费电话 此款电话介于平凡电话与公用电话之间，它首要用于处事场合、旅店等相同处所，可以防盗打电话成果。 1980年，DA-80按钮拨号电话 这部电话的计划符号着电子学理论真正进入电话行业。 1982年，便携式电报电话 此款电话由Ericsson无线体系所制造，其时它只能在丹麦、芬兰、挪威及瑞典等国度行使，它的呈现为往后GSM移 动电话体系开发了新的天地。 1983年，DanMark 2按钮电话 DanMark2于1983年制造，是八十年月最先辈技能的浮现。它具有很多成果，如电话号码影象成果、重拨成果、监听成果、24种铃声。 Modern Communications Technology Timeline Technology Timeline: 1752 - 1990  1752 Lightning Rod Benjamin Franklin’s electricity experiments lead him to a valuable application -- the lightning rod, which when placed at the apex of a barn, church steeple, or other structure, conducts lightning bolts harmlessly into the ground. 1776 Submarine David Bushnell’s "Turtle" submerges by taking water into its tanks and reverses the process to rise. It moves by means of a hand crank propeller. The "Turtle" is used in an attack on Lord Howe’s Flagship "Eagle," but attempts to attach a mine to the Eagle’s hull fail. 1790 First U.S. Patent The United States issues its first patent to William Pollard of Philadelphia. His machine roves and spins cotton. 1794 Cotton Gin Eli Whitney patents his machine to comb and deseed bolls of cotton. His invention makes possible a revolution in the cotton industry and the rise of "King Cotton" as the main cash crop in the South, but will never make him rich. Instead of buying his machine, farmers built bogus versions of their own. 1797 Interchangeable Parts Eli Whitney contracts to manufacture 10,000 muskets for the U.S. Army. At the time, an entire musket would be made by a single person, without standardized measurements. Whitney divided the labor into several discrete steps and standardized parts to make them interchangeable. 1801 Steam-Powered Pumping Station The Fairmount Water Works harnesses steam power to provide water for the city of Philadelphia. 1803 Spray Gun Dr. Alan de Vilbiss of Toledo, Ohio, invented this device to replace swabs as the method of applying medication to oral and nasal passages. 1805 Amphibious Vehicle Oliver Evans’ "Orukter Amphibolos" dredges the waters near the Philadelphia docks. Its steam-powered engine drove either wooden wheels or a paddle wheel. Evans demonstrated his machine in Philadelphia’s Center Square, where he passed the hat for money. 1806 Coffee Pot Coffee drinkers the world over no longer have to chew their brew. Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, invents a coffee pot with a metal sieve to strain away the grounds. 1807 Steamboat Robert Fulton, former miniaturist and landscape painter, opens American rivers to two-way travel. His steamboat the "Clermont" travels 150 miles upstream between New York and Albany at an average speed of 5 mph. 1813 Armored Warship Steam power enhances military power. Robert Fulton’s "Demolos" sails. At 140 ft. in length, it carries a thirty 32-pound cannon. 1814 Plough Farmers had furrowed the rocky soil of New England with wooden-tipped ploughs. John Jethro Woods of Poplar Ridge, New York, creates a plough with a replaceable cast-iron tip, making farming in America easier. 1817 Erie Canal Overland travel in the 1800s is slow and arduous. Engineers propose a plan to supplement natural water systems by digging a 363 mile canal to connect the Hudson River with Lake Erie. The "Seneca Chief" will make the inaugural run through the Erie Canal in 1825. 1818 Profile Lathe Thomas Blanchard of Middlebury, Connecticut, builds a woodworking lathe that does the work of 13 men. His invention helps to lower wood prices. 1830 Electro-magnetic Motor Joseph Henry, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science at the Albany Academy, builds a motor employing the electromagnet, invented by William Sturgeon in London just five years earlier. Henry’s motor has no practical use. 1831 Reaping Machine The McCormick Reaper, which cut grain much faster than a man with a scythe, failed to catch on. McCormick sold the first unit around 1840; by 1844, only 50 had sold. After taking his operation to Chicago, McCormick prospered. By 1871 his company was selling 10,000 reapers per year. 1833 Sewing Machine Walter Hunt invents the first lock-stitch sewing machine, but loses interest and does not patent his invention. Later, Elias Howe secures patent on an original lock-stitch machine, but fails to manufacture and sell it. Still later, Isaac Singer infringes on Howe’s patent to make his own machine, which makes Singer rich. Hunt also invents the safety pin, which he sells outright for $400. 1834 Threshing Machine John A. and Hiram Abial Pitts invent a machine that automatically threshes and separates grain from chaff, freeing farmers from a slow and laborious process. 1836 Revolver To finance the development of his "six shooter," Samuel Colt traveled the lecture circuit, giving demonstrations of laughing gas. Colt’s new weapon failed to catch on, and he went bankrupt in 1842 at age 28. He reorganized and sold his first major order to the War Department during the Mexican War in 1846, and went on to become rich. 1837 Power Tools Thomas Davenport of Brandon, Vermont, is one of the first to find a practical application for the electric motor. He uses a motor he built to power shop machinery and also builds the first electric model railroad car. 1840 Paint Tube John Rand invents a collapsible metal squeeze tube. The container immediately hits markets in Europe, where it is used to hold and dispense artists’ pigments. 1842 Ether Anesthesia Crawford Williamson Long, of Jefferson, Georgia, performs the first operation using an ether-based anesthesia, when he removes a tumor from the neck of Mr. James Venable. Long will not reveal his discovery until 1849. 1843 Vulcanized Rubber Rubber, so named because it could erase pencil, had long been considered a waterproofing agent, but in its natural state, it melted in hot weather and froze solid in the cold. After ten years of tireless work and abject poverty, Charles Goodyear perfects his process for "vulcanizing" rubber, or combining it with sulfur to create a soft, pliable substance unaffected by temperature. 1844 Telegraph Samuel F.B. Morse demonstrates his telegraph by sending a message to Baltimore from the chambers of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC. The message, "What hath God wrought?," marks the beginning of a new era in communication. 1845 False Teeth Cladius Ash helps Americans get a better grip on what they’re eating. He creates a new type of artificial dental wear featuring individual porcelain teeth mounted with steel springs. 1846 Cylinder Printing Press Richard M. Hoe creates a revolution in printing by rolling a cylinder over stationary plates of inked type and using the cylinder to make an impression on paper. This eliminated the need for making impressions directly from the type plates themselves, which were heavy and difficult to maneuver. 1851 Crystal Palace In a glass conservatory in London, the Great Exhibition begins. Among the 14,000 exhibits were Colt’s repeating pistol, Goodyear’s vulcanized rubber, and Gail Borden’s meat biscuit. More than six million visitors from around the world attended. The exhibition became a model for all World Fairs to come. 1857 Passenger Elevator Elisha Graves Otis dramatically demonstrates his passenger elevator at the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York by cutting the elevator’s cables as it ascends a 300 foot tower. Otis’ unique safety braking system prevents the elevator from falling; his business prospects rise. 1858 Burglar Alarm Edwin T. Holmes of Boston begins to sell electric burglar alarms. Later, his workshop will be used by Alexander Graham Bell as the young Bell pursues his invention of the telephone. Holmes will be the first person to have a home telephone. 1859 Oil Well Drilling at Titusville, Pennsylvania, "Colonel" Edwin Drake strikes oil at a depth of 69.5 feet. Prior to that, oil, which had been used mostly as a lubricant and lamp fuel, had been obtained only at places where it seeped from the ground. Western Pennsylvania witnesses the world’s first oil boom. 1860 Repeating Rifle B. Tyler Henry, chief designer for Oliver Fisher Winchester’s arms company, adapts a breech-loading rifle invented by Walter B. Hunt and creates a new lever action repeating rifle. First known as the Henry, the rifle will soon be famous as simply the Winchester. 1862 Battle of the Ironclads For the first time, two armored ships battle each other at sea. The Union Monitor, designed from scratch by John Ericsson, features a two-cannon revolving turret and eight-inch plate armor. The Confederate Merrimac, a wooden hulled ship hastily outfitted with iron plates, holds it own against the Monitor. The two battle to a draw. 1863 Roller Skates James Plimpton of Medford, Massachusetts, gives the world the first practical four-wheeled roller skate. This sets off a roller craze that quickly spreads across the U.S. and Europe. 1864 Oil Pipeline Built in the oil fields at Pithole, Pennsylvania, Samuel van Syckel’s five-mile, pump-operated pipeline made oil transport infinitely easier. No one appreciated this less than the Teamsters, who saw the pipeline as a threat to their business and destroyed it. The determined van Syckel hired a crew of "pipeline protectors" and rebuilt the pipeline. 1865 Web Offset Printing William Bullock introduced a printing press that could feed paper on a continuous roll and print both sides of the paper at once. Used first by the Philadelphia Ledger, the machine would become an American standard. It would also kill its maker, who died when he accidentally fell into one of his presses. 1867 Barbed Wire Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio, invents the product that will close down the open cattle ranges by closing in cattle onto individual plots of privately owned land. I.L. Ellwood and Company’s Glidden Steel Barb Wire will dominate the market; by 1890 the open range will be only a memory. 1870 Pneumatic Subway Working in secret to hide his operation from Boss Tweed, who opposes it, Scientific American publisher Alfred Ely Beach builds a pneumatic subway under Broadway in New York. Beach’s single subway car, which features upholstered chairs and chandeliers is driven along the 300 foot tunnel by a 100 horsepower blower. 1873 Typewriter Inspired by a Scientific American article featuring a British attempt at a typing machine, Christopher Latham Sholes invents his own. In 1873 he sells an improved prototype to Remington and Sons, gunsmiths, of Ilion, New York, who begin to mass produce the machines. Among the first works to be produced on a typewriter is Mark Twain’s "Adventures of Tom Sawyer." 1874 Structural Steel Bridge Captain James Buchanan Eads finishes the bridge across the Mississippi at St. Louis. Using steel supplied by Andrew Carnegie, Eads incorporates a triple arch design, with spans measuring 502, 520, and 502 feet. The construction amazes the engineering world; Eads will be the first American engineer to be awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in London. 1875 Electric Dental Drill George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan, replaces the agony of tooth decay with the anxiety of the dental drill when he invents an electric powered device to drill teeth. 1875 Mimeograph While using paraffin in an attempt to invent and improve telegraphy tape, Thomas Alva Edison discovers a way to make duplicate copies of documents instead. 1876 Telephone Alexander Graham Bell patents his telephone, built with the assistance of young self-trained engineer Thomas A. Watson. Elisha Gray, who developed a similar device at about the same time, will unsuccessfully challenge Bell’s patent. 1877 Phonograph Working with a team of engineers at his Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratories, Thomas Alva Edison perfects a system of sound recording and transmission. The first recording replayed is a voice saying "Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow." 1879 Incandescent Light Bulb Backed by $30,000 in research funds provided by investors including J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts, Thomas Edison perfects an incandescent light bulb. The first commercial incandescent system will be installed at the New York printing firm of Hinds and Ketcham in January, 1881. 1880 Hearing Aid R.G. Rhodes improves on the ear trumpet with another primitive hearing aid. The device is a thin sheet of hard rubber or cardboard placed against teeth which conducts vibrations to the auditory nerve. 1882 Electric Fan The world becomes a cooler place, thanks to the work of Dr. Schuyler Skaats Wheeler. His two-bladed desk fan is produced by the Crocker and Curtis electric motor company. 1884 Thrill Ride L.N. Thompson, founder of Coney Island’s Luna Park, invites the first passengers to board his new thrill ride, the roller coaster. Thompson calls his new attraction the Switchback. 1885 Skyscraper After the Great Fire of 1871, Chicago has become a magnet for daring experiments in architecture. William Le Baron Jenney completes the 10-story Home Insurance Company Building, the first to use steel-girder construction; more than twenty skyscrapers will be built in Chicago over the next 9 years. 1887 "Platter" Record Edison’s tube recording system produces distorted sound because of gravity’s pressure on the playing stylus. Emile Berliner, a German immigrant living in Washington, DC, invents a process for recording sound on a horizontal disc. The "platter" record is born. 1888 Kodak Camera In Rochester, New York, George Eastman introduces a hand-held box camera for portable use. The camera is pre-loaded with 100 exposure film; after shooting the photographer returns the whole camera to the manufacturer for development and a reload. 1889 Dishwasher After ten years work and numerous prototypes, Mrs. WA Cockran of Shelbyville, Indiana, eases kitchen labor everywhere by producing a practicable dishwashing machine. 1891 Peep Show Thomas A. Edison and William Dickson perfect their kinetoscope, a forerunner of the movie projector. Viewers watch through a small peephole as images pass between a lens and an electric light bulb at a rate of 46 frames per second. While the kinetoscope would lead directly to the development of moving pictures and the kingdom of Hollywood, Edison considered the kinetoscope as no more than a toy. 1891 Escalator Jesse W. Reno, introduces a new novelty ride at Coney Island. His moving stairway elevates passengers on a conveyor belt at an angle of 25 degrees. The device will be shown at the Paris Exposition of 1900, where it is called the escalator. 1892 Gasoline-powered Car In a loft in Springfield, Massachusetts, brothers Frank and Charles Duryea fabricate the first gasoline-powered automobile built in the United States. It will make its first successful run on the streets of Springfield in September, 1893. 1893 Zipper At the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Whitcomb L. Judson introduces his clasp locker, a hook-and-eye device opened and closed by a sliding clasp. Improvements in the device by other inventors will continue; workers at B.F. Goodrich will coin the name "zipper" in 1923. 1896 Automatic Hat James Boyle, of Washington, DC, makes public courtesy much more convenient for the modern gentleman. His new hat tips automatically. 1897 Player Piano Edwin S. Votey, patents his self-playing piano, which he calls the pianola. The instrument uses instructions recorded on perforated paper to drive a set of artificial wooden fingers poised above a piano keyboard. Later versions placed the entire mechanism inside the body of the piano, eliminating the fingers. 1898 Submarine The J.P. Holland torpedo boat company launches the first practical submarine, commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The test is successful. Holland gets orders for six more. 1901 Shaving King Camp Gillette, former traveling hardware salesman of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, takes the risk out of shaving with his new double-edged safety razor. By the end of 1904, he will have sold 90,000 razors and 12,400,000 blades, but he will die in 1932 with his dream of a utopian society organized by engineers unrealized. 1902 Air Conditioning Working as an engineer at the Buffalo Forge Company, Willis H. Carrier designs the first system to control temperature and humidity. He will go on to found his own company, the Carrier Corporation, to produce air-conditioning equipment. 1903 Airplane At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright break the powered flight barrier with their gasoline-powered "Flyer I." The first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight in history lasts 12 seconds. Wilbur pilots the machine. On a flight later that day, Orville will remain aloft 59 seconds and travel 852 feet. 1908 Model T Car maker Henry Ford introduces his Model T automobile. By 1927, when it is discontinued, 15.5 million Models T’s will be sold in the U.S. Ford owes much of his success to his improved assembly line process, which by 1913 will produce a complete Model T every 93 minutes. 1911 Self Starter Charles F. Kettering, who developed the electric cash register while working at National Cash Register, sells his electric automobile starters to the Cadillac company. This device increases the popularity of the gasoline-powered car, which no longer needs to be started with a hand crank. 1914 Panama Canal After 36 years’ labor, the bankruptcy of thousands of investors, and the deaths of more than 25,000 men, the Panama Canal is finished. The canal cuts the sailing distance from the East Coast to the West Coast by more than 8,000 miles. 1917 War U.S. troops arrive on the battlefields of Europe, where new technologies have created the bloodiest conflict in history. Armored tanks, machine guns, poisonous gas, submarines and airplanes will force military commanders to rethink traditional strategies of war. 1919 Hydrofoil Alexander Grahams Bell’s "Hydrodome IV" sets a world record of 70 mph for water travel. The boat weighs over 10,000 pounds and uses underwater fins to raise the hull of the boat and decrease drag between the hull and the water. 1920 KDKA The first regular commercial radio broadcasts begin when AM station KDKA of Pittsburgh delivers results of the Harding-Cox election to its listeners. Radio experiences immediate success; by the end of 1922, 563 other licensed stations will join KDKA. 1921 Wirephoto The first electronically-transmitted photograph is sent by Western Union. The idea for a facsimile transmission was first proposed by Scottish clockmaker Alexander Bain in 1843. 1924 Execution In an effort to make capital punishment more humane, the State of Nevada introduces death by gas chamber. Convicted murderer Gee John takes 6 minutes to die. 1926 Rocket Robert H. Goddard, Professor of Physics at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, makes the first successful launch of a liquid-fueled rocket at his aunt Effie’s farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. The rocket reaches 41 ft. in altitude. 1927 Television Philo Farnsworth demonstrates the first television for potential investors by broadcasting the image of a dollar sign. Farnsworth receives backing and applies for a patent, but ongoing patent battles with RCA will prevent Farnsworth from earning his share of the million-dollar industry his invention will create. 1929 Frozen Food Clarence Birdseye offers his quick-frozen foods to the public. Birdseye got the idea during fur-trapping expeditions to Labrador in 1912 and 1916, where he saw the natives use freezing to preserve foods. 1931 Radio Astronomy While trying to track down a source of electrical interference on telephone transmissions, Karl Guthe Jansky of Bell Telephone Laboratories discovers radio waves emanating from stars in outer space. 1932 Defibrillator Working at the research facilities at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. William Bennett Kouwenhoven develops a device for jump-starting the heart with a burst of electricity. 1937 Chair Lift Skiers no longer have to climb hills to enjoy their sport. Engineers from the Union Pacific Railroad build a chair lift for the Dollar Mountain resort in Sun Valley, Idaho. Dollar Mountain follows with an order for six more. 1938 Nylon A team of researchers working under Wallace H. Carothers at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company invents a plastic that can be drawn into strong, silk-like fibers. Nylon will soon become popular as a fabric for hosiery as well as industrial applications such as cordage. 1939 Digital Computer John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry of Iowa State College complete the prototype of the first digital computer. It can store data and perform addition and subtractions using binary code. The next generation of the machine will be abandoned before it is completed due to the onset of World War II. 1940 Jeep Karl K. Pabst of the Bantam Car. Co., Butler, Pennsylvania, produces a four-wheel drive vehicle that will become famous as the jeep. Given its name by its military designation, G.P., or general purpose, the jeep will be used for numerous transport applications throughout World War II, and will become a popular domestic vehicle after the war. 1942 Atomic Reaction A team working under Italian refugee Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago produces the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. This experiment and others will result in the development of the atomic bomb. 1945 Atomic Bomb A team led by J.R. Oppenheimer, Arthur H. Compton, Enrico Fermi and Léo Szilard detonates the first atomic bomb at the Los Alamos Lab near Santa Fé, New Mexico. Following the tests, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan -- one at Hiroshima, one at Nagasaki -- that claimed more than 100,000 lives. 1947 Polaroid Camera Dr. Edwin H. Land introduces a new camera that can produce a developed photographic image in sixty seconds. Land will follow in the 1960s with a color model and eventually receive more than 500 patents for his innovations in light and plastics technologies. 1948 Electric Guitar Leo Fender launches the guitars that built rock and roll when he debuts his Broadcaster solid-bodied electric guitar. Later renamed the Telecaster, the guitar will become a favorite with guitar slingers worldwide. 1951 UNIVAC 1 The Eckert and Mauchly Computer Co. of Philadelphia sells the first commercial computer, the UNIVAC 1, to the U.S. Census Bureau. The memory called up data by transmitting sonic pulses through tubes of mercury. An additional 45 UNIVAC 1 machines would eventually be sold. 1953 Heart-lung Machine Dr. John H. Gibbon performs the first successful open heart surgery in which the blood is artificially circulated and oxygenated by a heart-lung machine. This new technology, which allows the surgeon to operate on a dry and motionless heart, greatly increases surgical treatment options for heart defects and disease. 1955 Nuclear Submarine The Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, revolutionizes naval warfare. Conventional submarines need two engines: a diesel engine to travel on the surface and an electric engine to travel submerged, where oxygen for a diesel engine is not available. The Nautilus, the first nuclear sub, can travel many thousands of miles below the surface with a single fuel charge. 1957 Polio Vaccine Dr. Albert Sabin develops a polio vaccine using strains of polio too weak to cause infection but strong enough to activate the human immune system. His invention will put an end to the polio epidemics that have crippled thousands of children worldwide. 1958 Explorer I Three months after the Soviet Union began the Space Age by launching Sputnik, the U.S. responds by sending the Explorer I satellite into orbit. Explorer I’s mission is to detect radiation; it discovers one of the Van Allen radiation belts. 1960 Laser Working at Hughes Research Laboratories, physicist Theodore H. Maiman creates the first laser. The core of his laser consists of a man-made ruby -- a material that had been judged unsuitable by other scientists, who rejected crystal cores in favor of various gases. 1964 Operating System IBM rolls out the OS/360, the first mass-produced computer operating system. Using the OS/360, all computers in the IBM 360 family could run any software program. Already IBM is a giant in the computer industry, controlling 70% of the market worldwide. 1965 Minicomputer Digital Equipment introduces the PDP-8, the world’s first computer to use integrated circuit technology. Because of its relatively small size and its low $18,000 price tag, Digital sells several hundred units. 1969 Moon Landing Millions watch worldwide as the landing module of NASA’s Apollo 11 spacecraft touches down on the moon’s surface and Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to set foot on the moon. President John F. Kennedy, who vowed to the world that the United States would put a human on the moon before 1970, has not lived to witness the moment. 1970 Optical Fiber Corning Glass announces it has created a glass fiber so clear that it can communicate pulses of light. GTE and AT&T will soon begin experiments to transmit sound and image data using fiber optics, which will transform the communications industry. 1972 Video Game Pong, one of the first mass-produced video games, has become the rage. Noland Bushnell, the 28 year-old inventor of Pong, will go on to found Atari. 1974 Barcode The first shipments of bar-coded products arrive in American stores. Scanners at checkout stations read the codes using laser technology. The hand-punched keyboard cash register takes one step closer to obsolescence. 1975 Microsoft Old high school friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen form a partnership known as Microsoft to write computer software. They sell their first software to Ed Roberts at MIT, which has produced the Altair 8800, the first microprocessor-based computer. Gates soon drops out of Harvard. 1976 Super Computer Cray Research, Inc. introduces its first supercomputer, the Cray-1, which can perform operations at a rate of 240,000,000 calculations per second. Supercomputers designed by Seymour Cray will continue to dominate the market; the Cray 2, marketed in 1985, will be capable of 1,200,000,000 calculations per second. 1979 Human-Powered Flight Cyclist Byron Allen crosses the English Channel in a pedal-powered aircraft called the Gossamer Albatross. The flight takes 2 hours, 49 minutes, and wins a [sterling]100,000 prize for its crew, headed by designer Dr. Paul MacCready. Constructed of Mylar, polystyrene, and carbon-fiber rods, the Albatross has a wingspan of 93 feet 10 inches and weighs about 70 pounds. 1981 Space Shuttle For the first time, NASA successfully launches and lands its reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle. The shuttle can be used for a number of applications, including launch, retrieval, and repair of satellites and as a laboratory for physical experiments. While extremely successful, the shuttle program will suffer a disaster in 1986 when the shuttle Challenger explodes after takeoff, killing all on board. 1982 Artificial Heart Dr. Robert Jarvik implants a permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik 7, into Dr. Barney Clark. The heart, powered by an external compressor, keeps Clark alive for 112 days. 1983 PC In January "Time" names its 1982 "man" of the year -- the personal computer. PC’s have taken the world by storm, dramatically changing the way people communicate. IBM dominates the personal computer market, benefiting both from the production of its own machines as well as "clones" produced by other companies. 1985 Genetic Engineering The USDA gives the go-ahead for the sale of the first genetically altered organism. The rapidly growing biotech industry will seek numerous patents, including one for a tomato that can be shipped when ripe. 1988 Graphic User Interface Apple files a suit charging that Microsoft has pirated Apple’s user-friendly graphical interface. The suit will fail, and Microsoft’s star will continue to rise. By the mid 1990’s, Apple will be experiencing a painful and public financial shakeout. 1990 Hubble Telescope The space shuttle Discovery deploys the Hubble Space telescope 350 miles above the Earth. Although initial flaws limit its capabilities, the Hubble will be responsible for numerous discoveries and advances in the understanding of space |
