Technology & History

Technology is any tool people use to change their environment. Sometimes it changes them as well.

4,000 BC 3,000 BC 2,000 BC ,000 1,000 BC 0 AD 1000 The Wheel 4000BC4000BC Probably invented in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) 6,000 years ago. 1500BC1500BC The wheel was used for pottery, carts, and chariots. 350-now350-now It was used to create power through water wheels and windmills. nownow We still use the wheel today. Our society would not be possible without being able to travel by car, train, and airplane, all of which use the wheel. Nobody knows who invented the wheel. It is one of the most basic technologies ever invented. It was preceded by 194,000 years of walking everywhere.

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4,000 BC 3,000 BC 2,000 BC ,000 1,000 BC 0 AD 1000 The Lens Nobody knows who invented the lens. It depended on the invention of glass somewhere around the 3000 BC (5000 years ago!) 700BC700BC The oldest known lens seems to have been made around 2,700 years ago. 1284AD1284AD Around 1240 AD an italian figured out the lenses could be made into glasses. Many, many people depend on glasses today to help them see and do their jobs Around this time the telescope and the microscope were invented now1610-now Telescopes changed our understanding of space, eventually leading to satellites in orbit and a man walking on the moon. 1860s1860s Microscopes led to the discovery of germs and vaccinations to prevent diseases. Louis Pasteur is credited with this discovery. nownow Satellites allow us to predict the weather and send phone calls, television, and internet access to all parts of the world. Medicines have allowed us to live longer, healthier lives. All because of a lens.

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4,000 BC 3,000 BC 2,000 BC ,000 1,000 BC 0 AD 1000 The Printing Press 1440AD1440AD The printing press allowed large numbers of books to be printed quickly and cheaply More books meant more educated people. It also meant scientists could share their ideas quickly and easily Widespread publishing of the classics helped develop the Renaissance in Europe. 1700s1700s More educated people led to the rise of democracy now1440-now Scientific discoveries came more quickly and built on each other, resulting in the inventions and knowledge we use today. nownow In some ways, the printing press started the first internet: ideas posted on pages and shared with others. Our world would be very different without all of that knowledge. Invented by Johannes Gutenberg around the year 1440 in Italy, it was the first printing press with moveable type that allowed a printer to quickly set up a new page and still be able to reuse the letters. Gutenberg depended on the inventions of the alphabet, paper, and the olive press to make his idea work.

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4,000 BC 3,000 BC 2,000 BC ,000 1,000 BC 0 AD 1000 The First Battery Also called the Voltaic Pile, it was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800 in Italy. He built on the work of scientists, including Oto von Guericke, Benjamin Fraklin, and Luigi Galvani 1800AD1800AD The first battery provided scientists with the first continuous source of electricity to study now1800-now This led to the development of all sorts of uses for electricity, including better batteries s1830s...the electric motor (still used today in things like refrigerators, washing machines, and some vehicles) the telegraph and the long-lasting electric light bulb. nownow Just about everything we do today, depends on electricity. Without electricity we have no computers, no iPods, no cell phones, no tvs, no cars, no microwave ovens, no internet, no...

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