Top 10 Greatest Modern Inventions

We live in a world of rapid technological advancement. Technology rules our everyday lives. With diverse fields of engineering studies and medicine like nuclear physics, relativity, information technology, gadgets and techs, automobiles, power plants, pharmacology or any field of medical science; science movie fictions are slowly turning in to reality. We have our human manpower getting replaced by all of our inventions. A slight concept or a contraption that worked perfectly fine with the experiments and redesigning of the same mixed together with huge effort, dedication, study and coping up with failures gave birth to some great as well as weird inventions what makes us different today.

We humans are ingenious groups in this world. Right from the moment when someone rubbed two stones to light a fire, or bashed a rock to make the first tool, to the development of Internet and Mars rovers, we have already made some revolutionary advancements in several areas of science and technology. Beginning from a nail or a wheel to compass and to millions of new things that were never seen or felt before is a pure magic with their ability to improve the quality of life and advancement in human lives. Let us look at the top 10 greatest modern inventions.

10. The Printing press

Invented in the year 1440 by German scientist and engineer Johannes Gutenberg, the printing press is one of the finest modern day invention that has create dramatic impact on people, however the concept comes from ancient chinese invention. Hand-inked books were regarded luxurious and of great grandeur and generally could not be afforded by lower class people in the beginning of the modern era. This wooden blocked machine gave a new and quick way of spreading information to vast audience in cheaper price. Sooner academic institutions utilized it to print books, novels and plays. Politicians could now then make pamphlets and papers in printed form. However, the printing press is one of the sole region for the decline of Latin language as other languages got its fame through different books coming out of printing press. The classical wooden blocked machine was replaced with movable metals later for more efficiency and durability.

9. The Light Bulb

Thomas Alba Edison’s mastermind guided to this amazing invention that changed the world. With the electrification of the modern world, the light bulb invented in the year 1879 profoundly changed human life by illuminating the night. The first electric bulb made it possible for all human lives hospitable to a wide extent of modern day activities. However, it is assumed that the idea behind the light bulb came from Humphrey Davy in the 1800, when he invented an electric battery and connected a carbon with wires which glowed and produced electric arc. Edison improvised the concept of Joseph Wilson Swan and Charles Francis Brush experimenting with different filaments that could last longer. Edison started with a 40-hour life light bulb and finally made a bulb that lasted for 1500 hours. The incandescent bulb is revolutionizing human lives since then.

8. Penicillin

It is one of the famous accidental inventions of all times. Scottish scientist Fleming who forgot to close the lid of his Petri-dish filled with bacteria noticed that the sample got contaminated with a mold and all the bacteria was dead. In 1928, he found of the fungus to be Penicillium which was purified and developed for fighting bacterial infections in human without harming the host. Penicillin was widely used and advertised in World War II as it helped servicemen to get rid of different venereal diseases. Penicillin is still used today in adequate to cure diseases like gonorrhea, pneumonia, syphilis, cellulitis etc.

7. Camera

I would personally call cameras as a time machine. It has helped people capture any moments in history and present. The invention of camera is also a controversy as it is assumed that Alexander Walcott invented the first camera in 1840, while photographed pictures were seen around 1826 made by Joseph Niepce. However, before camera was made, all events were like he-say-she-say. The improvement in the camera technology has helped bring motion pictures which is growing larger every year. Today, we enjoy our collection of images and get time to interact with our own past. Imagine your best night you spent, or the moments of childhood shared in pictures! This is one of the most amazing inventions in this modernized world.

6. Automobile, Airplane

It was Henry Ford of the USA who pioneered the ideas of combustion engines to replace wagon-wheels and modernize transportation. The automobiles became an interest for rich people and 425 of the first mass made automobiles were sold in the year 1901. Automobiles made transportation faster and easier that helped in maintaining good economy. It radically changed the city life just by expanding the population in the suburbs. It provided to be a boon for the farmers to carry large loads to move for industries.

Right brothers then had an astounding dream to fly like birds and mitigate the distance which finally became a reality after their first airplane made a flight. Traveling in the air and floating around the clouds like birds to move from places to places within a jiffy helped people save their precious time. Long and tiring journey that took months were possible to complete just in few hours. It also became one of the safest means of travel to revolutionize the modern day travel.

5. Calculator, Telephone  and Smartphone

It was Blaise Pascal who implemented the traditional calculating machine called Abacus into a number patterned device to what he called ‘Calculator’. Calculators made it possible for every people who knew numbers to perform basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division during its development. Today modern day calculators are one of basic requirements of every students and professionals. This mechanical machine gave ideas for analytic and differential engines on which the foundations of modern day computing is based.

The modernization of modern day communication started with the invention of telephone by Graham Bell. It drastically reduced the amount of time it took for communication with letters. It almost took ages for a message to reach to a place through letters. Telephone made it instant to share voices to all the places. Mobile phones invented in the year 1977, made communication easier, and comfortable. Improved versions of smartphones are available today due to the ever-advancing technology. Smartphones even provide features of computer, camera, video recorders, televisions and music players. Not just that, running WhatsApp for PC also shows that the cross platform boundary also has no limits. Further, smartphones are also cost effective and handy. It is amazing to know that almost half of the people in the world own a smartphone today.

4. Radio, Television and Internet

Radio is regarded as one of the remarkable inventions of the 20th century. Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi invented radio in the year 2001 by sending the first radiotelegraph message from England to Canada. It made the one-way communication easier and spread wide over to the world in no time. It became popular for it provided news bulletins, music, as well as game commentary which still make its presence unaffected by the television which dazed the world.

Life without television is not imaginable to half the world population. Invented in 1926, J.L Baird made the first television broadcast. Television utilized the concept of radio and gave a visual outlook. Television can be a great source of amusement and knowledge as well as a great way of communication in a real-time visualized way.  However, it has also caused several psychiatric disorders as well.

Internet is another finest inventions of modern days. It is like brain at the finger tip. Anything that is required for work, music, or fun is made available in the internet. Exchanging emails, photos, documents, online conferencing has made communication even more faster and efficient with minimal amount of restrictions. It has made people in rural areas as informed as that in the cities, long-distanced people can communicate easily, and more over studies and fun has reached to the acme. It has changed the way we live and if you can prove me wrong, just name anything that is as widespread as internet is.

3. Robots, Artificial Intelligence

What else could be more inspiring other than the Hollywood fiction movies in inventing robots? Robotics has been one of the most researched and most worked area in field of engineering. Regarded to appear similar to human with the capability to perform every possible work without anxiety or tiredness is what makes a robot. On the other hand, the Artificial technology has already started showing its pathway in modern day robots. Basically, AI is related to make excellent machines that uses ultra-technology to perform its tasks. Inspired with the war machines and robots in films like the Terminator, Star Wars and similar movies, engineers have spent a lot of their time, technology and budget in creating such intelligence useful for several household purposes, carpentry, fire-fighting, military applications and even more promising applications like to perform several disaster operations during floods, landslides, bomb diffusions etc. The UAVs and Drones robots are used to perform home jobs as well as in securing borders by several countries like Japan and the United States.  Artificial intelligence also makes the use of robotics to surpass the intelligence of humans and make it faster, reliable and accurate than computers.

2. Banking, Credit Cards

Banking started its development in the early renaissance Italy through a bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena in Siena in 1472. Banking has helped people to get loans, deposit their money and gain a fine interest over years to uplift their life standards economically. Banking helped trade and business to flourish in modern world. With the development of banking and advancement of human settlement, credit cards evolved as an electronic way of banking. Initially referred as ‘Charge-it” program by inventor John Biggins it 1946, it helped transactions between the bank customers and merchants. Several hotels and restaurants kept an eye on it and rapidly increased using them as the payment methods for it was difficult as well as insecure to a lot of fund with self. Credit cards today are widely used as they’ve simplified local as well as international banking.

1. Electricity

It was in the year 1570 when William Gilbert described the electric effect of Amber as well as the magnetic effect of lodestone to coin the tem “Electricus”. After 200 years Benjamin Franklin conducted his kite string and key experiment that first gave idea about the electricity which is one of most required daily needs of modern day world. With the invention of cell by Volta and derivation of different laws regarding electricity, the technology made rapid progress with dc and ac currents that helped in transmissions of electricity to run different industries, light homes etc. Electricity has laid foundations for several development process and given ideas to other inventions as well. Each and every gadgets, and most of our daily used appliances require the use of electricity that keeps it at the top of the list as the best modern day inventions.

Final Conclusion

There is no doubt that the modern day world has made a remarkable innovation in the field of science and engineering different from its unparalleled rate of scientific discoveries and technological advancements. There are still so many inventions that are noteworthy an has shown its effect to mankind in different positive and negative ways. Regardless, they have hold a major influence on how this world is going to unfold over the upcoming generations.