The Top 10 Scientific Inventions of All Time have changed the way we live today.
- The Wheel
The wheel is regarded as the most iconic invention ever. It is unclear the exact time it was first created but the first free-spinning wheel was made between 4,000-3,500 BC. It has revolutionized agriculture, transport, and industry.
- Written Language
Writing developed from as early as 8,000 in the form of symbols and pictographs in Sumeria. It is essential for keeping a record of man’s progress through time, as well as enabling long distance communication. It has become a major channel through which we relate with each other.
- Electricity
Thales of Miletus is considered the first person to discover a form of electricity, static electricity, back in 60 BC. The most notable inventions for harnessing electricity were designed by Nicola Tesla, Michael Faraday and Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, heralding a new age of modern living conditions. Electricity has been the major source of power for the majority of devices, machines, and appliances made after the 1900s.
- Magnifying Glass
The magnifying glass and later variations of the telescope and microscope allowed mankind to study microscopic and distant objects. The microscope has been instrumental in the field of medicine and telescopes have allowed us to study outer space.
- Gunpowder
Invented by the Chinese, gunpowder is used in the making of ammunition necessary for military arsenals. Gunpowder also prompted the development of rocket propulsion systems that have made space travel possible.
- Antibiotics
Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, by accident in 1928 although it was not developed as a treatment for bacterial infections until after 10 years. Antibiotics save and prolong millions of lives every year by curing life-threatening infections.
- Currency
The invention of standard currency, especially paper currency provided a measurable scale of value for goods and services and a medium of exchange thereby facilitating trade and daily transactions.
- The Clock
The invention of the clock and its subsequent variety of forms including wristwatches enabled man to be able to keep track of the passage of time. This very valuable resource can, therefore, be managed by planning activities in measurable portions of time.
- The Internet
The internet is a modern marvel. It is an endless virtual space wherein there can be stored an almost infinite amount of information in text, image, video and audio form and kept ready for retrieval from any device that can access the World Wide Web. The internet has made the word become a global village in terms of interaction by making information easily accessible.
- The Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1876 would change long distance communication forever. The telephone provided real-time communication between people in different geographical locations. Advancements on this invention have brought about the smartphones which provide the ability to work on the go, create and maintain personal relationships with people who are not physically present, send or receive information to or from the internet and even increase the effective communication in business through call conferencing.
