03-04-2017, 07:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-04-2017, 07:55 PM by Avalancheon.)
Hi everyone. I've been reading through the article, Technology Timeline, and it seems to me that certain improvements could be made. Particularly with regards to all the 'early' inventions that occurred in the real world. The list of technology from 2500 B.C.E to 1900 A.C.E. is very sparse. Thats unfortunate because there was alot of important stuff being invented in this time span! I decided to come up with a few examples that could be inserted into the article.
-Vitrivius invents the water wheel in 25 B.C.E.
-Heron of alexandria invents the windmill in 50 A.C.E.
-Cai Lun invents paper in 100 A.C.E.
-During the 1400s, the west discovers how to melt and cast iron.
-Johannes Guttenberg invents the printing press in 1440.
-During the late 1400s, improved navigation and ship building techniques allow sailors to explore the oceans, and eventually to discover entirely new continents.
-During the 1500s, the theory of complex numbers is developed.
-Evangelista Torricelli invents the mercury barometer in 1643.
-Christian Huygens invents the pendulum clock in 1657.
-Daniel Fahrenheit invents the mercury thermometer in 1714.
-Chester Moore Hall creates the achromatic lens in 1733, which can be used in microscopes and telescopes.
-Eli Whitney devises the concept of interchangeable parts in 1798.
-Charles Bessemer invents a process to purify iron into steel in 1856.
-Henry Ford creates the assembly line (and hence mass production) in 1913.
-Alexander Fleming discovers penicilin in 1928.
-Theodore Maiman invents the laser in 1960.
I also have some minor corrections to make.
The article says that iron smelting was in use by 2500 B.C.E. This is simply not true. The technology to melt and cast iron did not become available until the 5th century B.C.E. in the east, and the 15th century A.C.E. in the west. However, they were able to heat iron to sufficient temperatures that it could be hammered and wrought into shape. Some people confuse those two developments...
The article also says that jenner developed smallpox inoculations in 1796. While this is true, ayurvedic medicine men had known about smallpox inoculations for centurys before this. Moreover, the prevalence of inoculations in the 19th century did nothing to convince physicians and doctors that germ theory was true. So the pverall relevance of jenners contributions are somewhat questionable...
-Vitrivius invents the water wheel in 25 B.C.E.
-Heron of alexandria invents the windmill in 50 A.C.E.
-Cai Lun invents paper in 100 A.C.E.
-During the 1400s, the west discovers how to melt and cast iron.
-Johannes Guttenberg invents the printing press in 1440.
-During the late 1400s, improved navigation and ship building techniques allow sailors to explore the oceans, and eventually to discover entirely new continents.
-During the 1500s, the theory of complex numbers is developed.
-Evangelista Torricelli invents the mercury barometer in 1643.
-Christian Huygens invents the pendulum clock in 1657.
-Daniel Fahrenheit invents the mercury thermometer in 1714.
-Chester Moore Hall creates the achromatic lens in 1733, which can be used in microscopes and telescopes.
-Eli Whitney devises the concept of interchangeable parts in 1798.
-Charles Bessemer invents a process to purify iron into steel in 1856.
-Henry Ford creates the assembly line (and hence mass production) in 1913.
-Alexander Fleming discovers penicilin in 1928.
-Theodore Maiman invents the laser in 1960.
I also have some minor corrections to make.
The article says that iron smelting was in use by 2500 B.C.E. This is simply not true. The technology to melt and cast iron did not become available until the 5th century B.C.E. in the east, and the 15th century A.C.E. in the west. However, they were able to heat iron to sufficient temperatures that it could be hammered and wrought into shape. Some people confuse those two developments...
The article also says that jenner developed smallpox inoculations in 1796. While this is true, ayurvedic medicine men had known about smallpox inoculations for centurys before this. Moreover, the prevalence of inoculations in the 19th century did nothing to convince physicians and doctors that germ theory was true. So the pverall relevance of jenners contributions are somewhat questionable...