SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Measurement of Time: rnSundial and water clock was the first instrument discovered to measure time in about 1500 B.C. In the sundial the cast the shadow on the digits and gives the indication of time. In the water clock, water from one container falls drop by drop into another container. The container has an hour scales by which time is measure. The first mechanical wall clock was developed in 1808 in China. It was 10 meter s high and was run by water power. The first mechanical clock in the Europe was made in 1200. The first clock was made in Spain in 1276. The oldest mechanical clock which is still working is in the Salisbury Cathedrql. It was made in 1368.rnGlass Manufacturing:rnGlass was first made by melting soda and sand in about 3000 B.C. in Syria and its neighboring countries. Glass blowing was also invented in Syria in about 100 B.C.rnFirst Balance:rnThe first weighting balance was developed in Syria and its neighboring countries between 4000 to 5000 B.C. This balance was used to weigh gold. Stone weights were used to measure weight. These were cut in the shape of animals.rnGunpowder:rnGun powder was probably was made in china or India by mixing Sulphur, Charcoal and Saltpetre. Around 850 A.D , gun powder was used by the Chinese for making fireworks explosives. Gun powder came in use during the 13th century in Europe. The Credit of inventing gun powder in Europe goes to an English monk named Roger Bacon.rnInvention of Spectacles:rnImpaired sight has always been a challenge to the scientists. As long ago as the year 1000, an Arab scientist Alhazen demonstrated the action of image formation by lenses. He also told that people who had weak eyesight could see properly with help of lenses. During the 1200, Roger Bacon made a pair of rudimentary spectacles. By 1430, Italian developed spectacles to view the distance object clearly. Bifocal lenses were invented in 18th century by American statesman Benjamin Franklin.rnProduction of Petrol:rnOil was extracted by drilling in the USA for the first time in 1841 and the oil well was made in 1859. Petrol was obtained from crude oil in 1864. Petrol had not much utility before the invention of motor car. After the invention of the motor car in 1883, the first petrol station of opened in France in 1895 in the USA. In 1870, Standard Oil Company the biggest in the word of that time, was established. In 1890, the high quality petrol production started.rnSteam Engine:rnThe first successful steam engine was made in 1712 by British engineer Thomas Newcomen. It was used to draw water out if the mines. James Watt modified the Newcomen engine. In 1765, he made if new type of steam engine which was more powerful and fast. Steam engine of Watt were used for the first time in 1785 to run cotton mills. These steam engines proved very useful in the industrial development. In the 19th century, the steam engines came to be widely used in road and water vehicles. In 1803, the locomotive was invented in Britain. The first successful rail engine was made by George Stephenson in 1814.rnSpinning Machines:rnSpinning machine was invented in 1700 in Britain, Before this yarn was made either by hand or by Charkha. The first spinning machine was Spinning Jenny invented by James Hargreaves in 1764. It was hand-operated machine. This could spin very thin yarn. Another spinning machine was Arkweights Water Frames which was made in 1769. Samuel Crompton combined both these machines and made a new machine names spinning mule which marked the beginning of the textile industry.rnThe first automatic spinning machine was made in 1801 in France. This was known as Loom and was capable of creating designs of silk clothes. It was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard. It used a set of punched cards for creating new patterns. Now a day’s computers have replaced punched cards.rnSewing Machine:rnThe first sewing machine was made in 1830 in France by Barthelemy Thimmonier. This was able to put 200 stiches in one minute. The first successful sewing machine was made by Elias Howe of USA in 1845. Issac Singer of USA gave the modern shape to the sewing machines in 1851.rnHarvesting Machine:rnHarvesting Machine are of two types: one for cutting the crops and the other for separating grains and fodder. The first threshing machine was developed in Britain in 1786 by Andrew Meikle. The fist reaping machine was also invented in Britain in 1826 by Patrick Bell. The first harvesting machine was made in USA in 1831 by Cyrus McCromick. The maximum development work on harvesting machines has been done in the USA. Today these machines are being widely used all over the world.rnInvention of Electric Motor:rnThe fist electric motor was invented by Michael Faraday in 1821. This was only an experimental motor. The first successful dynamo was made in Belgium in 1870 by Zenobe Theophile Gramme. After this, the first practical electric motor was made was invented by Nikola Tesla in 1888 in the United States of America.rnElectric Light:rnElectric light for the first time was produced by an electric arc by Humphry Davy in Britain in 1802. First successful electric bulb was made by the famous inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Wire filament bulbs came into existence only in 1898.rnArtificial Dye:rnThe fist artificial dye was made in 1856 by the British scientist William Perkin. Prior to this, all dyes were made from insects and plants. Different artificial dyes have been made only after the invention of Perkin.rnInvention of X-rays:rnX-rays were invented by the German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. These rays were invented accidently while he was doing some experiments on Cathode rays. Today, X-rays are not only used to locate dislocations and fractures of bones but also in industries. Roentgen named them X-rays because these were not known at that time (X-means unknown). Roentgen was given the first Nobel Prize in 1901 in Physics for the invention of X-rays.rnInvention of Plastic: Plastic was invented for the first time by the British scientist Alexander Parkes. This was called Parkensine and was made with cellulose and camphor. An American inventor John Hyatt made similar plastic in 1868 which was named as celluloid. The first plastic made of chemicals was Backelite which was invented by Leo Backeland of Bengium in 1907.