Great inventions of our times

For mechanical engineering people I suspect that 3D parametric Cad with stress analysis ranks up toward the top.

That's an interesting choice considering all the great engineering that was done without it.

I was going with something simple like steam power, or the water wheel, these thins started the ball rolling.

Maybe the wheel itself?

I saw a great show last night on dynamite how would all the great advances in transportation and mining have happened with black powder?

I would assume it's development played an important role in explosives for military use as well .

Del, I've been meaning to ask, do you have a brother called Div or Curl? Jeff

In no particular order:

fermentation

gunpowder

vaccination

zero

blast furnace

baseball

water purification

plow

internet

Water purification thats a good one before people got a handle on clean water they were constantly being poisoned or made sick by there own waste.

I read something some where that clean water is one of the biggest challenges for the future .

Who would have imagined we would be paying $2.00 for bottled water and in smaller amounts more than gas I wonder what it will cost in 10 years ?

PLUMBING!

The plumbers of the world during the 20th century have done more to improve public health than all the medical professionals combined.

Definitely the wheel in no.1. For a strong no.2 I think it has to be the internet!!

Two great inventions happened in 1885- Automobiles and electric power transformer.The first gave un precedented mobility to man,second made available abundant,cheap energy for which man was dependent on muscle power or fossile fuel till then.Human civilization was not the same thereafter.

I believe hands-down the most influential invention is the printing press. Without it we would still be living in the Dark Ages.

I've always considered the stick to be the first great invention, and it is still in use today!

Sex was pretty cool too!!

Reminds me of the riddle "What's brown and sticky?" Answer "A stick". Jeff

Good point. Although, when you look in an average bookshop and see the shelves filled with Astrology, "true" alien abductions, unproven "natural" remedies, magic and religion you could think that much of the world is still in the dark ages. Jeff

Someone, I don't remember who, once nominated galvanised corrigated iron.

Cheap, waterproof, easy to transport, stiff, green, easy to adapt for other uses.

Used around the world in every society. Jeff

Portable fire

Flint ,matches ,lighters.electric spark-magnitos

How about the simple act of phrasing the question: Why?

Of course the second most important was: How?

Beer

Another one:

The harnessing of water power lead to huge industrial expansion

Hydro electric may have been key to the Industrial revolution

I wrote a paper for a "History of Technology" course I took in college which was about the use of hydro power throughout history. Once upon a time, there were 40,000 (or thereabouts) water wheels in Europe from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance.

How about the Arch that lead to an enormous expansion of architectural design that is still used today .

Is the microprocessor the world's worst invention? Without it, we wouldn't be slaves to our computers, which are quite necessary to post things to this forum.

I like my cellphone .

I don't feel as though I'm a slave to it .

I see it as nothing but a useful tool ,except when the wife calls and won't stop talking

Ever hear of the Shay Locomotive a "four wheel drive" train that was able to climb hills and opened up hilly terrain for logging and mining that helped to build our country.

I went to West Virgina and got a ride on one through the mountains ,what a thrill ,

if anyone is ever in the area it's well worth it.

My maternal grandfather was an engineer for Carr Lumber Company back in the early 1900's hauling logs out of the mountains in NC. I'm pretty sure it was not a Shay locomotive, because I have vague recollections of old photos showing a conventional design.

As a side note, he did tell me that he could get off the engine and pick a couple of gallons of blackberries before the caboose went by, which he would get on, drop off the berries with the cook and walk back to the engine over the tops of the logs they were hauling.

They were conventional except a shaft running along the bottom that drove multiple pinion gears that drove each axle .Prior to that trains would slip on hills and require sand to try to create friction .A great book with pictures of shays is "Tumult on the mountain's"

lumbering in west Virgina 1770-1020 Roy B.Clarkson

A great read on the last days of big logging

"lumbering in west Virgina 1770-1020 Roy B.Clarkson"

Are the above numbers dates? Trains weren't invented yet . . .

Bill the book I referred to was called

Tumult on the Mountains

author Roy B Clarkson

subtitle: lumbering in West Virginia 1770-1920

but of course you knew that

#2: Religion is a great invention, not a good one, but effective. The religion invention produced dogma. Dogma is used to control and manage people.

#3: Burning at the stake, for those people who did not and will not capitulate to the religion of the day. Again, not a good one, but effective in forced transfer from a matriarchal to patriarchal control.

#4: Janisium, if fully adopted as the only religion, then the "believers" would starve and die off, thus, religion would be over in a generation. LOL.....

But #1: Metal working in general.

#5: Philosophy, creates thinking people.

How is that for an interesting list.

I like that, I considered religion as well ,one of the most important "tools" of humanity and all those other terror tactics for enforcement or coercion .

Interesting : metal working , lead to tools and weapons ,making it's owner master of the day

byproduct coke ovens and byproducts for recover of various coal chemicals in the 1800's

Fischer-Tropsch Chemistry for production of synthetic organic compounds

Did someone mention computers?

Coal has played a huge role in advancement without it how would iron have been refined .And its byproducts for higher temperatures to create steel and to run many of the first real industrial steam engines.Without coal there would have been complete deforestation .And all the chemicals that are derived what an important contribution that still creates electricity and many other uses .

How about writing?

Surely not much left to beat that!

How about printing .

It allowed wide dissemination of information and probably affected the world as much as anything

When I saw this topic, I was reminded of a joke I heard a long time ago (like back in the early seventies); it goes like this:

It was a slow news day at the TV station so a reporter decides to go out and do a "man on the street" interview with the question to be "What do you think is mans' greatest invention?"

He approaches a woman and asks her the question to which she responds, "I think it is television. You can see images from all over the world and it is a fantastic tool for education." The reporter agreed that that was indeed a fine invention.

His next interviewee was an older man who's respnse was, "The technology that allowed the United States to put a man on the surface of the moon and to safely return him home. Numerous people and many different companies came together to design and fabricate a complex space vehicle to get man there and back. That HAS to be mans finest invention." And again, the reporter agreed that was a great thing.

Then came along a dejected man of the street and the question was put forth to him, "Sir what do you think is mans' greatest invention?" and the man came back with, "The thermos!"

"What in the hell do you mean the thermos?" exclaimed the reporter.

"Well, you put something hot in it and it stays hot. You put something cold in it and it stays cold. How does it know the difference?"

The battery

The steam engine

nylon

The internal combustion engine.

For it's contribution to society? the economy? NO!

It's sound.