Bald Saints

16/02/2022

Image playback

Surpassing the capabilities of the human eye - this dream did not leave many even after the inventions of Leeuwenhoek and Galileo. In all ages, people have wanted to see better and very distant objects, and very close and small. But in the 20th century, this was supplemented by the desire to see some phenomena from the category of "magic" - to pe*****te into the deep essence of things, to see the spectra of color and light invisible to humans.

Today, thanks to advances in technology, man is closer than ever to being the crown of civilization. It can store and view millions of images captured in images taken by micro- and telescopes, using various vision devices, etc. Photography has become the breakthrough that allows you to save the world around us in a form convenient for people.

16/02/2022

Highways

Here are the predictions William Durant, founder of General Motors, made in a 1992 interview: “Most of us will live to see our country in the future, covered with a huge network of highways, smoothly drawn from point to point. Hills will be leveled and bridges will be built - man and technology will do their job.

Given Americans' love of cars, his predictions were not unfounded. And the development of road transport, which began at the end of the 19th century, required the creation of convenient ways for the movement of cars. While their speeds were low, they were limited to horse-drawn roads, using precautions to control dust and protect the road surface from rapid destruction. With an increase in traffic intensity, an increase in speeds and loads, more thorough reconstruction of horse-drawn roads began to be carried out, expanding the carriageways, eliminating steep ascents and descents, increasing the radius of curvature, using dust-free and durable road surfaces, etc. After the First World War, most countries began build only highways specially calculated and designed for the movement of cars.

16/02/2022

Spacecraft

This historic event was so shrouded in darkness that not a single picture was taken at the time. But none of those present, probably, will ever forget this moment - when on October 4, 1957, Sputnik launched on the plain of Kazakhstan. The rocket rose from the takeoff field and rapidly rushed into the sky, leaving behind only tiny luminous dust particles ...

Today, space missions are getting further and more complex, and instead of people, specially designed and controlled robots are sent to them (see hi-Tech PRO 1-2/2010, p. 172 of the electronic version). NASA's maximum task today is the study of neighboring galaxies. And half a century ago, a huge achievement was just to fly to the moon.

13/02/2022

Radio and TV

In the autumn of 1899, a revolutionary way of reporting the results of various competitions appeared in the sports news arena. Somewhere beyond the Big Apple Harbor, two sailboats, the Columbia of the New York Yacht Club and the Shamrock of Ulster, Ireland, were vying fiercely for the America's Cup. Before this race, the fans did not suspect what was happening on the water, and they found out the result only after the end. However, this time they heard everything with the help of a "lightning-transferring sound signal," as sports journalists enthusiastically called the radio.

This was the beginning of the media era, which continues to grow today. Internet TV, mobile TV, podcasts, HDTV, and now 3D TV… It’s getting harder and harder to predict what will appear in the future, but one thing is clear – the 20th century was a landmark for the inventions of Markoni-Popov and Nipkow.

13/02/2022

Electronics

In 1948, an innovation in electronics was greeted with barely suppressed yawns of boredom. The public did not believe that something revolutionary could happen. “It's a device called a transistor. It is used in some devices on the radio, where vacuum tubes were previously used. It was demonstrated yesterday at Bell Laboratories, ”the New York Times reacted to the presented invention.

Vacuum tubes were later replaced by transistors in most electronic devices, revolutionizing the design of integrated circuits and computers. Transistors have already begun to decrease in size and fall in price since the 50s of the twentieth century. Then a device the size of an eraser cost a few dollars, and by the mid-70s, its size approached the volume of a mosquito, and the price dropped to hundredths of a cent. In the 90s, even less so.

Transistors today are functional units of various electronic designs and microcircuits of various degrees of complexity. Some chips provide electronic memory functionality for storing and retrieving binary data. Others are designed to perform specific tasks with maximum efficiency to control audio signals or graphic images. Still others are included in the class of microprocessors.

13/02/2022

Water supply system

At the beginning of the 20th century, water was one of the most sought after commodities in the United States and other large countries. The population was growing very rapidly, and the water supply systems were in a terrible state and posed a direct threat to the health of citizens.

Today, engineers continue to solve the problem of better water purification, sometimes with the help of the simplest technologies. A similar one was invented by the Indian scientist Ashok Gakdil after a terrible cholera epidemic in his native country in 1992-1993. The device is a small box with ultraviolet light suspended over a basin of water. Water enters the basin, is irradiated with ultraviolet light, then pours already purified into another container at a rate of approximately 15 liters per minute. At the same time, the irradiation lamp consumes no more than a conventional incandescent lamp of 40 watts. Today, thousands of such devices are used around the world in countries where water requires enhanced purification (Mexico, the Philippines, India, South Africa and many others).

13/02/2022

Plane

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the layman could not even imagine what it was like to fly an airplane. But by the end of the century it had become the norm for millions of people. Moreover, some have already been in space (see hi-Tech PRO 1-2/2010, p. 172 of the electronic version). The first flight on the plane lasted 12 seconds and involved a pilot weighing 55 kg. Now on commercial flights, the flight duration reaches 15 hours, and the number of passengers is several hundred.

Today, computers have firmly entered the field of flight control. So-called wireless control systems have replaced bulky hydraulic mechanisms and drives on electric motors. Compact and lightweight electronic components have revolutionized flight safety systems. Special collision avoidance systems based on on-board computers, as well as a Doppler radar, warn pilots of all changes - the strength and direction of the wind, and also notify the operation of all the most important components and compartments at the most crucial moments - during takeoff and landing.

10/02/2022

Scientific discoveries in the field of biology
The revolution in this field is associated with the discovery of the DNA double helix. As early as 1869, Swiss biologist Friedrich Miescher discovered DNA. But then he did not assume that this is a carrier of genetic information that unites all living beings, from humans to earthworms.

Scientific discoveries of the 20th century
The double helix of DNA is a scientific discovery of the 20th century. Photo: Wikipedia.

In the 20th century, the English scientist Rosalyn Franklin, conducting X-ray diffraction analysis of DNA molecules, came to the conclusion that DNA has the shape of a double helix, which resembles a spiral staircase. Rosalynn shared the results of her analysis with University of Cambridge researchers Francis Crick and James Watson, who also studied the structure of DNA. And in 1953 they proposed a three-dimensional structure of the DNA molecule, for which they received the Nobel Prize. But, despite this, Rosalyn continued to study the properties of DNA, discovering more and more of its qualities. The scientific work of Rosalyn subsequently prompted scientists to develop new medicines, the emergence of genetic engineering, the cloning of animals, human organs, and even an attempt to clone the person himself.

An important role in the development of biology was played by the famous scientist Sidney Brenner, who made a discovery in the field of genetic regulation of organ development. He studied the question of the limited lifespan of the cell. Subsequently, it was suggested that programmed cell death - apoptosis.

Brenner collaborated with John Sulston to decipher the human genome. While doing research work on the earthworm, the nematode, Stalston identified the first cell su***de gene.

Robert Horwitz in the 70s, continuing his work in this direction, discovered two genes for cell su***de. Later, he discovered a gene that keeps the cell from self-destruction. He found the corresponding genes in other animals and humans. These scientific discoveries make it possible to continue work in the field of managing the aging process of organisms and suggest the possibility of controlling the development of many deadly diseases. In 2002 Horwitz and Salston received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

10/02/2022

Scientific discoveries in the field of physics
A revolution in this area began at the very beginning of the 20th century, when Max Planck derived the formula for the distribution of energy in the spectrum of an absolutely black body, from which it followed that energy is not emitted uniformly, as previously assumed, but in parts - quanta. On this basis, Albert Einstein developed the quantum theory of the photoelectric effect in 1905. Next, Niels Bohr proposed a model of the structure of the atom, where electrons revolve in orbits around the nucleus of an atom, like planets around the sun.

But the revolution did not end there. Albert Einstein in 1916 developed the general theory of relativity, which practically turned the views of all scientists of that time. According to this theory, gravity is not the process of interaction of fields and bodies in space, but the result of the curvature of space-time. This theory explained the appearance of so-called black holes, as well as the curvature of light rays from stars as they pass near the Sun.

Scientific discoveries of the 20th century
Transistors and integrated circuits are the scientific discovery of the 20th century. Photo: The Epoch Times.

In 1932, James Chadwick proved the existence of the neutron. This scientific discovery led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to the development of an arms race and to the Cold War. But at the same time, this discovery served as an impetus for the development of nuclear energy, as well as for the use of radioisotopes in various scientific fields. For the discovery of the neutron, James Chadwick received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935.

On December 16, 1947, Walter Brattain, John Bardeen, and William Shockley discovered the property of a semiconductor—the control of large currents by means of small ones. This is how the transistor appeared - a device that consisted of a pair of pn junctions. The principle of operation of the transistor served as the basis for the development of many areas of scientific activity and not only. His invention led to the emergence of microcircuits and microprocessors - the basis for modern computers and electronic equipment, etc.

10/02/2022

02/02/2022

Do otters have pouches?
Under each foreleg, the sea otter has a loose pouch of skin that extends across the chest. In this pouch (preferentially the left one), the animal stores collected food to bring to the surface. This pouch also holds a rock, unique to the otter, that is used to break open shellfish and clams.

02/02/2022

02/02/2022