Category Science & Technology

It was the industrial revolution which brought about the introduction of metal bridges. In the past, bridges were constructed of stone and timber, which were available in large quantities. Iron was used because it was much stronger than either wood or stone, and was, on the whole, less expensive to produce. Bridges made from timber or stone become fewer and fewer.

The first ever metal bridge was built in England in 1779. The Coalbrookdale Bridge, which spanned the River Severn, was designed by Thomas Pritchard and built by Andrew Darby. This bridge, the first to be built solely of iron, spanned almost 100 feet across the river in an almost perfect semi-circular arrangement of cast-iron pieces.

Fact File The drawbridge originated in medieval Europe as a defensive feature of castles and towns. It was operated by a counterweight and winch. In the late 19th century drawbridges began to be built specifically to aid navigation; the Tower Bridge, London, being a fine example.

 

Picture Credit : Google

People have used canals to transport heavy goods for thousands of years. It is believed the first canals were built to join together existing rivers to make a transport route. Indeed, the city of Venice in Italy was built on a system of canals rather than roads; six thousand years ago the Aztec city of Tenochitlan was built with an impressive system of canals within it for transport.

However, the heyday of canal building was much more recent. The industrial revolution was responsible for the upsurge in canal building. There was a huge need during this era for cheap and easy ways to transport goods from factories to ports. Horse-drawn canal boats and steam-powered canal boats were faster than carrying cargo by horse-drawn carts along the road.

Fact File Locks are an essential feature of any canal which needs to gain or lose height. A lock has gates that can be closed to control the water level in a section of the canal. Water is let into or taken from the section, raising or lowering the vessel inside.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The internet was created in 1983. The idea behind the internet came from the US Defence department who had a basic version of the internet set up as a secure system for their information.

The internet was born from a mainly academic origin, as a framework connecting numerous computer networks together. It has rapidly developed into a very popular commercial medium. By the mid-1990s, millions of computers all around the world were connected on the ‘world wide web’.

The limits of technology are always changing, and the internet tests the capabilities of modern developments to the full.

Fact File Modern communications have affected our lives in many ways. Since the 1980s the mobile phone has proved to be an increasingly popular means of communication. It was publicly introduced in Chicago in 1983 and was a success from the start.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The television was not ‘invented’ at one particular time by one particular person. The processes which enable a television to operate were developed over a period of time.

In 1875, G.R. Carey made the first basic television system using photoelectric cells. An object was focused through a lens onto a bank of photoelectric cells. Each cell controlled how much electricity would be passed on to a light bulb. Crude outlines of the object then appeared in lights.

1923 brought the first practical transmission of pictures over wires. There was also a great development in television camera technology.

By 1945 the television as we know it today had been developed.

Continuous technological developments have meant that the quality of television pictures has improved dramatically.

Fact File With the use of communication satellites, TV programmes can be beamed to the most remote parts of the world, including the Amazon jungle!

 

Picture Credit : Google

Morse code is a messaging system which uses two kinds of signal, a short one called a dot, and a long one called a dash. The signals are sent via telegraphs. A transmitter sends a coded message in long and short bursts of radio waves along a wire; the receiver then translates the dots and dashes into their representative letters, numbers and words.

Samuel Morse (1791-1872) was an American engineer who developed this system. He conceived communication via telegraph in 1832. After several years of work on the idea, Morse perfected it in 1838.

However, at that time, telegraph lines did not exist across land, so there was no way Morse could put his code to use on a practical scale.

It was 1843 before the US government allocated a sum of money to construct a telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore. Morse sent the first Morse code message along the lines in 1844.

Fact File Morse code was used a lot during World War I because it was a quick and easy way of sending messages. Probably the most famous signal was SOS which actually stood for ‘Save our Souls’.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The very first ‘matches’ were designed by early man when he had discovered fire. Rubbing two pieces of flint together to create a spark with which to ignite dry leaves is a basic fire-lighting creation.

Modern matches were made possible by the discovery of phosphorus, a substance which catches fire at a low temperature.

In the nineteenth century, various forms of ‘matches’ were designed using phosphorus. Often, stripes of wood were tipped with white or yellow phosphorus. However white and yellow phosphorus is highly flammable, and dangerous to use.

The first safety matches were made in Sweden in 1844, with the introduction of non-poisonous red phosphorous. Instead of putting all the necessary chemicals for ignition on the match-head, the red phosphorous was painted onto the striking surface of the match box.

Fact File Stone Age people made fire using a simple wooden stick called a fire drill. The drill was turned quickly over a piece of dry wood until it produced enough heat to start the fire.

 

Picture Credit : Google