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1885 1895 1903 1906
called the cinématographe, which projected
moving images onto a screen.(^16) Aeroplane Wilbur and Orville Wright
built the first successful heavier-than-air,
powered aircraft. Their first flight lasted
only 12 seconds.
(^17) Triode valve First designed to control
electric current, the triode valve went on
to be used as an amplifier for radio and TV
signals, and as “switches” in computers.
(^18) Radio broadcast The first public radio
broadcasts were heard in 1906. By the
mid 1920s, people were buying radio
sets for their homes.
(^19) Television transmission John Logie
Baird produced the first television
transmission using a series of spinning
discs to produce the image. This
mechanical device was soon overtaken
by the electronic cathode ray tube.
(^20) Transistor The transistor did the
same job as a triode valve, but it was
smaller, more reliable, and used less
power, paving the way for more
compact electronic devices.
(^21) Microchip This invention integrated
thousands of transistors into single
miniature chips of silicon, replacing
mechanical control devices in household
goods and bulky circuits in computers.
(^22) Communications satellite The launch
of the first communications satellite,
Telstar, allowed live television programmes
and telephone calls to be transmitted
around the world by bouncing signals
off the orbiting space satellite to receiver
dishes on the ground.
(^23) Personal computer The first successful
desktop computer, Apple II, had an
integrated keyboard, which connected
to a television.
(^24) Mobile phone Calls are transmitted via
a network of short-range local transmitters
using radio waves instead of cables.
(^25) Compact disc The CD uses a laser to
read sound information recorded as a series
of pits under the disc’s smooth surface.
(^26) iPhone As technology advances,
electronic devices become smaller and
more intricate. Gadgets, such as Apple’s
iPhone, are designed to perform many
different functions, including playing
music and videos, storing photos, and
accessing the Internet.
(^27) 3-D printer Unlike ordinary printers,
these printers can create three-dimensional
(3-D) objects, which have width and height,
as well as length, or depth. Regular printers
use ink, but 3-D printers mostly use layers
of melted plastic to create a model. Metal,
chocolate, or even concrete can be used as
material to create models.
1920 1926 1947 1958 1962 1977 1979 1982 2007 2011
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