1 |
1608 |
Galileo used this to discover that Jupiter has its own moons.
|
TELESCOPE |
Vega |
2 |
1642 |
Blaise Pascal invented this implement for performing arithmetic automatically.
|
MECHANICAL CALCULATOR |
Sarin |
3 |
1698 |
The first commercial version of this was a water pump developed by Thomas Savery.
|
STEAM ENGINE |
Kornephoros |
4 |
1783 |
The first untethered manned flight of this buoyant object was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes.
|
HOT AIR BALLOON |
Arcturus |
5 |
1792 |
This was invented by the creator of Morse code and revolutionized information sending across long distances.
|
TELEGRAPH |
Tania Australis |
6 |
1816 |
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is widely accepted as the inventor of this tool which allows one to preserve memories.
|
CAMERA |
Pollux |
7 |
1822 |
This was the name of the first programmable mechanical computer, courtesy of Charles Babbage.
|
DIFFERENCE ENGINE |
Wasat |
8 |
1834 |
First created by Moritz Jacobi, Jacobi's second version of this was powerful enough to drive a boat with 14 people across a wide river.
|
ELECTRIC MOTOR |
Castor |
9 |
1859 |
Invented by French physicist Gaston Planté, this was the earliest type of rechargeable battery, with a large power-to-weight ratio that makes it attractive for use in motor vehicles.
|
LEAD ACID BATTERY |
θ-Aur |
10 |
1876 |
Using the telegraph line between Brantford and Paris, Ontario (a distance of eight miles), the inventor of this device made the "world's first long-distance call."
|
TELEPHONE |
Capella |
11 |
1879 |
Thomas Edison is widely credited for inventing this object, as well as making other breakthroughs in lighting technology, including [developing the first commercial power utility called Pearl Street Station in lower Manhattan and] inventing the first electric meter.
|
LIGHT BULB |
ε-Per |
12 |
1882 |
This coal-fired power station, the first of its kind, generated electricity for street lamps in London.
|
EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT STATION |
Mirfak |
13 |
1886 |
First invented by Karl Benz, Henry Ford innovated mass-production techniques which became standard for this product.
|
AUTOMOBILE |
γ-Tri |
14 |
1887 |
American inventor Charles F. Brush built the first automatically operated one of this.
|
WIND TURBINE |
Mirach |
15 |
1903 |
Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk with this invention.
|
AIRPLANE |
φ-Psc |
16 |
1928 |
John Logie Baird demonstrated the first color transmission of this machine using mechanical rotating disks to scan moving images into electronic impulses.
|
TELEVISION |
π-And |
17 |
1933 |
Originally patented by Edwin Armstrong, this technology is now used for most music broadcasts since it is capable of higher fidelity compared to other broadcasting technologies.
|
FM RADIO |
Deneb |
18 |
1947 |
The first of its kind consisted of a block of germanium with two very closely spaced gold contacts held against it by a spring to create a point-contact diode.
|
TRANSISTOR |
ε²-Lyr |
19 |
1954 |
Bell Labs developed this technology which was capable of converting the sun's energy into power to run everyday electrical equipment.
|
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL |
θ-Dra |
20 |
1957 |
This satellite, the first to be launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit, orbited for three weeks before its batteries died.
|
SPUTNIK 1 |
Grumium |
21 |
1969 |
While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to step on the moon, he flew the Command Module Columbia alone in lunar orbit.
|
MICHAEL COLLINS |
Altais |
22 |
1971 |
This space station was originally planned to launch on the 10th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight on Vostok 1, but technical problems delayed it by one week.
|
SALYUT 1 |
ψ-Dra |
23 |
1983 |
Originally intended for military use, President Ronald Reagan opened this system to the public after a Korean passenger jet was shot down when it strayed from its intended route into Soviet prohibited airspace.
|
GPS |
Edasich |
24 |
1990 |
This information system used Uniform Resource Locators to identify documents and other web resources accessible over the Internet.
|
WORLD WIDE WEB |
Mizar |
25 |
1992 |
This IBM device, invented 15 years before the iPhone was released, was equipped with a touch screen and the ability to send and receive emails and faxes.
|
SIMON PERSONAL COMPUTER |
Thuban |
26 |
2010 |
This Japanese solar sail based spacecraft completed its planned mission to Venus in 29 weeks.
|
IKAROS |
κ-Dra |
27 |
2016 |
The Google DeepMind Challenge Match featured this Go-playing computer program which beat 18-time world champion Lee Sedol in four out of five games.
|
ALPHAGO |
Dubhe |
28 |
2019 |
This computer, touted as the world's first-ever circuit-based quantum computer, can be accessed by clients through the cloud.
|
IBM Q SYSTEM ONE |
Alioth |