Inventions
All 14 records found.
3D Printing: The Revolution in Personalized Manufacturing
3D printing was once only known through science fiction, such as Star Trek, the popular 1960s TV series. But inventors and engineers on Earth began experimenting in real life with 3D printing Read More →
Artificial Intelligence: Building Smarter Machines
In 2011 a computer named Watson outscored two human competitors on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! and snagged the million-dollar prize. Watson isn't the only machine keeping up with humans. The… Read More →
Communication through the Ages: From Speech to Smartphones
From the Series Technology through the Ages
Reading texts or direct messages, communicating through speech or sign language, and viewing artwork are all among the many ways people share news, ideas, and feelings with one another.… Read More →
Computing through the Ages: From Bones to Binary
From the Series Technology through the Ages
“The discovery both of [geometry] and of the other sciences proceeded from utility.”—Proclus Lycius, Greek philosopher, fifth century CE “Geometry is the knowledge of the eternally… Read More →
Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain Revolution: Bitcoin and Beyond
In January 2009, a mysterious software developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, exchanged a specially designed code with another developer. The code was a digital currency that Nakamoto had proposed… Read More →
Cyber Attack
In 2013, the FBI started posting a new most wanted list—not for kidnappers, murderers, or armed robbers, but for online crooks. These "Cyber's Most Wanted" criminals have committed serious… Read More →
Design Thinking: A Guide to Innovation
Design thinking is a six-step process used in creative problem solving to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions. As a human-centered… Read More →
Folding Tech: Using Origami and Nature to Revolutionize Technology
Space probes, self-assembling robots, crash-absorbing cars, and designer proteins all have one thing in common: their use of folding technologies. To develop these technologies, engineers are Read More →
Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press
From the Series Pivotal Moments in History
Can one invention really change the world? Before the mid-fifteenth century, books were printed by hand, making them rare and expensive. Reading and learning remained a privilege of the… Read More →
Remaking the John: The Invention and Reinvention of the Toilet
Did you know that about 40 percent of the world's population lives without toilets? That's more than two billion people, most of whom live in rural areas or crowded urban slums. And according Read More →
Self-Driving Cars: The New Way Forward
Self-driving cars mark the next great shift in mass transportation. Learn about early attempts at self-driving technology, the benefits of driverless cars, controversies surrounding the new… Read More →
Technology through the Ages — Hardcover Set
From the Series Technology through the Ages
Ancient societies developed incredible inventions and complex techniques that continue to surprise scientists and historians today. Discover how ancient innovations laid the groundwork for… Read More →
Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions
Teen Innovators tells the stories of discovery and the inventions of nine young students. For example, twelve-year-old Gitanjali Rao, appalled by the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, found a… Read More →
The Next Big Thing: A History of the Boom-or-Bust Moments That Shaped the Modern World
We are always hearing about the Next Big Thing. Whether it is a new iPhone or the New World, the freshest and newest inventions, discoveries, and fads always loom large in the public mind.… Read More →