This document provides information on several notable developments in science and technology during the 20th century, including: 1. The airplane was invented by the Wright brothers in 1903, paving the way for commercial passenger airlines. 2. Computers evolved from early concepts in the 1930s to the first programmable electronic computer in the 1940s and the first mainstream personal computer in the 1970s. 3. Fiber optic technology was developed in the 1970s, enabling high-speed internet connections around the world.

1. LESSON 10: Science,
Technology and Society
in the 20th Century

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
•The students will be able to:
1. Describe the development of Science and technology in
the 20th century,
2. Identify some of the notable development of science
and technology in the 20th century
3. Describe and recognize the significance of the different
developments and inventions in the 20th century.

3. •There are heaps of developments of science and
technology during this century and it keeps on
upgrading. The following are some of the remarkable
invention that had major impact on human being.
 The Airplane
An airplane or aeroplane was invented by the Wright
brothers, Wilbur and Orville It is a powered, fixed-wing
aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet
engine or propeller.

5. Their work leads them to make the first
controlled, sustained, powered flights on
December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina. On Jan. 1, 1914, the St.
Petersburg- Tampa Airboat Line became
the world's first scheduled passenger
airline service, operating between St.
Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. It was a
short-lived undertaking but it paved the
way for today's daily transcontinental
flights.

6.  Computers
A computer is an electronic machine
that accepts information, stores it,
processes it according to the
instructions provided by a user and then
returns the result. Today, computers
have become part of our everyday
activities. While computers as we know
them today are relatively recent, the
concepts and ideas behind computers
have quite a bit of history.

7. •Charles Babbage referred to as 'the father
of computers, conceived an analytical
engine in 1830 which could be
programmed with punched cards to carry
out calculations. It was different from its
predecessors because it was able to make
decisions based on its own computations,
such as sequential control, branching and
looping.

8. •Konrad Zuse built the very
first electronic computers in
Germany in the period 1935
to 1941. The 23 was the first
working, programmable and
fully automatic digital
computer. Zuse is often
regarded as the 'inventor of
the computer.

9. The British built the Colossus and
the Americans built the Electronic
Numerical Integrator Analyzer
and Computer, or ENIAC between
1943 and 1945.

11. •The first semiconductor transistor was invented
in 1926, but only in 1794 was it developed into a
solid-state, reliable transistor for the use in
computers. Similar to a vacuum tube, a
transistor controls the flow of electricity, but it
was only a few millimeters in size and generated
little heat. Computer systems using transistors
are considered the second generation of
computers.

12. •In 1954, IBM introduced the first mass-produced
computer. By 1958 it became possible to
combine several components, including
transistors, and the circuitry connecting them on
a single piece of silicon. This was the first
integrated circuit. Computer systems using
integrated circuits are considered the third
generation of computers. Integrated circuits led
to the computer processors we use today.

13. •Computers became quickly more powerful. By
1970 it became possible to squeeze all the
integrated circuits that are part of a single
computer on a single chip called microprocessor.
Computer systems using are considered the
fourth generation of computers.

14. •In the early 1970s computers were still mostly
used by larger corporations, government
agencies and universities.
•The first device that could be called a personal
computer was introduced in 1975.

15. The following are some of the highlighted
development of computer:

16. Steve Jobs and
Steve Wozniak
introduce Apple
Computers on
April Fool's Day
and roll out the
Apple 1, the first
computer with a
single-circuit
board in 1976.

17. The first IBM
personal computer,
code-named
"Acorn," was
introduced. It uses
Microsoft's MS-DOS
operating system. It
has an Intel chip,
two floppy disks and
an optional color
monitor in 1981 .

18. The first dot-com
domain name was
registered on
March 15, years
before the World
Wide Web would
mark the formal
beginning of
Internet history in
1985.

19. Tim Berners-Lee, a
researcher at
CERN, the high-
energy physics
laboratory in
Geneva, develops
HyperText Markup
Language (HTML),
giving rise to the
World Wide Web
(WWW) in 1990.

20. The Pentium
microprocessor
advances the use
of graphics and
music on PCs on
1993.

21. PCs became gaming
machines as
"Command &
Conquer." "Alone in
the Dark 2" "Theme
Park." "Magic
Carpet," "Descent"
and "Little Big
Adventure" were
among the games to
hit the market in
1994.

22. The term Wi-Fi
becomes part of
the computing
language and
users begin
connecting to the
Internet without
wires in 1999.

23. Apple unveils the
Mac OS X operating
system, which
provides protected
memory
architecture and
pre-emptive multi-
tasking, among
other benefits in
2001.

24. Mozilla's Firefox
1.0 challenges
Microsoft's
Internet
Explorer, the
dominant Web
browser.
Facebook, a
social
networking site,

25. YouTube, a video
sharing service, is
founded. Google
acquires Android,
a Linux based
mobile phone
operating system
in 2005.

26. Apple introduces
the MacBook
Pro, its first Intel-
based, dual-core
mobile computer,
at well as an
Intel-based iMac.
Nintendo's Wii
game console
hits the market in
2006.

27. The iPhone
brings many
computer
functions to the
smartphone in
2007.

28. Google releases
the Chromebook,
a laptop that
runs the Google
Chrome 05 in
2011.

29. Facebook gains 1
billion users on
October 4, 2012.

30. The first
reprogrammable
quantum
computer was
created in 2016.

31. The Defense
Advanced
Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) in
developing a new
"Molecular
Informatics"
program that uses
molecules as
computers (2017)

32. Magnetic Resonance
Imaging Magnetic resonance (MRI) is a non-invasive
medical test that physicians use to diagnose medical
conditions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the
body uses a powerful magnetic field, radio waves or
pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of the
inside of your body such as organs, soft tissues, bone and
virtually all other internal body structures. It may be used
to help diagnose the presence of certain disease and
abnormalities or monitor treatment for a variety of
conditions within the body.

33. The Internet
The Internet was the work of dozens of
pioneering scientists, programmers and engineers
who each developed new features and
technologies that eventually merged to become
the "information superhighway" we know today.

34. •It started in early 1900 when Nikola Tesla toyed with the
idea of a "world wireless system”.
•Paul Otlet and Vannevar Bush conceived of mechanized,
searchable storage system of books and media in the
1930s and 1940s.
•J.C.R. Licklider popularized the idea of an "Intergalactic
Network of computers. These ground breaking ideas
landed him a position as director of the US. Department
of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
the government agency responsible for creating a time
sharing network of computers known as ARPANET, the
precursor to today's internet in 1960.

36. •Leonard Kleinrock invented the packet switching, a
method for effectively transmitting electronic data that
would later become one of the major building blocks of
the Internet. ARPANET used packet switching to allow
multiple computers to communicate on a single
network.
•Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf in 1970, developed
Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or
TCP/IP a communications model that set standards for
how data could be transmitted between multiple
networks.

37. •In 1972, Ray Tomlinson introduced network email.
ARPANET adopted TCP/IP on Janaruy 1, 1983, and
from there researchers began to assemble the
"network of networks" that became the modern
Internet.
•Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in
1990. The web served as the most common
means of accessing data online in the form of
websites and hyperlinks. The web helped
popularize the Internet among the public, and

38. •During the 1980s, the National Science Foundation
started to build a nationwide computer network that
included its own supercomputers, called NSFNET
ARPANET had grown well beyond the needs of the
Department of Defense, and so the NSF took control of
the "civilian nodes.“
•In 1990, ARPANET was officially decommissioned.
Ultimately, the NSF aimed to build a network that was
independent of government funding.
•The NSF lifted all restrictions on commercial use on its
network in 1991 and in 1995, the Internet was officially
privatized.

39. Optical Fiber
In 1880 Alexander Graham Bell created a very
early precursor to fiber-optic communications,
the world's first wireless telephone (Photophone).
Bell considered it his most important invention.
The device allowed for the transmission of sound
on a beam of light.

40. •In 1952, UK based physicist Narinder Singh Kapany
invented the first actual fiber optical cable based on
John Tyndall's experiments three decades earlier.
Light pipe experiment
•Light travelling through
a stream of water flowing
from a pipe through a
mechanism known as
‘total internal reflection of light’.

41. Narinder Singh Kapany
- The father of fiber optics
John Tyndall's

42. •Jun-ichi Nishizawa, a Japanese scientist proposed the
use of optical fibers for communications in 1963.

43. •Optical fiber was successfully developed in
1970 by Corning Glass Works (Robert Maurer,
Donald Keck, Peter Schultz, and Frank Zimar),
with attenuation low enough for
communication purposes.

44. •And at the same time GaAs semiconductor lasers
were developed that were compact and
therefore suitable for transmitting light through
fiber optic cables for long distances.
•By the early 1990's as the Internet was becoming
popularized in the public realm, fiber optic
cables started to be laid around the world with a
major push to wire the world in order to provide
communication infrastructure.

45. •Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is used in
semiconductor production mainly for laser
diodes, light-emitting diodes and solar panels. It
is also used to create brilliant mirrors.

46. •Fiber optic is preferred over electrical cabling when high
bandwidth, long distance, or immunity to
electromagnetic interference are required. Due to much
lower attenuation and interference, optical fiber has
large advantages over existing copper wire in long-
distance, high-demand applications.
•Optical fiber is used by many telecommunications
companies to transmit telephone signals, Internet
communication, and cable television signals. The prices
of fiber-optic communications have dropped
considerably since 2000. Today, fiber is present in
virtually every nation on the Earth, forming the absolute
strength of the modern communications infrastructure.

47. Air Conditioning System
Primitive air conditioning systems have existed since
ancient times. Attempts control indoor temperatures
began in ancient Rome, where wealthy citizens took
advantag of the remarkable aqueduct system to circulate
cool water through the walls of their homes The emperor
Elagabalus in the third century, built a mountain of snow,
imported from the mountains via donkey trains and put it
in the garden next to his villa to keep cool during the
summer, but this was so costly and inefficient. Such
luxuries disappeared during the Dark Ages, and large-
scale air-conditioning efforts didn't resurface in the West.
Willis Carrier invents the air conditioner.

48. •In the intervening centuries, fans were the
coolant of choice. Hand fans were used in China
as early as 3,000 years ago, and a second-
century Chinese inventor has been credited with
building the first room-sized rotary fan.
Architecture also played a major role in pre
modern temperature control. In traditional
Middle Eastern construction, windows faced
away from the sun, and larger buildings featured
"wind towers" designed to catch and circulate
the prevailing breezes.

49. •Nikola Tesla's development of alternating current
motors made possible the invention of oscillating
fans in the early 20th century using electricity.
•And in 1902 a 25-year-old engineer from New York
named Willis Carrier invented the first modern air-
conditioning system. The mechanical unit, which
sent air through water-cooled coils, was not aimed at
human comfort, however, it was designed to control
humidity in the printing plant where he worked.

50. •In 1922, he followed up with the invention of the
centrifugal chiller, which added a central compressor to
reduce the unit's size. For years afterward, people piled
into air- conditioned movie theaters on hot summer
days, giving rise to the summer blockbuster.
•In the 1930s, air conditioning spread to department
stores, rail cars, and offices, sending workers' summer
productivity soaring.

51. • As late as 1965, just 10 percent of US homes had it,
according to the Carrier Corporation. By 2007, cool air
spread across the country. Many Americans are turning
to their air conditioners to combat the current heat
wave. These artificial breezes are a relatively novel
innovation.

52. Gene Therapy
Gene therapy attempts to treat genetic diseases
at the molecular level by correcting what is wrong
with defective genes. The first gene therapy was
approved in the European Union in 2012, after
two decades of dashed expectations. This
approval boosted the investment developing gene
therapies.

53. •Gene therapy relies on finding a dependable delivery
system to carry the correct gene to the affected cells.
The gene must be delivered inside the target cells and
work properly without causing adverse effects.
Delivering genes that will work correctly for the long
term is the greatest challenge of gene therapy. Viruses
are often used by researchers to deliver the correct
gene to cells.

54. •In gene therapy, the DNA for the desired gene is
inserted into the genetic material of the virus
and deliver its new genetic material which
contains the desired DNA Fatty molecules known
as liposomes may also be used as can
micropipettes, sometimes called "gene guns" to
insert genes into cells physically.

55. •ADA: The First Gene Therapy Trial.
A four-year old girl became the first gene therapy patient
on September 14, 1990 at the NIH Clinical Center. She has
adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency, a genetic disease
which leaves her defenseless against infections. White
blood cells were taken from her, and the normal genes for
making adenosine deaminase were inserted into them.
The corrected cells were reinjected into her. Dr W. French
Anderson helped develop this landmark clinical trial when
he worked at the National Heart, Lung, and blood
Institute.

56.  3D Metal Printing
3D Metal Printing in one of the advances in the
technology that provide instant metal fabrication.
This innovation enables the ability to create large,
intricate metal structures on demand and
therefore could revolutionize manufacturing. It
gives the manufacturers the ability to make a
single or small number of metal parts much more
cheaply than using existing mass-production
techniques.

57.  Artificial Embryos
Artificial Embryos are made from stem cells alone without
using egg or sperm cells. It is a breakthrough that will
open new possibilities for understanding how life comes
into existence-but clearly also raises vital ethical and even
philosophical problems.
•Embryologists working at the University of Cambridge in
the UK have grown realistic looking mouse embryos
using only stem cells. No egg. No sperm. Just cells
plucked from another embryo. The researchers placed
the cells carefully in a three-dimensional scaffold and
watched, fascinated, as they started communicating and

58.  Cell-free Fatal DNA Testing
Pregnant women sometimes need to have cells of their
fetus tested for chromoso defects such as fidwards
Syndrome and Down Syndrome. These tests require an
acquisition of cells that are quite invasive for the unborn
baby. The test brought risk of miscarriage and increased
stress for pregnant mothers. With medical advances, it is
now possible f doctors to test cell-free fetal DNA by using
the mother's blood. This advance has become more
widely used and accepted internationally in the past year.

59.  Cancer nanotherapy
•Nano devices and technology are already in wide use,
and as the years pass, the technology in pharmaceuticals
and medicine will only continue to improve. One of
which is an emerging cancer treatment technology that
implements nanomaterials in a more aggressive method,
for example, researchers at Israel's Bar-Ilan University
have developed nanobots to target and deliver drugs to
detective cells, while leaving healthy ones unharmed.

60. •As the years pass, technology in pharmaceuticals
and medicine will continue to improve. People
are living longer and fewer diseases are deemed
incurable. Jobs in the pharmaceutical industry
are in higher demand now than ever.