Electronic Stock Exchange (NASDAQ)History In early stock markets, traders offered and accepted bids for stock prices to one another. People would stand in a stock exchange and literally yell out stock symbols and prices. Buyers would purchase blocks of stock. This system was slow and expensive. Only high-level bankers had access to the people on a stock trading … Continue reading "Electronic Stock Exchange (NASDAQ)"
Computer Assisted Design (Sketchpad)“The cinema camera doesn’t make movies; it allows movies to be made. It’s the creative people who make it real to people.” Ivan Sutherland Computer Assisted Design (CAD) uses mathematics to do the geometry and calculations necessary to draw and design. CAD is faster and more accurate than hand drawing. Sutherland’s “sketchpad” software, part of … Continue reading "Computer Assisted Design (Sketchpad)"
Light Emitting Diode (LED)“New York City and you’re flying in an airplane and you see all these lights. And you think lights, lights, lights, lights, lights.” Nick Holonyak Nick Holonyak Jr.’s mom was an orphan. His dad was a coal miner. After a stint in the mine’s, Nick decided school sounded like a fine idea. Holonyak was the … Continue reading "Light Emitting Diode (LED)"
BarbieIn 1945, Harold “Matt” Matson and Elliot Handler created a garage-based manufacturing business. They named it by combining their first names, Mattel. First, they manufactured picture frames. Using the leftover pieces of wood, Elliot built dollhouses that sold well. Soon, Matson dropped out of the business leaving it solely owned by Handler and his wife, … Continue reading "Barbie"
Supertall SkyscraperBuildings higher than 300 meters (984 ft.) are supertall skyscrapers. During the late 1920s there was an unofficial competition to see who could build the tallest building in New York City. Background In 1913, the Woolworth Building was the highest in New York City, at 792 feet. New York architects William Van Alen and Craig … Continue reading "Supertall Skyscraper"
MinicomputerComputers were big. They were enormously expensive and physically giant machines. IBM’s nickname from this time was Big Blue on account of the size of the company and their computers. History Olsen developed, by current standards, small transistor-based computers at MIT. He left in ’57 to form a company, the Digital Computer Corporation. It was … Continue reading "Minicomputer"
NickelodeonNickelodeon’s were the original movie theaters. Many had gaudy facades but, inside, they were dark dank rooms with wooden benches to watch short movies. Movies ran on a reel and people could watch as long as they wanted, or as long as they could stand the oftentimes filthy interiors. Possibly because Nickelodeon theaters are successors … Continue reading "Nickelodeon"
Seed Drill / Automatic Hoe1733 Jethro Tull invented a new type of tiller and planter, an automatic hoe. His machine turned soil over and planted seeds, something people had to do by hand before that time. Tull was educated as a lawyer. He practiced law for a short while, couldn’t stand the work, and went into farming. Tull’s farm … Continue reading "Seed Drill / Automatic Hoe"
Flash MemoryFlash memory stores and retrieves information more reliably and faster than hard drives. It works similar to RAM but is slower and far less expensive. It is fast, cheap, reliable, and virtually shock-proof. Fuio Masuoka was a Toshiba employee. He developed a better type of solid-state memory and filed a patent in 1981. His new … Continue reading "Flash Memory"
Microwave OvenPercy Spencer is a self-taught engineer who did not finish even primary school. He self-taught himself math, science, and electrical engineering while standing guard on ships in the Navy. Before, during, and after WWII, Spencer worked on top-secret magnetrons, the high-powered electrical devices at the heart of a RADAR system. One day he noticed that … Continue reading "Microwave Oven"
Synthetic DyeAs the Industrial Revolution gained steam (OK – bad pun), England’s population became denser. Eventually, the resulting pools of water bred mosquitos that eventually became a malaria epidemic. Perkin, a 15-year-old student, ran crude experiments to create lower-cost quinine, a malaria medicine. One of his processes accidentally produced a strong purple liquid. Useless as a … Continue reading "Synthetic Dye"
Catalytic ConverterCatalytic converters prevent knocking in engines without leaded fuel. Houdry was a Frenchman working on high-octane fuels. His initial focus were race cars. Sun Oil sponsored the early work, in the 1930’s, moving Houdry to the US. The fuel work was a success but could not be use in mass production because the catalysts that … Continue reading "Catalytic Converter"
Nuclear PowerOne of the great physicists, Fermi won the Nobel Prize in 1938, at the age of 37. No sooner did he receive his prize than he fled from his home in fascist Italy to New York City, taking US citizenship. Eventually, Fermi and the other nuclear scientists had convinced President Roosevelt that the Nazis could … Continue reading "Nuclear Power"
RadarThe origin of Radar is secret. Even after commercialization, the inventors remained in the shadows, secret warriors who enabled the Allies to shoot down the Nazi Lufthansa with eerie precision. Consequently, it was as if the Allies could project through the clouds exactly where the planes were. Of course, that would be impossible… Specifically, Watt … Continue reading "Radar"
Audion TubeThe Audion acts as an amplifier, transforming quiet electric signals into loud ones. Background In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the “three-electrode Audion” vacuum tube. In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the “three-electrode Audion” vacuum tube. The Audion acts as an amplifier, transforming quiet electric signals into loud ones. Originally de Forest wasn’t quite sure … Continue reading "Audion Tube"