What's the greatest invention of the 20th century?

Question

What's the greatest invention of the 20th century?

Answer 1

Oh, I know great inventions preceeded this to make it possible but for me it's -

The computer..most specifically the INTERNET. It has made the world smaller. For me, it's great because I have instant contact with family and friends in Spain and other parts of the world!

_______Keep in mind I am no scientist LOL..and I know there is a more "educated" answer to this question

Answer 2

Quantum Theory. It gave rise to transistors, integrated circuits ("chips"), and the IT revolution.

Answer 3

In light of "Biggest positive impact on the world":



An invention is usually considered a physical object. The wheel was an invention. The airplane was an invention. The light bulb was an invention. The personal computer was an invention.



But not all inventions are physical. Some are conceptual. The alphabet was also an invention. Cursive writing was an invention. The English language (as indeed all human language) was an invention.The most important invention of the 20th century was a language.



Computer program historians and programmers know of the wide diversity of computer languages. The most important of these is called a Compiler. In the early 1950's, Grace Murray Hopper invented the Compiler. She called the first one A-O.



Digital computers only understand two states: On and Off. Prior to using a Compiler, programmers were required to enter instructions into a computer by using a series of 1's to represent On and 0's to represent Off. This is called machine language. It is very difficult for humans to work with. It is very labor intensive.



A Compiler is software that allows programming languages to be written and used. It automatically translates human language like commands into machine code. It allows the development of what has been called higher level programming languages.Without a Compiler, there never would have been FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL languages and DOS. The concepts of personal computer and the World Wide Web would have remained science fiction if they were thought of at all.



The Compiler was the beginning of humans being able to use a computer for more than just calculations. Word processing, payroll processing and financial transactions, telephone switching, robotic control, electronic storage of information, computer games, and Yahoo! Answers all are the grandchildren of Hopper's Compiler.

Answer 4

The Internet. We can find any information we want, any time.



We can also keep up with friends & family, no matter where they are.



btw - without the Internet, we wouldn't have YA & that would be a *bad* thing! lol

Answer 5

The internet.

Answer 6

Smallpox vaccination without which half of the human population would have been wiped out.

Answer 7

So much of my work and life is enhanced by the Internet...legal research tools, marketing, blogging, email...so I would have to say the Internet.

Answer 8

1.3 world wide web

[or as the woman on 'My name is Earl' said, "the wonderful world of web"] came to my mind first.



which is dependent on the 20th C invention of

1.2 electric computers



which is dependent on another 20th C (?) invention 1.1 the stable current/voltage electrical energy grid .....

Answer 9

The Internet, computers, and the electronics that made them possible are the most important, because of the potential to put many people in the world in direct communication. These things have the potential to increase understanding among the peoples of the world. How can we continue to be indifferent to people when we have direct contact with them?

Answer 10

Erik Van Thienen is right, the transistor. Let me explain....



Electronics were big and bulky (and very limited in their applications) and considered expensive until the mid fifties when transistors became popular. Electronics got cheaper and smaller.



The transistor allowed the onset of the microchip. TVs, radios, PDAs, cellphones, cameras.....almost everything in your home.



We also have them to help us in Space Travel, National Defense, medical field applications, agriculture, science studies, manufacturing and design (which effects absolutely EVERYTHING you own).



They allow early warning for storms and hurricanes (though the human still screws up response time), help Al Gore save the planet and invent the internet (sarcasm here), and track your dog when he gets lost.



Applications are endless and each one bigger and more helpful than the previous. Not enough can be said about this invention.



Of course, all this would be meaningless with out an even more simple device, the BATTERY!



To add to this, ELECTRICITY WAS DISCOVERED IN THE 18TH CENTURY!



All other inventions listed here would not be possible without the transistor. It took part in either the design or manufacturing of them, or is actually inside them, in whole or as part of a chip allowing them to do what they do.

Answer 11

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

What's the greatest invention of the 20th century?

What invention from 1900 - 1999 had the biggest positive impact on the world?

Answer 12

Well its hard to say exactly, because I think a snowball effect of computers to the personal computer and all the little technologies rolled up in them, and now the Internet, is really the greatest invention. I think by far we will be impacted, both postively and negatively, by the Internet more than anything else that came out of the 20th century, but of course that wouldn't be possible without the PC and the chipsets and processors and all that.

Answer 13

Some of you are confusing discoveries with inventions.



Particularly electricity. Not only is that a DISCOVERY, but it was NOT even discovered in the 20th century. Use your heads.



My votes would be the internet, heavier than air flight, and the transistor.





edit:

By the way, my great uncle invented the laser and the physics behind the microwave, so I appreciate those of you who think that was the best! thanks!



double edit:

again, to the woman below me; automobiles were not invented in the 20th century.



I can accept people getting this kind of thing wrong casually, but not on the internet where it would take you 15 seconds to find out the first automobile was built in... 1672.

Answer 14

Everything invented in the 20th century had it's own impact, but I wouldn't...and couldn't name the thing that had "the most impact." But the thing that would have the most impact if it was invented, would be a cure for all cancer and HIV/Aids.

Answer 15

I would've said the autoclave, but that method of medical instrument sterilization was invented in 1879. However...



Lysol was first marketed in 1918. It's practically the granddaddy of publicly purchased disinfectants, and IMO, has made a distinctly positive impact in improving general health through effective sanitary practices.

Answer 16

I'm a grad student in history (of technology, among other things). So, for what its worth, I don't think we can pick a single invention--at least not yet. iit takes a long time for really important inventions to show their full effects. For the 18th century it wa s the steam engine, for the 19th, the electric generator.



So here's my "top 10" candidates (in no particuar order):



Airplanes

Television

Computers

Antibiotics

Genetic engineering

Spacecraft/space travel

Composite materials

Assembly line

Nanotechnology

solar power



PS: i did not include radio, automobiles, telephones--these ar e19th century nventions.

Answer 17

1943-1944 when Netherlands born doctor Willem Kolff invented the first kidney dialysis machine. Before this invention final stage renal patients faced a slow painful death. When Kolff saw a young man die from renal failure, he took it upon himself to do something about it. Many other doctors frowned on the "washing machine" looking device. Yet, in 1945 when a woman regained conciousness after being comotose for over a decade, the "washing machine" gained noteriety.



Today thousands of people enjoy the benefit of this machine. Also with the modern advances in medicine, patients live much longer while waiting on kidneys.



Over the last five years the portable dialysis machine was invented. Now many patients can live a full life without the burdeon of going to a dialysis treatment center several times a week and sitting for many hours.



http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.invent.org/hall%5Fof%5Ffame/1%5F1%5F6%5Fdetail.asp%3FvInventorID=88

http://lufkinroad.wcpss.net/staff/vetterb/3-4B/Kidney%20Dialysis%20Machine/invention%20info.htm

http://www.davitaathome.com/?&CMP=KNC-ZO3292772175&s_kwcid={ifcontent:ContentNetwork}{ifsearch:{keyword}}|{creative}

Answer 18

The use of electronics, and dont't forget about transportation such as boats, planes, and automobiles. Without the upgrading of transportation and reliable boats, and planes America could not have won WWII.

Answer 19

Airplane, it made it easier to move around the world within hours. During emergencies help can be offered with ease as this would have taken months in the past

Answer 20

The PC. It did what Gutenberg did to the written word, only faster.

Answer 21

I think a lot of people are missing two things--that we are talking about inventions (not theories) and that we are talking about positive impact. The question is clear. Some of the answers less so.



I liked the cardboard box, because in positive terms, it's the simplest inventions that seem to have the most positive impact.



But I'm going to go with radar, because it has so many uses--from military (keeping the troops safe/tracking the enemy) to weather (helping us track storms and get people to safety).



Maggie

Answer 22

Internet

Mobile phone

Medical Advancements



Not necessarily in that order...

Answer 23

Definitely the internet

Answer 24

Television

Answer 25

I'll say the airplane.

Answer 26

In UK National Health Service in 1948 with free medical treatment for all from 'Cradle to Grave'.

Answer 27

Corrugated cardboard... replaced expensive, heavy wooden crates for shipping, as well as lowered damage rates and transportation costs. There is no Amazon, no retail business at all without cheap, strong cardboard

Answer 28

Cat Eyes got it right, and first too.



The Internet (and the Computer) has revolutionized the sharing of information that can only be compared to the invention of the Printing Press (which is generally considered to be the greatest invention in the last 5000 years). More information is available to you right now that if you were sitting inside one of the world's largest libraries (minus the fact that libraries have internet access now). What more, that information is easier to find as well. It used to be one would spend HOURS in a library looking for information on a single subject, wading through countless stacks of dead-ends, but now we have the Key Word search and internet databases designed for specific tasks. Medical Research, for example, would be in a sorry state of affairs if it wasn't for MedNet, a service that allows doctors to search nearly every medical publication from the past several decades.



The internet has also allowed several different computers across the world to be linked in order to tackle data-intense questions. SETI, for example, has a program that one can install on one's computer that will shift through an uncanny amount of information, looking for signs of life. No single organization could handle computations of that degree.

Answer 29

I believe the automobile. It started out as an extravagance, but these days it is more of a necessity..almost impossible to get anywhere or do anything anymore without some sort of auto motive transport.

Answer 30

QUOTE.

"HIV protease inhibitors were first invented between 1989 and 1994 by researchers working for the pharmaceutical companies of Hoffmann- La Roche Inc. (of Nutley, New Jersey), Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co., Inc. HIV protease inhibitors are used in the treatment of patients with AIDS and were considered the first breakthrough in over a decade of AIDS research. HIV protease inhibitors can lower the viral load carried by AIDS patents."

Answer 31

telephones actually, then cellphones..for better communications

television also rocked out people's attention

same as electronic gadgets like

1.walkman

2.cd player

3.vcd player

--cds(compact discs)

LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors



..but the technology that I think was very useful is

the broadband, or internet and invention of world wide web (WWW).



-without it, there could be no Yahoo!™ and we can't be here.

Answer 32

I would say electricity is the greatest discovery ever because without it you would have none of the things that we have today.

As for the 20th century, I would have to say just about anything to do with medicine. Whether it be a preventative medicine or just something to help you with the common cold or something to get rid of cancer.

It has impacted the whole world like no other discoveries in this century. Some people would say computers or space or something to make our lives easier. I say medicine is used in every country in the world to save lives and make life easier to get through.

Answer 33

YAhoo answer

Answer 34

A very cheap and simple item that everbody has used on a daily basis-The Ballpoint Pen.

Answer 35

Electronics.

The binary digits...

The only invention that did not spare even the stock markets from its Tsunami thrust force !

Answer 36

electronic replication of information.











Oh, and electricity, not a 20th century invention.

Answer 37

Porta-Ab invented by Jackie Winters in LA,Ca It is made of fabric, has a back and neck support so when you do your abdominal crunches it isolates the abdominal 100%. You might want to try it, AVON sold it for a year or so. Good Luck and GOD Bless

Answer 38

The Post-It note. Yes, I'm quite serious. Think about it.

Answer 39

definately the microwave



i'd starve to DEATH without it

Answer 40

Ear plugs... Try listening to my roommates singing while taking a shower. =)

Answer 41

Atomic energy.

Else we would be a third world country, with anarchy at the helm.

Answer 42

weapons of mass destruction

Answer 43

N.A.S.A.

Answer 44

Television, though I suppose whether the impact was truly positive remains debatable.

Answer 45

the automobile

Answer 46

planes

Answer 47

penicillin

Answer 48

None of the above.



The greatest invention which has the biggest impact on the lives of every person on earth is the Birth Control pill. Its the first time in human history that women can control their fertility

decided if, when and how many kids they want. Is there anything else that has such an impact on our lives as humans? I doubt it.

Answer 49

1. pc

2. cell phone

Answer 50

the microwave! i cant live without it, and the vacuum.

Answer 51

The quantum theory!



By the 1920s most physicists had realized that their familiar mechanics, developed over centuries by Newton and many others, could not fully describe the world of atoms. Physics had to be rebuilt to take into account the fundamental discreteness of energy that was first pointed out by Planck and Einstein. Einstein himself contributed a number of key ideas to the developing quantum theory. But through the early 1920s much in quantum theory remained obscure.



By the mid 1930s, Einstein had accepted quantum mechanics as a consistent theory for the statistics of the behavior of atoms. He recognized that it was "the most successful physical theory of our time." This theory, which he had helped to create, could explain nearly all the physical phenomena of the everyday world. Eventually the applications would include transistors, lasers, a new chemistry, and more. Yet Einstein could not accept quantum mechanics as a completed theory, for its mathematics did not describe individual events. Einstein felt that a more basic theory, one that could completely describe how each individual atom behaved, might yet be found. By following the approach of his own general theory of relativity, he hoped to dig deeper than quantum mechanics. The search for a deeper theory was to occupy much of the rest of his life.

Answer 52

White Castle Sliders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 53

electricity

Answer 54

laser

Answer 55

air conditioner. why i say so...people live by comfort, nobody wants to live in discomfort and its hot outside!

Answer 56

computors???

Answer 57

Electricity. All invetions are based on electricity.