Important inventions and discoveries
Inventors put things together to make something new: an invention. A discovery is different: you are the first person to find something that has always existed.
Something new that people make: the wheel, the light bulb, the computer.
Finding something that was already there: gravity, magnetism, X-rays.
In 1895, the German scientist Wilhelm Röntgen was doing an experiment when he discovered X-rays by accident. Thanks to his discovery, other scientists invented X-ray machines to see inside the body without opening it.
Inventions that changed the world
- about 3500 BCE🛞 The wheel
Before it, people had to push or pull heavy loads along the ground.
- about 2,000 years ago🧭 The compass
Invented in China. Before it, people used landmarks to find their way.
- 1879💡 The light bulb
Thomas Edison made it work. Before, people lit their homes with candles and oil lamps.
- 1903✈️ The aeroplane
The Wright brothers flew first. Air travel made long journeys quicker and easier.
- 1970s🖥️ The personal computer
The first computers people had at home: to write, do calculations, play games and, later, use the internet.