TECHNOLOGY MILESTONES FROM THE CHEMIST’S VIEW

Innovations in chemistry, engineering, and electronics from the end of the nineteenth century to today allow us to keep in contact from anywhere in the world.

Our lifestyle has changed radically over the last century, from rural to urban life, from education for the elite to education for the masses, from agriculture to research work. The subsequent flow of people, information, new ideas, and materials has brought significant social change.

Numerous results from chemistry have contributed to the development of the many communication tools that we need in order to capture, store, and distribute information. Wireless communications and fiber optics provide the foundations of our internet society. Silicon chemistry and high-performance polymers make today’s computer microprocessors possible. Movies, television, and photography all rely on chemistry to help preserve our memories. The scientific achievements of chemists allow remote family members to keep in touch with each other from anywhere on the globe.

II. 1. Communications Advances The development of the telephone Wireless communications Facsimile technology and xerography Laser and fiber optics

II. 2. Computer Technology Evolution of computers Semiconductor technology Silicon chips and integrated circuits Monitor and display technologies Information storage Communication satellites

II. 3. Entertainment Developments Movies Television Photography

II. 4. Innovations in Electronics Evolution of consumer electronics Advanced synthetic materials Transistors

II. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

II. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

A. Graham Bell

The showbill of the first feature-length movie, The

Jazz Singer, with synchronized singing and

dialogue

Philo T. Farnsworth and the cathode ray

tube

ENIAC

The first transistor

The first integrated circuit

Silicon chip

Telstar

Kodak-Instamatic

The Intel’s 4004 4-bit processor Installation fiber

optics in Chicago downtown

Chronology

1876 Alexander Graham Bell completes the first telephone call.

1926 The Warner brothers make the first movie with synchronized music and audio effects.

1926 The first two-way voice conversation is transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean.

1927 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts first television image using a cathode ray tube.

1946 ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer, is put into operation. The Hungarian-born John von Neumann took part in the modification of the mathematical-logical details of ENIAC.

1947 The transistor is invented at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

1955 Reynold Johnson develops the first disk drive.

1958 Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments invents the integrated circuit (IC).

1961 Silicon chips first appear.

1961 Telstar, the world’s first active communications satellite, is sent into orbit.

1961 The firm Eastman Kodak introduces the popular Instamatic camera with film cartridge.

1971 Intel company introduces its popular 4004 4-bit microprocessor for consumer use.

1977 Town Chicago tests the first commercial fiber-optic communications system.

1983 Cellular phones become popular after the automatic switching of wireless communications through a series of cells was discovered.

1984 CD-ROM (compact-disc-read-only memory) is introduced along with its companion compact disc (CD) player.