Transportation In the earlier days man was his own beast of burden, i.e. if you wanted something transported, you had to carry it. As man learned how to tame animals like donkeys, buffaloes, horses etc he shifted his weight on to their backs. Thus the first forms of transportation came into being. These crude means sufficed for many years but then with the need to travel frequently, also developed the need...

The Automobile Unlike other inventions, the credit of inventing the automobile cannot be given to one single person. This necessity of our life was developed with the consolidated efforts of many scientists and engineers over the years. Today a new car is being made almost every second and we take it as a part of our lives, yet in the 1880s people laughed at these contraptions and called them `horseless carriages’...

The Petrol Engine The petrol engine was first developed by a German called Nicholas Otto in 1878. And subsequently Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in 1880. This engine did not require a separate furnace like the steam engine as a result of which it was much smaller and lighter compared to a steam engine of equivalent horsepower. The modern engines are however far more efficient than the ones used in those...

Steam Engine   When we heat water in a kettle, there comes a point in time when the water begins to boil and steam begins to come out of the snout, at this point if the snout is plugged with something, the pressure of the steam lifts up the lid of the kettle and it begins to escape. Based on this effect a steam engine was invented by James Watt. He...

Bicycles The beginning of the bicycle goes back to the year 1817 when a German called Baron von Drais invented a machine called the ‘Draisine’. This machine had two wheels connected by a wooden bar. The rider sat on the wooden bar and propelled himself by pushing himself forward with his feet. The changing of direction or steering was done with the help of a handle in the front. Around the...

Refrigeration Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from substances and keeping things cold. Though a relatively modern technique, the ancients knew ways of extracting heat from water and making it cool. They knew that if chemicals like ammonium nitrate and saltpeter were added to water, it would make it cool by lowering the temperature. Besides this the earliest method of refrigeration was by using ice or snow. Today the process...

Furniture   The first known furniture is said to have existed in the Egyptian civilisation about 4000 years ago, though it might have existed in some crude form prior to that. The Egyptians arc said to have used chairs, tables, stools, chests, beds etc. The Assyrians and Babylonians are also said to have had elaborate furniture including high backed chairs and foot stools. In comparison the Greek used much simpler furniture...

Sewing Machine The first sewing machine was patented by a man called Thomas Saint, an Englishman, in 1790. The machine was capable of stitching leather like a modern day machine. However this machine was not produced or marketed. In 1830 a Frenchman called Barthelemy Thimmonier was successful in making a sewing machine which resembled the one we use today. When the manufacturing of this machine began, a large number of tailoring...