Page 139 - DK Children's Encyclopedia
P. 139

Flight
                                                                                       In 1903, American brothers
                                                                                       Wilbur and Orville Wright built
                                                                                       a glider with a light engine.
                                                                                       Although Flyer took off for
                                                                                       only 12 seconds over 120 ft
                                                               The Wright’s
                                                               Flyer, built in         (37 m), it was the first-ever
                                                               1903.                   powered flight.



                  Plastics
          Plastics are cheap to make,                                Antibiotics
         easy to shape, and last a long
        time. They can be hard, soft, or                            Infection-fighting
        bendy. The first human-made                           antibiotics battle bacteria inside
       plastic was made by Belgium-born                     the body. They were discovered by
         chemist Leo Baekeland in 1905.                       accident in 1928, when Scottish      Antibiotic pills
          Now plastics are all around us.                   scientist Alexander Fleming noticed
                                                           bacteria dying around mold in his lab.
                                                             The bacteria-killing chemical
                                                             penicillin has since saved
                                                                    many lives.






                                            Thomas Edison (1847–1931) was an
                                             American master of invention, patenting
                                                      1,093




                                                  ideas in his lifetime, including
                                                 batteries and light bulbs.







                                                                         Computers
                                                         Computers are electric machines
                                                          that follow instructions. Modern
                                                              computers can do billions of
                                                              sums every second. We use
                                                            them to find, store, and share
                                          The first
                                    electronic computer,        information. The idea of a
                                     ENIAC, was huge,          computer was invented by
                                        filling a room           English engineer Charles
                                       measuring 50 ft             Babbage in the 1830s.
                                         (15 m) long.




                                                             137





   US_136-137_Story_Of_Inventions.indd   137                                                                     16/05/2017   09:57
   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144