1940s Innovations in Science and Technology

A television that displays images in color.

Many inventions that changed the world during the 1940s.

Televisions that showed images in black and white.

American inventor of the first color television system.

Early computers that marked the start of modern computing.

An invention that revolutionized underwater exploration.

A device to improve the lives of people with kidney problems.

Technology enhancing military strategies and air travel safety.

The first color television was approved by the FCC in 1946.

Early color TVs cost over $1000 in the 1940s.

Color TVs use red, green, and blue to create all other colors.

A device in early color TVs that shoots electrons to create an image.

Electrons hitting phosphor dots on the screen create colors.

A system that only recognizes two states: on and off (0 and 1).

One of the world's first programmable digital computers (1941).

Z3 used punched cards for input of instructions and data.

Z3 could perform calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

By the end of the 1940s, 80% of American households had Black and White TVs.

Color TVs became standard in most American homes by the late 1960s.

Used to represent information by computers based on on or off signals (0 and 1).

Modern TVs that use liquid crystals (LCD) or light-emitting diodes (LED) technology instead of CRTs.

Device in CRT TVs that emits electrons to create an image on the screen.

Tiny glowing dots coated on the inside of a TV screen that produce colors when struck by electrons.

Color TV use transitioned from luxury items to a common feature in American homes during this time period.

The Z3 had a limited number of binary digits for calculations (22 digits).

A significant early electronic computer developed for complex calculations during WWII.

Designed to compute trajectories for military operations during WWII.

"John Mauchly" and "J. Presper Eckert" created the ENIAC at University of Pennsylvania.

The ENIAC was large in scale, needing over 1,500 square feet of space.

The ENIAC's speed (2,400 times faster than manual calculations) was revolutionizing military strategy and weapon accuracy.

Six women ('human computers') programmed ENIAC, performing calculations.

Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan worked together on its design.

The aqualung comprises a compressed air tank, regulator, and mouthpiece for breathing underwater.

The aqualung enabled longer underwater exploration, benefiting marine research, archaeology, and recreation.

The aqualung fostered advancements in marine biology, oceanography, and underwater archaeology.

The ENIAC project's cost was greatly increased, and the war ended before the project's completion.

A system that uses radio waves to detect objects, measure their distance, and determine their speed.

Radar helps meteorologists track storms, predict precipitation, and monitor weather patterns by detecting rain, snow, and hail.

Electromagnetic waves with a shorter wavelength than radio waves, used in cooking and telecommunications.

A device in a microwave oven that generates microwaves, which then heat up the food.

Microwave ovens have revolutionized food preparation by providing fast and convenient cooking, saving time and effort.

Medicines used to treat bacterial infections by killing or inhibiting their growth.

The first antibiotic, discovered by Alexander Fleming, that revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections.

Penicillin weakens and destroys bacteria by targeting their cell walls, preventing them from multiplying and causing infections.

A rigid outer layer that surrounds and protects bacterial cells from their surroundings.

Scientists who played a crucial role in developing penicillin as a practical medicine, making it available for treating infections.

Penicillin's discovery and development marked a new era in medicine, dramatically reducing deaths from bacterial infections.

An award given annually to recognize groundbreaking achievements in the medical field.

A medical device that mimics the function of healthy kidneys, removing waste and excess fluid from the blood of patients with kidney failure.

A Dutch physician who invented the first successful kidney dialysis machine in 1943, revolutionizing treatment for kidney failure.

Radar sends out radio waves, which bounce back off objects. The time it takes for the waves to return determines the object's distance.

Radar has many applications beyond military, including weather forecasting, air traffic control, and marine navigation.

Invisible waves of electromagnetic radiation used in radar, traveling at the speed of light and bouncing back off objects.

A technique used by bats and some other animals to navigate by emitting sounds and interpreting the echoes that return.

A component of a radar system that emits radio waves.

A component of a radar system that picks up the radio waves that bounce back from objects.

The development of the aqualung sparked greater interest in scuba diving as a hobby and led to increased efforts to conserve marine environments.

A British scientist credited as the 'father of radar' for his pioneering work in developing this technology.

First radar systems were developed during WWII in Britain and the US to detect enemy aircraft and ships.

Today's radar systems are more sophisticated, capable of creating detailed pictures of surrounding areas and detecting objects at greater distances.

Radar technology plays a crucial role in defense, enabling military forces to detect and track enemy aircraft and ships.

Beyond military, radar has numerous applications in civilian life, such as weather forecasting, air traffic control, and marine navigation.

The invention of color television in the 1940s transformed entertainment by replacing black-and-white images with vibrant colors, forever changing how people viewed television.

The Z3 and ENIAC computers, developed in the 1940s, marked the start of modern computing, laying the foundation for the advancements in technology we see today.

Radar technology, developed in the 1940s, uses radio waves to detect objects and measure their distance, enhancing military strategies and air travel safety.

Penicillin, the first antibiotic discovered in the 1940s, revolutionized medicine by providing a powerful weapon to fight bacterial infections, saving countless lives.

A television program featuring Superman, which was presented in color in the 1940s, showcasing a nascent era of color television in America.

Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) are the primary colors used in color TVs, as they can be combined in different ways to produce all other colors we see on screen.

Unlike CRTs, LCD and LED TVs use liquid crystals or light-emitting diodes to create images. Liquid crystals change appearance with electric currents, enabling image creation, while LEDs emit light to create colors.

The invention of color television in the 1940s changed how people experienced entertainment, replacing black-and-white with vibrant colors on their screens.

Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) are the primary colors used in color TVs, as they can be combined in different ways to produce all the colors we see on screen.

Early color television sets could cost over $1000, making them unaffordable for most families in the 1940s.

Created in 1941, the Z3 was one of the first programmable digital computers, capable of performing complex calculations quickly, making it valuable for engineers and scientists.

The binary coding system is used by computers to process and store data using only two symbols: 0 and 1. These symbols represent on or off states in electrical signals.

The electron gun shoots tiny particles called electrons towards the back of the screen in a CRT television. These electrons hit phosphor dots and make them glow, creating the vibrant colors.

The three primary colors used in color TVs are red, green, and blue (RGB). These colours can be combined to create all the other colours we see on screen.