STAS

Babylonian Achievements

• The Babylonian people introduced a positional number system around 2000 BCE.
• They also made significant advances in medicine around the same time.
• Mesopotamian mathematicians discovered the "Pythagorean Theorem" around 1800 BCE.
• Babylonian astronomers created cataloged planets and stars around 1750 BCE.

Egyptian Achievements

• Egyptian healers utilized approximately 700 drugs and medications around 1550 BCE.
• Egyptians documented the symptoms of leprosy in a medical text around 1350 BCE.
• They dug a canal to connect the Nile River to the Red Sea around 1200 BCE.

Phoenician Achievements

• The Phoenicians developed an alphabet around 1000 BCE.

Mesopotamian Innovations

• Farmers in Mesopotamia employed an irrigation system for watering crops around 900 BCE.

The Medieval Period

• The term "Dark Ages" is used to describe the Medieval Period, a time of significant innovation and the first industrial revolution.
• The period from 500 to 1400 CE saw advancements in the philosophy of science and the development of the scientific method.
• Charlemagne's efforts to establish a scholastic tradition helped pave the way for the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.
• Technological innovations during this period included vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clocks, improved watermills, the Gothic building style, and three-field crop rotation.
• Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in the 15th century revolutionized communication and knowledge dissemination.

The Renaissance

• The Renaissance is a period of rebirth, preparation for the 17th century's scientific breakthroughs.
• The printing press, initially developed in China before being introduced to Europe, played a crucial role in the Renaissance by spreading knowledge and preserving culture rapidly.
• Nicolaus Copernicus' theory of heliocentricity, which placed the sun at the center of the solar system, was a significant scientific achievement during the Renaissance. However, the Catholic Church banned Copernicus' book.
• Galileo Galilei, another Renaissance scientist persecuted for his work, improved the telescope, discovered new celestial bodies, and provided evidence for a heliocentric solar system. He also conducted experiments on pendulums and falling objects, contributing to Newton's later discoveries about gravity.

The 18th Century

• The Industrial Revolution, beginning in Great Britain, led to a significant change in the way goods were produced, impacting people's lives.
• The Industrial Revolution was characterized by technological advancements and spanned from the late 18th to the early 19th centuries.
• Britain's social and economic conditions made it a hub for innovation during this period.
• The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of new technologies like machine tools, which allowed for mass production.
• Key inventions during the 18th century included Robert Fulton's steamboat, Thomas Edison's light bulb, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, and George Stephenson's steam-powered locomotive.

The 19th Century

• The 19th century witnessed the rise of modern industry, with significant advancements in manufacturing and technology-intensive services.
• The invention of electricity, steel, and petroleum products led to the second industrial revolution.
• Development of machine tools for producing other tools and machines significantly impacted industrialization.
• John Dalton's atomic theory, Dmitri Mendeleev's periodic table, and Hermann von Helmholtz's law of the Conservation of Energy were significant scientific breakthroughs during the 19th century.
• The 19th century also saw groundbreaking discoveries in physics, such as James Clerk Maxwell's theory of light as an electromagnetic wave, Henri Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity, and Marie and Pierre Curie's discovery of radium.
• Mastery of electricity led to numerous inventions, including Hans Christian Oersted's discovery of electromagnetism.

Developments of the 20th Century

• The invention of the microprocessor in 1971 made computers smaller, more user-friendly, and cheaper, transforming the way we live and work.
• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak introduced the Apple computer in 1976, creating a new era of personal computing.
• The Internet, born in 1969 as ARPANet, revolutionized communication, information access, business practices, and daily life through the World Wide Web, created in 1989.
• Henry Ford's mass production system for the Model T in 1908 made automobiles affordable and accessible to more people, impacting transportation and society as a whole.
• The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the 1940s allowed computers to perform human-like intellectual tasks and continues to evolve. AI is now being used in various fields, including medical diagnoses.