Rocket (1926)
Have you ever seen a NASA space shuttle take off
into space? Does it catch your attention? Does it intrigue
you? These scenes of rockets taking off would not exist if Robert
Hutchings Goddard did not pioneer the first rocket. His investigations
pioneered the way for modern rockets, space travel, and a whole new field
in science and engineering.
At an early age, Goddard made tremendous progress
toward the development of rockets. In 1908, he initiated static tests
with small solid-fuel rockets. Then in 1912, he developed the theory
of rocket propulsion. Impressed by these early porgresses, the Smithsonian
Institution funded Goddard in his studies of liquid fuel rockets.
During World War One, he developed several types of solid-fuel rockets
to be used in armed weapons. Weapons Goddard developed during WWI
became the primary weapons utilized during WWII, i.e. bazooka. Until
his untimely death in 1945, Goddard continued to advance the study of rockets,
and at the time of his death, he possessed 214 patents in rocketry.
(http://ww.invent.org/book/book-text/46.html)
Radio/Television Transmission(1920s)
People all over the world listen to the radio or
watch televsion for pleasure or/and valuable information. However,
people, nowdays, would not being enjoying the radio or the television without
the radio and television transmission inventions and developments during
the 1920s.
Although more people enjoy watching the television
over listening to the radio, back in the Twenties, television development
was still in its infant stages. As a result, people listened to their
radios for enjoyment and information. Entering the nineteen-twenties,
radios became extremely popular when AM station KDKA broadcasted the first
regular commercial over the radio in 1920. By the end of 1922, 563
other stations would obtain licensed AM radio stations to join KDKA of
Pittsburgh. How was this possible? Who was one of the pioneers?
In 1904, Ernest Alexanderson was assigned the task
of building a high-frequency machine that would operate at high speeds
and produce a contiuous-wave. After two years of laborious experimenting,
Alexanderson successfully built a two-kilowatt, 100,000-cyle machine.
Prior to Alexanderson's invention, radio was nothing but a series of dots
and dashes transmitted by inefficient machines. However, with the
installation of his high-frequency alternator at a Massachusetts radio
station, the radio station was able to deliver voices and volin solos.
However, Alexanderson would not have accomplished this if he did not have
help from previous experiments.
Soon after, Alexanderson worked at both General
Electric and RCA, where he worked on television and the transmission of
picturs by radio. In addition to the high-frequncy alternator, Alexanderson
invented a scanning disk and high-frequncy neon lamps to successfully accomplish
television transmission. On June 5, 1924, he successfully transmitted
the first facsimilie message across the Atlantic. Then in 1927, he
staged the first reception of television at his own New York home.
Many would follow Alexanderson and try to improve radio and television
transmission.
(http://www.ge.com/ibhisea.htm)