The Cold War, a time of desperation for many countries, but many people don’t realize just how many things were invented during this time. The technology introduced during this time helped transcend both the contribution to the war, and to the everyday person living in said countries. The technology ranged from warfare items such as weapons and atomic bombs to everyday household appliances such as microwaves and even tupperware. This era was booming for businesses of all kind all around the world. I will talk about many of the essential inventions created during this time, that have become a huge part in many people 's everyday lives. Inventions like microwaves, television, the first cell phones, and the beginning of the internet. Of course …show more content…
The invention of the microwave was surprisingly not discovered as a result of someone trying to find a more convenient way to cook food. Two scientists actually invented the magnetron which is a type of tube that produces microwaves. The idea of using this to cook was not thought of until Percy LeBaron Spencer, of the Raytheon Company, discovered that radar waves melted a candy bar left in his pocket. Eventually in 1967,a division of Raytheon introduced the first microwave that could be used in the everyday kitchen. The initial sales of the microwave were minimal due to the expensive sales price. But, as we all know, sales eventually rose and the microwave became an incredibly convenient appliance for kitchens everywhere. One thing that is quite interesting relating to the microwave is the infamous Kitchen Debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev. On July 24, Nixon invited Khrushchev to view the American exhibit,displaying new American technology including some of the first colored televisions, and of course a kitchen which held an oven, refrigerator, and of …show more content…
An invention that has been a key component to almost everyone’s everyday life. The first computer was not in any way personal. It was enormous, expensive, and of course inconvenient. It cost roughly 500,000 dollars and weighed around 30 tons. It was invented at the University of Pennsylvania to perform ballistics calculations for the U.S during World War II. Later, new technologies made it possible to make smaller computers. The real innovation for the computer was definitely the microprocessors that could run the computer’s programs, could remember information, and manage data all by itself. This became a revolutionary thing for the military especially. One of the first military grade computers called the 1958 Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE). It used radar stations that tracked sky movements to protect the United States from possible nuclear attacks. It was the brainchild of Jay Forrester and George Valley, which were professors at MIT. SAGE even remained in use until 1983. Computers today have come a long way from weighing almost 3 tons with no personal convenience whatsoever to storing massive amount of information on just a single
The Soviet Union and the United States served as Allies during World War II. At the end of the war however each side wanted to deal with the aftermath differently. The United States was in favor of a peaceful and cooperative relationship with Germany and their Allies. The Soviet Union wanted revenge on the crimes and atrocities that were committed against them. The United States wanted to push democracy in Eastern Europe yet the Soviets countered this by saying the United States was hypocritical, since at that time the United States supported the Latin countries that were governed by dictatorships. The Soviets were under the impression that this was an effort to boost the UNITED STATES economy.
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
All throughout time and history people have been at war with each other at one point or another. War can, truthfully, at times be inescapable and considered by some historians as a natural instinct, an instinct that every human being possess. Throughout history mighty empires and governments have collapsed due to the damages inflicted on by a war, yet in spite of this, some have managed to face the odds and make it through, staggering along as if nothing happened. War is a true test of an empire or government’s determination to move forward, adapting using the knowledge and intellect they have acquired to their own advantage. Nevertheless, not all wars lead to fighting by physical means but instead it can lead to fighting mentally by opposing sides. One such example would be the non-traditional Cold War fought between the United States and Soviet Union. The Cold War was a time that caused an immense fear in the lives of many, and inspired novels such as 1984 by George Orwell, Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, and essays such as “You and the Atomic Bomb” by George Orwell, which are just some of the voices from this terrible time.
what was known as the Cold War. The start of Cold War can be simply
Nearly 70 years ago, when the Soviet Union reigned in Europe along with the US, they were still in relative peace with the other world power. In fact, the “Big Three,” American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had frequent meetings to discuss strategy and happenings in Europe at the time. Allies they had been, but then something changed though, and growing tensions forced the powers to drift apart. Eventually, it led to the US and the Soviet Union becoming enemies, trapped in a global struggle between political, military, economic, and ideological structures. What caused this opposition, and how is it still going on today?
As the late 19th century progressed, technological ideas and inventions began to thrive. The notion that technology would impact life as we know it was an unbelievable idea to comprehend. People had no idea that something so simple such as the light bulb would become so vital to them and for century’s to come. Inventions such as, the typewriter, barbed wire, telephone, Kodak camera, and electric stove were created, however the major inventions created and use tremendously today are, Medicine, Electricity, and Transportation.
After World War II America and Russia became superpowers. Even thought they fought together against the Nazis they soon became hostile rivals. Between 1945 and
The cold war was named so because between the USA and Russia, there was hardly any direct combat just a pile of tension, hostility, and potential violence. They were heading towards mutually assured destruction; using weapons of mass destruction which were the nuclear bombs and assuring inevitable destruction for both sides if there bombs were to go off and ultimate victory for none at the end. Each set of alliances, the Warsaw Pact and NATO competently created nuclear weapons to threaten the other one. Just in case either one of the countries decided to attack using their fatal nuclear weapon, then the other one wouldn’t just stand empty handed. Both USA and Russia found it their first priority to keep themselves as secure as possible by creation of nuclear arms. This resulted in a competition to be the most prepared and powerful, known as The Nuclear Arms Race.
To some, World War II may seem like a great war that happened a long time ago, a war where however great the innovations during the war were, they are much out of date now, and so they have no impact on today’s world. But to another, who understand the world and how it grows, realize that wherever a nation is, it is in that position because of its history. This means that without all of the improvements of technology during World War II, the world as we know it today would be very much different on many levels. One of the levels which has a great impact on today’s world would be the improvements of technology. But as what was said before, almost anything new cannot be created without first developing the old. Therefore, one must look back at the past to not only find the origins of World War II, and its impact, but also to World War I, and not only did it set the groundwork this massive growth of advancement, but without these technologies, then those who won, may have lost, therefore altering history.
The Cold War is the term used to describe the intense rivalry between the United States and its allies and the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics and its allies. The Soviet Union and its allies were refereed to as the Eastern Bloc and the United States and its allies were referred to as the Western Bloc. The Cold War period lasted from the mid-1940’s until the late 1980’s. During this period international politics were shaped by this intense rivalry between this two great blocs of power and the political ideologies they represented. The United States and its allies represented democracy and capitalism while the Soviet Union and its allies represented communism. The Cold War was truly a global conflict more so than either of the century’s two world wars. (1) The cold war was also the first total war between economic and social systems, an industrial test to destruction. Even though the Cold War Began just after World War II, some of its roots reach back as far as the nineteenth century. Its neighbors have long feared Russia; the giant among the countries in Europe, even when they were allied Russia against a common enemy. This fear Cropped up immediately after Russia, Britain, and other European nations defeated the French Emperor Napoleon in 1812. (2) In 1853 Britain, France and several other European nations went to war with Russia from keeping Russia from expanding into the Middle East. Britain, in fact, took a great deal of its energy during the nineteenth century trying to limit Russian power. (3) By the early twentieth century the United States was also concerned with Russia’s power. Although the United States tried to keep out of European disputes, American leaders were concerned about Russia becoming to powerful. They worried that if any nation became powerful enough to dominate the European continent, it would be a threat to the well being of the United States. (4) In the midst of World War I a new element was added to the European and American fear of Russia. In November of 1917 a radical Marxist called the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia overthrowing a democratic government. The United States strongly opposed the Bolshevik regime. The United States was angry that the Bolsheviks pulled Russia out of the War against Germany (WW I), and that it intended to spread its revolution to other countries. (5) During World Wa...
Microwaves were first created in 1947 being 1.8 meters in height and 750 lbs created by Percy Spencer while building magnetrons for radar sets during World War II. The magnetrons would allow the radar sets to indicate where the enemy machinery was located, since the microwaves would reflect off metal. When Percy Spencer was<> working with the microwaves he noticed that a chocolate bar melted when exposed to the microwaves. Testing the capability of the microwave to cook food he used first popcorn which was successful and secondly an egg which exploded. The first microwaves, then called the Radarange, were used only in the military and for large restaurants due to their size, then the size was decreased in the 1952's and was priced $1295 which models the microwaves we see in households today.
... middle of paper ... ...fought on a global scale. The Cold War triggered many events that truly have changed many aspects of the world, the global impact is undeniable.
With this ruin, many countries had to be rebuilt. In the process, many technological progress was made during, and after the war. The radar, forerunner of TV, was developed by the English. The progress in electronics and computers provided a beginning for future development, which essentially transformed the postwar world. (2) The development of the nuke by European and American scientists also transformed the nature of future wars. It marked the beginning of the use of nuclear energy
Another example of the change in our technology over the last century is the change in the computer. In 1946, the first electronic computer called the ENIAC took up the space of a large room. Instead of using transistors and IC chips, the ENIAC used vacuum tubes. Compared to many computers now, the ENIAC is about as powerful as a small calculator. That may not be much, but it is a milestone because there would not be computers today if it were not for the ENIAC. As the years passed, the computer became smaller and more powerful. Today, more than half of the American population has a computer in their home. The personal computers today are thousands of times more powerful than the most powerful computers fifty years ago.
No one can pinpoint when the first computer was invented but it’s ascendancy can be traced throughout the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. The first programmable computer was created in 1938 by a German named Konrad Zuse (citation). The name of the computer was V1 which stands for Versuchs model l—experimental model. The name was later changed to Z1 so it would not be interpreted to be associated with military rockets (citation). The Z1 weighed 1000 kg or 2204 lbs. Compare the Z1 to today 's technology where we have phones that weigh under a pound and are thousands of times more powerful. The Z1 could only perform simple mathematical operations whereas a smartphone is able to calculate advanced trigonometric equations, connect to anyone across the globe and even play games. What was once considered to be impossible is now daily life for people living in the 21st