Preparing for a summary.
The purpose of the lesson: continue to work on the formation of students' writing skills summary in accordance with the criteria and requirements of the GIA in the Russian language.
Tasks:
develop the skills needed to write a concise summary,learnperceive and correctly interpret the content source code; improve the skills of using text compression techniques, consolidate the ability to determine the topic, the idea of the text, microthemes;
promote the development of attention, memory, oral and writing students;
to cultivate interest in the book and reading through work with the text.
DURING THE CLASSES
I. Organizational moment.
II. goal setting
SLIDE 1 TOPIC OF THE LESSON Preparing to write a summary.
Based on the title of the topic, let's define the objectives of the lesson (students make assumptions)
Lesson objectives
- learn to perceive and correctly interpret the content of the source text, highlight micro-themes and reproduce the content of each micro-theme of the source text in your own written work, learn to use text compression techniques.
In front of you on the desks are sheets with a table that you will fill in as you complete the tasks.
Look at the column names: keywords, microthemes of the text, a variant of a compressed presentation. While working in the lesson, you will fill in the columns of the table with the material necessary for completing your homework - writing a concise presentation.
Sign the sheets, write down the date and topic of the lesson.
III. Knowledge update
The first part of the examination paper in the Russian language - writing a concise summary of the text listened to - requires graduates to be able to single out micro-topics, determine the main, essential in them, and cut off the secondary. We can achieve this using text compression techniques.
– What text compression techniques do you know?
SLIDE 2
Exception secondary information, repetitions, clarifying, explanatory, introductory constructions.
Generalization- isolating individual facts, replacing them with linguistic means of generalized transmission.
Replacement homogeneous members with a generalizing word; complex sentence- simple; parts of a sentence or a series of sentences by a common concept or expression; direct speech - indirect; parts of the text in one sentence.
– What should remain in the text after its compression?
SLIDE 3 Content, without which the author's intent would be unclear or distorted, keywords and micro-themes.
Let's put what we know into practice.
IV. Practical work
Important milestone work on the presentation - attentive listening to the text. I suggest you listen to the text, write down the key words. Try to determine the topic of the text and its idea.
SLIDE 4
Listen to the text (audio)
1. What invention has become the most significant in the history of mankind? 2.Scientists from different countries unanimously agreed that this is a book. 3. Not a phone, not an airplane, not a nuclear reactor, not spaceship, namely the book. 4. Because the appearance of an airplane and a spaceship, the mastery of electrical and atomic energy, and much more, much more became possible precisely thanks to the invention of the book.
5. And today, despite the advent of the computer and the development electronic means communication, the book has not lost its paramount importance. 6. It still remains the most reliable and stable carrier and custodian of information that does not need any external energy. 7. That is why the book is still the most durable accumulator of knowledge. 8. She, as in ancient times, serves the main thing: from generation to generation enlightens people, that is, makes them brighter, leads to good.
9. Many people think that you can study orally. 10. Of course you can. 11. Just saying the words without writing them down is like writing with a pitchfork on the water. 12. So said one of the creators of the Slavic alphabet, the enlightener Kirill. 13. The heard word, not fixed on paper, is very soon erased, leaves the memory, displaced by other words and impressions. 14. Yes, and can you rely on its reliability? 15. The word heard, and then also read, is stored in the memory of a person for a long time.
16. People have always sought not only to preserve their observations and knowledge, but also to generalize them. 17. And it was in books that the experience of dozens of generations was accumulated - everything that we call wisdom. 18. No wonder our ancestors said: “The mind without books is like a bird without wings.”19. And this means one thing: just as a bird cannot fly without wings, so the mind is limited and constrained without reading books.
(According to the encyclopedia) (248 words)
According to the text you have listened to, you must write a concise presentation, and for this we will work on the content of the text.
How can you title the text? The book is the most significant invention.
What is the idea of the text? The idea of the text is that the book is an eternal source of knowledge in various spheres of human life..
What keywords did you write down? The book is the best invention; a reliable information keeper, a knowledge accumulator, a book makes people kinder and brighter, what is read lasts longer than what is heard,The book is a source of folk wisdom.
Because we learning writing a concise presentation, then we will work with a printed version of the text we listened to. I want to remind you that in the exam the text will sound 2 times.
Turn over the sheets of text. Within 3 minutes you have to read the text, break it into micro-topics and underline the key words.
Name the number of microthemes and indicate their boundaries: 4 microthemes: 1.- 1-4; 2-5-8; 3-0-15; 4-16-19.
Formulate with the help of keywords 1 micro-theme and write it down.The book is the most significant invention in the history of mankind.
Using the text compression methods known to you, write down your version of the essay in the third column of the table.
SLIDE 5
Here is one of the possible options for presenting the first paragraph:
The book is the most significant invention in the history of mankind. The invention of the telephone, the airplane, the atomic reactor, the mastery of electrical energy became possible thanks to the invention of the book.
What text compression methods did you use? 1-2-O; 3, 4- And;
Formulate with the help of keywords 2 micro-theme and write it down. The book is the most reliable source of information.
Using the text compression methods known to you, write down your version of the essay in the third column of the table.
SLIDE 6
Here is one of the possible options for presenting the second paragraph:
And today the book has not lost its paramount importance. It remains as before the most reliable carrier of information - a long-lasting accumulator of knowledge. It enlightens people, makes them kinder.
What text compression methods did you use? 5, 6, 8 -I; 6,7-O
Compress 3 and 4 paragraphs yourself.
Let's listen to the options.
SLIDE 7 AND 8
Here are your options for presentation.
3. Many people think that you can study a book orally. The educator Cyril said that a word heard, not fixed on paper, is very soon erased from memory. The word read is stored in the memory of a person for a long time..
4. It was in books that people kept their observations and wisdom. Our ancestors said that the mind without a book is a bird without wings. The mind without a book is limited.
Count the number of words in your presentation. I draw your attention: the presentation should be at least 70 words.
7. Summing up
– Let's turn to the content of the text. Why to Niga is the most significant invention of mankind?
Do you agree that a book is an eternal source of knowledge?
Discussion of answers.
V. Familiarization with the criteria for judging a summary
– Pay attention to the slide. Your summary will be judged against these three criteria:
Slide 9
SG 1 - the content of the presentation (0-2 points)
SG 2 - source text compression (0-3 points)
SG 3 - semantic integrity, speech coherence and consistency of presentation (0-2 points)
The maximum number of points for a concise presentation according to the criteria of SG 1 - SG 3 - 7.
Slide 10 Homework: write a concise summary of the text in a notebook, check it for compliance with the assessment criteria.
How to properly compress text, what is a micro-theme and why do you need to know whether you are visual or auditory.
Foxford.Media
In the first part of the OGE in the Russian language, you need to write a summary. During the exam, an audio recording is turned on twice, in which the actor reads a short text of about 150 words from three paragraphs. The first time - for familiarization, the second time - to consolidate what was heard. The audio recording lasts 2.5–3 minutes. Between readings, they give another 3-4 minutes to comprehend the text and work with notes in the draft. After the second listening, the students begin to write the presentation.
Perception types
People perceive information in different ways. There are visuals who learn it visually: to understand the text, they read it. And there are auditory people who easily perceive the text by ear.
What type of perception you have depends on what you do while listening to an audio recording.
If you are a visual, immediately write down the abstracts in a draft. Ignore when they say “listen first” on an exam. Do what is convenient for you - after all, it will be easier for you to work with the written text later.
If you are an audiophile, then first listen carefully to the audio recording. Even when everyone around rushes to make notes in drafts, do not write anything: sit and listen. To write down what you hear, you will have a break between readings.
If you cannot determine your type of perception, ask someone to read two texts to you. Work with the first one as a visual: write down the abstracts immediately while reading. First listen to the second text, and then write down everything that you remember by ear. Then see how you enjoyed working best and stick to that strategy in preparation and on the exam itself.
Stages of work on the presentation
1. First reading.
Visuals: write down what you hear right away. It's best to do this by shortening words and leaving large spaces between lines. Do not spare papers: you will be given as many drafts as you need.
Audials: mentally highlight the most important in the text and divide it into semantic parts in order to understand what each of them says. It is also worthwhile to immediately determine main topic text.
2. Break between readings.
Visuals: fill in the abbreviated words and run your eyes over what is written to realize what this text is about.
Audials: write down the key words, leaving large spaces between them. Try to make a detailed plan of the text right away. Highlight the micro-topics of each of the three parts and formulate 1-2 sentences that contain the main idea of each paragraph.
3. Second reading.
Visuals: fill in the gaps left with what you didn’t write down the first time. It doesn't matter if there is space left: this is still a draft.
Audials: specify the first impression of the text and, if possible, complete the text scheme. Pay attention to the logic of the author's reasoning and compare it with your plan: highlight the key words and match the paragraphs with them.
4. Correction of the draft: find microtopics, make a plan and separate the main information from the secondary.
Put everything you've written together and draft a concise summary. Pay attention to the highlighted micro-topics: they should be connected and together make up a logical text. Then read what happened.
5. Compress text: condense what you write.
The abstract must be at least 70 words. There is no limit on the maximum number, but if the text is large, you will be deducted points according to the compression criterion. So re-read the text and think about how else it can be shortened. Then make final corrections and additions.
6. Work on the composition of the presentation: re-read the text for the third time.
Your text should be three paragraphs. One micro-topic - one paragraph. If there are less or more, points will be deducted from you. Check the draft twice, take your time. If the text is read in one breath and without hesitation, then you have a good presentation.
7. Correction of content: correct errors and omissions, check spelling and punctuation.
Underline any words you are unsure about. Take a spelling dictionary and check them. A dictionary is required for the exam, and you have the right to use it.
8. Rewriting the clean copy on the form.
At this stage, we advise you to put your text aside and go to the test or essay, and return to the first part at the end of the exam. So you have time to take a break from the presentation and look at it in a more detached way. Allocate at least one hour to rewrite the presentation and essay in a clean copy, as well as to check what has been written.
Evaluation criteria
For presentation, you can get a maximum of 7 points. To earn them, you must look at your work like an expert. To do this, check it according to the following criteria.
Microthemes. The topic is what the text is about. And it usually unfolds through a few small subtopics.
A micro-topic is the main idea of a paragraph, it reveals one problem. Your presentation should have three micro-themes and, accordingly, three paragraphs.
The first criterion for evaluating the presentation at the OGEText compression. Your presentation should not be verbose and detailed. To reduce it, use three compression methods:
1. Exception repetitions of words, homogeneous members, participles and participles, introductory words.
“Kremlin stones can sound. Each wall and dome has a special sound, and all together they merge into a heroic symphony, performed by a huge orchestra from the pipes of the golden domes of the Kremlin.” → "Each stone, wall, dome of the Kremlin has its own sound, which merges into a single heroic symphony."
2. Replacement words as synonyms or other parts of speech. For example, several nouns can be replaced by one pronoun.
"Men and women, old people and teenagers came out to protect their native city." → “All the inhabitants came out to protect their native city.”
3. merger several sentences into one.
“A vocation is a small sprout of talent that has turned into a strong, powerful tree on the fertile soil of diligence. Without diligence, without self-education, this little sprout can wither on the vine. → "A vocation is a small sprout of talent that can wither without diligence."
- sequence of presentation;
- three microthemes in three paragraphs;
- keywords.
What can be excluded when compressing text:
- examples, evidence, details, digressions;
- generalizing words and sentences;
- homogeneous members;
- repetitions;
- direct speech - we convey it indirectly;
- a lengthy description of nature, feelings and moods.
The first paragraph is the hardest to condense because it is easier to remember and students write it down in detail. And the last paragraph is forgotten, so it is cut well. Be sure to check the first paragraph of your presentation.
The second criterion for evaluating the presentation at the OGESeparation of paragraphs. Each paragraph should have a complete thought.
| Semantic integrity, speech coherence and sequence of presentation | Points |
|---|---|
- there are no logical errors, the sequence of presentation is not violated, - there are no violations of paragraph articulation of the text in the work. | 2 |
| The work of the examinee is characterized by semantic integrity, speech coherence and sequence of presentation: but 1 logical error was made and / or there is 1 violation of paragraph division of the text in the work. | 1 |
| In the work of the examinee, a communicative intent is visible, but more than 1 logical error was made and / or there are 2 cases of violation of paragraph articulation of the text. | 0 |
How to prepare
The FIPI website has an open bank of tasks with audio recordings that will be on the exam. Open materials and practice writing summaries. Perhaps one of these texts will come across to you at the OGE.
For example, take this text. Listen carefully to it twice and write down the micro-topics and keywords. Then check this table:
| Micro topics | Keywords | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kindness is the basis of the spiritual beauty of a person, and it should not be shy. | Question - answers, kind, sincere beauty. |
| 2 | Good feelings should be brought up from childhood along with the knowledge of the value of life. | Care, brought up in childhood, the value of life, deeds in the name of good. |
| 3 | Good feelings, emotional culture are the focus of humanity. The path of goodness is the only true one life path person. | The path of good. In a world where there is a lot of evil. Good for the individual and society. |
Write a summary and check it twice. Check if it meets all the criteria:
- all three microthemes were submitted;
- all three microthemes are compressed;
- the text is clearly divided into three paragraphs;
- no logical errors.
The more statements you write and check, the more comfortable you will feel on the exam.
It would seem that any invention must be brilliant. But the desire to come up with something unusual sometimes leads to such absurd inventions that it turns out to surprise by 200%, but not everyone wants to use such an innovation.
The most useless inventions
Probably this man was very fond of women, if it occurred to him to invent tights for 3 legs. Indeed, it is a pity for women who throw away 1/6 of their salary for the purchase of tights because of the slightest tightening or “running” loop. So three-legged tights appeared, which in 1997 were patented in the USA. And they are not for female mutants. They are worn like ordinary tights, and the “third leg” is hidden on the belt. If the tights are torn on one leg, it is enough to replace the “damaged leg” with a third stocking, and everything will be in order.And why is the subway cap patented in Japan not funny? Put it on your head, pulled it over your eyes, and rest while the train goes. And in order not to oversleep your stop, there is a special slot in it, where a sign with the name of the desired station is inserted. A good neighbor-passenger will always wake you up if the owner of such a hat suddenly falls asleep.
Alarm clock for those who are constantly late for work. In appearance, it is no different from the usual alarm clock. But a small button the size of a match head is located among the needles densely stuck into the body. Even for a normal person it is problematic to press it. But what about those who spent a stormy night the day before, or whose hands are shaking after a fun feast?
In America, they patented a rotating ice cream. The balls inside the cup are constantly moving. It remains only to stick out your tongue and hope that at least a drop of goodies will reach the “destination”.
Among eccentric inventors there are indeed talented people who left "their mark" in the world of discoveries.
The most famous inventions
Among the inhabitants of different countries of the world conducted a survey on the most famous invention of mankind. Oddly enough, most of the inhabitants of the planet did not attach much importance to those inventions that "shook" the world. 
The first place was taken by such an invention as letters. They are made up of words and sentences. This is the language of communication, without which it is impossible to imagine the existence of man. No inventions or technologies could come into being if there were no letters, signs, language.
Anesthesia. It is impossible to imagine how even the simplest operation can be carried out without it. The term "anesthesia" belongs to an ancient Roman physician and pharmacologist who lived in the 1st century AD. He managed to isolate narcotic extracts from the mandrake root, which had an analgesic effect.
"Laughing gas", or nitrous oxide, which relieves pain after a few inhalations, was invented by the English chemist Humphry Davy. And the invention of anesthesia using diethyl ether belongs to Dr. Morton. From that moment on, surgery learned to control pain.
Antibiotics have protected humanity from epidemics and deadly diseases. The inventor of penicillin, the first antibiotic, was Alexander Fleming, who patented this miraculous drug in 1928.
How did the invention of the computer change the world?
In the 50s, scientists invented "computers" resembling huge machines, the main task of which was to correctly calculate the trajectory of space flights. These inventions were called computers. Steve Jobs became a computer genius, a legendary man, who patented 230 inventions in the field of information technology. Thanks to his genius, not only portable computers appeared, but also iPod players and iPhone mobile phones.The computer has become not only a means of collecting and processing information. This is not only a way to transfer any data to almost all parts of the world. This invention is indispensable in the management technological processes. With the help of computers automated control production processes, automatic robots, mechanisms for calculating control and measurement data.
They are of great importance in the field of medicine when making diagnoses and examining the body, during the most complex operations, up to the transplantation of the heart and other human organs.
Computers are indispensable in the military-technical field. Calculating the flight paths of spacecraft and satellites, launching them into space, studying the bowels of the earth, predicting natural disasters and observing changes in nature, searching for and extracting minerals, the ability to control the operation of nuclear power plants - this is a tiny part of the opportunities that a person received with the invention of a computer.
The most significant invention in human history
It is rather difficult to single out the most significant invention. Scientists have come to the conclusion that this is not a rocket, not a light bulb, not television or radio, not the Internet and not an iPhone. This is a book. Because the flight of spaceships and aircraft, the mastery of electrical or atomic energy, and much more became possible thanks to the invention of the book. Neither the advent of the computer, television or high technology could replace the book. It is the most ancient, reliable carrier and keeper of any information, which does not need any external energy. It still fulfills its main task - to educate and educate people. 
Perhaps the most notable know-how was the invention of the wheel. Some units with wheels are truly impressive, for example, the fastest motorcycles can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour in 2.5 seconds. .
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What was the most significant invention in the history of mankind? Scientists from different countries unanimously decided that this was a book. Not a telephone, not an airplane, not a nuclear reactor, not a spaceship, but a book. Because the appearance of an airplane and a spaceship, the mastery of electrical and atomic energy, and much, much more, became possible precisely thanks to the invention of the book.
And today, despite the advent of the computer and the development of electronic means of communication, the book has not lost its paramount importance. It still remains the most reliable and stable carrier and custodian of information that does not need any external energy. That is why the book is so far the most durable accumulator of knowledge. She, as in ancient times, serves the main thing: from generation to generation enlightens people, that is, makes them brighter, leads to good.
Many people think that teaching can be done orally. Yes, you certainly may. Just saying the words without writing them down is like writing on water with a pitchfork. So said one of the creators of the Slavic alphabet, the enlightener Kirill. The heard word, not fixed on paper, is very soon erased, leaves the memory, displaced by other words and impressions. And is it possible to rely on its authenticity? The word heard, and then read again, is stored in the memory of a person for a long time.
People have always sought not only to preserve their observations and knowledge, but also to generalize them. And it is in books that the experience of dozens of generations has been accumulated - all that we call wisdom. No wonder our ancestors said: "The mind without books is like a bird without wings." And this means one thing: just as a bird cannot fly without wings, so the mind is limited and constrained without reading books.
(According to the encyclopedia)
The history of mankind is closely connected with constant progress, the development of technology, new discoveries and inventions. Some technologies are outdated and history, others, such as the wheel or the sail, are still in use today. Countless discoveries were lost in the whirlpool of time, others, not appreciated by contemporaries, were waiting for recognition and implementation for tens and hundreds of years.
Editorial Samogo.Net conducted her own research, designed to answer the question of what inventions are considered by our contemporaries to be the most significant.
Processing and analysis of the results of Internet surveys showed that there is simply no consensus on this matter. Nevertheless, we managed to form a general unique rating of the greatest inventions and discoveries in the history of mankind. As it turned out, despite the fact that science has long gone forward, the basic discoveries in the minds of our contemporaries remain the most significant.
First place indisputably ranked Fire
People opened early beneficial features fire - its ability to illuminate and warm, change plant and animal food for the better.
The "wild fire" that flared up during forest fires or volcanic eruptions was terrible for a person, but by bringing fire into his cave, a person "tamed" him and "put" him at his service. Since that time, fire has become a constant companion of man and the basis of his economy. In ancient times, it was an indispensable source of heat, light, a means for cooking, a hunting tool.
However, further cultural gains (ceramics, metallurgy, steelmaking, steam engines, etc.) are due to the comprehensive use of fire.
For long millennia, people used "domestic fire", maintained it from year to year in their caves, before they learned how to get it themselves using friction. This discovery probably happened by chance, after our ancestors learned how to drill wood. During this operation, the wood was heated and, under favorable conditions, ignition could occur. Paying attention to this, people began to widely use friction to make fire.
The simplest method was to take two sticks of dry wood, in one of which a hole was made. The first stick was placed on the ground and pressed against the knee. The second was inserted into the hole, and then they began to quickly rotate between the palms. At the same time, it was necessary to press hard on the stick. The inconvenience of this method was that the palms gradually slipped down. Every now and then I had to lift them up and again continue to rotate. Although, with a certain skill, this can be done quickly, nevertheless, due to constant stops, the process was greatly delayed. It is much easier to make fire by friction, working together. At the same time, one person held the horizontal stick and pressed on top of the vertical one, and the second quickly rotated it between the palms. Later, they began to clasp the vertical stick with a strap, moving which to the right and left, you can speed up the movement, and for convenience, they began to put a bone cap on the upper end. Thus, the entire device for making fire began to consist of four parts: two sticks (fixed and rotating), a strap and a top cap. In this way, it was possible to make fire alone, if you press the lower stick with your knee to the ground, and the cap with your teeth.
And only later, with the development of mankind, other methods of obtaining an open fire became available.
Second place in the responses of the Internet community took Wheel and Wagon
It is believed that its prototype may have been skating rinks, which were placed under heavy tree trunks, boats and stones when they were dragged from place to place. Perhaps at the same time the first observations on the properties of rotating bodies were made. For example, if for some reason the log-skating rink was thinner in the center than at the edges, it moved under the load more evenly and did not drift to the side. Noticing this, people began to deliberately burn the rinks in such a way that the middle part became thinner, while the side ones remained unchanged. Thus, a device was obtained, which is now called a "slope". In the course of further improvements in this direction, only two rollers at its ends remained from a single log, and an axis appeared between them. Later, they began to be made separately, and then rigidly fastened together. So the wheel was opened in the proper sense of the word and the first wagon appeared.
In subsequent centuries, many generations of craftsmen worked to improve this invention. Initially, solid wheels were rigidly fastened to the axle and rotated with it. When moving on a flat road, such wagons were quite suitable for use. On a bend, when the wheels must turn at different speeds, this connection creates great inconvenience, since a heavily laden wagon can easily break or roll over. The wheels themselves were still very imperfect. They were made from a single piece of wood. Therefore, the wagons were heavy and clumsy. They moved slowly and were usually harnessed to slow but powerful oxen.
One of the oldest carts of the described design was found during excavations in Mohenjo-Daro. A major step forward in the development of locomotion technology was the invention of a wheel with a hub mounted on a fixed axle. In this case, the wheels rotated independently of each other. And so that the wheel would rub less against the axle, they began to lubricate it with grease or tar.
In order to reduce the weight of the wheel, cutouts were cut out in it, and for rigidity they were strengthened with transverse braces. Nothing better could have been invented in the Stone Age. But after the discovery of metals, wheels with a metal rim and spokes began to be made. Such a wheel could rotate ten times faster and was not afraid of hitting stones. Harnessing swift-footed horses to the wagon, a person significantly increased the speed of his movement. Perhaps it is difficult to find another discovery that would give such a powerful impetus to the development of technology.
Third place rightfully occupied Writing
There is no need to talk about the great significance of the invention of writing in the history of mankind. It is impossible to even imagine what path the development of civilization could have taken if, at a certain stage of their development, people had not learned to fix the information they needed with the help of certain symbols and thus transmit and store it. It is obvious that human society in the form in which it exists today simply could not have appeared.
The first forms of writing in the form of signs inscribed in a special way appeared about 4 thousand years BC. But long before that, there were various ways of transmitting and storing information: with the help of branches, arrows, smoke from fires, and similar signals, folded in a certain way. From these primitive warning systems, more sophisticated ways of capturing information later emerged. For example, the ancient Incas invented the original system of "recording" with the help of knots. For this, wool laces of different colors were used. They were tied with various knots and attached to a stick. In this form, the "letter" was sent to the addressee. There is an opinion that the Incas, with the help of such a "knot letter", fixed their laws, wrote down chronicles and poems. "Knot writing" is also noted among other nations - it was used in ancient China and Mongolia.
However, writing in the proper sense of the word appeared only after people invented special graphic signs to fix and transmit information. The most ancient type of writing is pictographic. A pictogram is a schematic drawing that directly depicts the things, events, and phenomena in question. It is assumed that pictography was widespread among various peoples at the last stage of the Stone Age. This letter is very visual, and therefore it does not need to be specially studied. It is quite suitable for transmitting small messages and for recording simple stories. But when the need arose to convey some complex abstract thought or concept, one immediately felt limited opportunities a pictogram that is completely unsuitable for recording what is not amenable to a picturesque image (for example, such concepts as cheerfulness, courage, vigilance, good dream, sky blue, etc.). Therefore, already at an early stage in the history of writing, pictograms began to include special conventional icons denoting certain concepts (for example, the sign of crossed arms symbolized exchange). Such icons are called ideograms. Ideographic writing also arose in pictographic writing, and one can quite clearly imagine how this happened: each pictorial sign of a pictogram began to be more and more isolated from others and associated with a certain word or concept, denoting it. Gradually, this process developed so much that primitive pictograms lost their former visibility, but gained clarity and certainty. This process took a long time, perhaps several millennia.
Hieroglyphic writing became the highest form of the ideogram. It first appeared in Ancient Egypt. Later, hieroglyphic writing became widespread in the Far East - in China, Japan and Korea. With the help of ideograms, it was possible to reflect any, even the most complex and abstract thought. However, for the hieroglyphs not dedicated to the secret, the meaning of what was written was completely incomprehensible. Anyone who wanted to learn how to write had to memorize several thousand icons. In reality, it took several years of constant practice. Therefore, few people knew how to write and read in antiquity.
Only at the end of 2 thousand BC. the ancient Phoenicians invented the alphabetic sound alphabet, which served as a model for the alphabets of many other peoples. The Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 consonants, each representing a different sound. The invention of this alphabet was a great step forward for mankind. With the help of the new letter, it was easy to convey graphically any word without resorting to ideograms. It was very easy to learn from him. The art of writing has ceased to be the privilege of the enlightened. It has become the property of the whole society, or at least most of it. This was one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the Phoenician alphabet around the world. It is believed that four-fifths of all alphabets known today originated from the Phoenician.
So, Libyan developed from a variety of Phoenician writing (Punic). The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek writing came directly from the Phoenician. In turn, on the basis of the Aramaic script, Arabic, Nabataean, Syriac, Persian and other scripts developed. The Greeks made the last important improvement to the Phoenician alphabet - they began to designate with letters not only consonants, but also vowels. The Greek alphabet formed the basis of most European alphabets: Latin (from which, in turn, French, German, English, Italian, Spanish and other alphabets originated), Coptic, Armenian, Georgian and Slavic (Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian, etc.).
Fourth place, after writing takes Paper
Its creators were the Chinese. And this is no coincidence. Firstly, China already in ancient times was famous for book wisdom and a complex system of bureaucratic management, which required constant accountability from officials. Therefore, there has always been a need for inexpensive and compact writing material. Before the invention of paper in China, people wrote either on bamboo boards or on silk.
But silk was always very expensive, and bamboo was very bulky and heavy. (An average of 30 hieroglyphs was placed on one board. It is easy to imagine how much space such a bamboo “book” should have taken up. It is no coincidence that they write that a whole cart was required to transport some works.) Secondly, only the Chinese for a long time knew the secret of production silk, and paper business just developed from one technical operation of processing silk cocoons. This operation was as follows. Women engaged in sericulture boiled silkworm cocoons, then, spreading them on a mat, lowered them into water and ground them until a homogeneous mass was formed. When the mass was taken out and the water was strained, silk wool was obtained. However, after such mechanical and heat treatment, a thin fibrous layer remained on the mats, which, after drying, turned into a sheet of very thin paper suitable for writing. Later, women workers began to use defective silkworm cocoons for purposeful papermaking. At the same time, they repeated the process already familiar to them: they boiled the cocoons, washed and crushed them to obtain paper pulp, and finally dried the resulting sheets. Such paper was called "cotton" and was quite expensive, since the raw material itself was expensive.
Naturally, in the end, the question arose: is it possible to make paper only from silk, or can any fibrous raw material, including vegetable origin, be suitable for the preparation of paper pulp? In 105, a certain Cai Lun, an important official at the court of the Han emperor, prepared a new grade of paper from old fishing nets. It was not as good as silk, but was much cheaper. This important discovery had huge consequences not only for China, but for the whole world - for the first time in history, people received first-class and affordable writing material, an equivalent replacement for which to this day. The name of Cai Lun is therefore rightfully included among the names of the greatest inventors in the history of mankind. In the following centuries, several important improvements were made to the paper-making process, which allowed it to develop rapidly.
In the 4th century, paper completely replaced bamboo planks from use. New experiments have shown that paper can be made from cheap vegetable raw materials: tree bark, reed and bamboo. The latter was especially important, since bamboo grows in China in large quantities. Bamboo was split into thin slivers, soaked with lime, and the resulting mass was then boiled for several days. The filtered thick was kept in special pits, carefully ground with special beaters and diluted with water until a sticky, mushy mass was formed. This mass was scooped up using a special form - a bamboo sieve, mounted on a stretcher. A thin layer of the mass along with the form was placed under the press. Then the form was pulled out and only a paper sheet remained under the press. The pressed sheets were removed from the sieve, folded into a pile, dried, smoothed and cut to size.
Over time, the Chinese have achieved the highest art in paper making. For several centuries, they, as usual, carefully kept the secrets of paper production. But in 751, during a clash with the Arabs in the foothills of the Tien Shan, several Chinese masters were captured. From them, the Arabs learned to make paper themselves and for five centuries sold it very profitably to Europe. The Europeans were the last of the civilized nations to learn how to make paper themselves. The Spaniards were the first to adopt this art from the Arabs. In 1154, paper production was established in Italy, in 1228 in Germany, in 1309 in England. In subsequent centuries, paper has received the widest distribution throughout the world, gradually conquering more and more new areas of application. Its significance in our life is so great that, according to the well-known French bibliographer A. Sim, our era can rightly be called the "paper era."
Fifth place occupied Gunpowder and Firearms
The invention of gunpowder and its distribution in Europe had enormous consequences for the further history of mankind. Although the Europeans were the last of the civilized peoples to learn how to make this explosive mixture, it was they who were able to derive the greatest practical benefit from its discovery. The rapid development of firearms and the revolution in military affairs were the first consequences of the spread of gunpowder. This, in turn, led to the deepest social changes: the knights clad in armor and their impregnable castles were powerless before the fire of cannons and arquebuses. Feudal society was dealt a blow from which it could no longer recover. AT a short time many European powers overcame feudal fragmentation and turned into powerful centralized states.
There are few inventions in the history of technology that would lead to such grandiose and far-reaching changes. Before gunpowder became known in the West, it already had a long history in the East, and was invented by the Chinese. the most important integral part gunpowder is saltpeter. In some areas of China, it was found in its native form and looked like flakes of snow that powdered the ground. Later it was discovered that saltpeter is formed in areas rich in alkalis and decaying (nitrogen-supplying) substances. When kindling a fire, the Chinese could observe flashes that arose during the burning of saltpeter with coal.
For the first time, the properties of saltpeter were described by the Chinese physician Tao Hong-jing, who lived at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. Since that time, it has been used as an ingredient in some medicines. Alchemists often used it when conducting experiments. In the 7th century, one of them, Sun Si-miao, prepared a mixture of sulfur and saltpeter, adding to them a few shares of the locust tree. While heating this mixture in a crucible, he suddenly received a violent flash of flame. He described this experience in his treatise Dan Ching. It is believed that Sun Si-miao prepared one of the first samples of gunpowder, which, however, did not yet have a strong explosive effect.
Subsequently, the composition of gunpowder was improved by other alchemists, who experimentally established its three main components: coal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. The medieval Chinese could not scientifically explain what kind of explosive reaction occurs when gunpowder is ignited, but they soon learned to use it for military purposes. True, in their lives gunpowder did not at all have that revolutionary influence that it later had on European society. This is explained by the fact that the masters have been preparing a powder mixture from unrefined components for a long time. Meanwhile, crude saltpeter and sulfur containing foreign impurities did not give a strong explosive effect. For several centuries, gunpowder was used exclusively as an incendiary agent. Later, when its quality improved, gunpowder began to be used as an explosive in the manufacture of land mines, hand grenades and explosives.
But even after that, for a long time they did not guess to use the power of the gases that arose during the combustion of gunpowder to throw bullets and nuclei. Only in the XII-XIII centuries, the Chinese began to use weapons that very vaguely resembled firearms, but they invented firecrackers and rockets. The Arabs and Mongols learned the secret of gunpowder from the Chinese. In the first third of the 13th century, the Arabs achieved great skill in pyrotechnics. They used saltpeter in many compounds, mixing it with sulfur and coal, adding other components to them and making fireworks of amazing beauty. From the Arabs, the composition of the powder mixture became known to European alchemists. One of them, Mark the Greek, already in 1220 wrote down in his treatise a recipe for gunpowder: 6 parts of saltpeter to 1 part of sulfur and 1 part of coal. Later, Roger Bacon wrote quite accurately about the composition of gunpowder.
However, about a hundred years passed before this recipe ceased to be a secret. This second discovery of gunpowder is associated with the name of another alchemist, the Feiburg monk Berthold Schwartz. Once he began to grind a crushed mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and coal in a mortar, as a result of which an explosion occurred that scorched Berthold's beard. This or another experience gave Berthold the idea to use the power of powder gases to throw stones. It is believed that he made one of the first artillery pieces in Europe.
Gunpowder was originally a fine floury powder. It was not convenient to use it, because when charging guns and arquebuses, the powder pulp stuck to the walls of the barrel. Finally, it was noticed that powder in the form of lumps was much more convenient - it was easily charged and, when ignited, gave off more gases (2 pounds of powder in lumps gave a greater effect than 3 pounds in pulp).
In the first quarter of the 15th century, for convenience, they began to use grain gunpowder, which was obtained by rolling powder pulp (with alcohol and other impurities) into dough, which was then passed through a sieve. So that the grains do not fray during transportation, they learned how to polish them. To do this, they were placed in a special drum, during the spinning of which the grains hit and rubbed against each other and compacted. After processing, their surface became smooth and shiny.
Sixth place ranked in the polls : telegraph, telephone, internet, radio and other types of modern communication
Until the middle of the 19th century, the only means of communication between the European continent and England, between America and Europe, between Europe and the colonies, was steamship mail. Incidents and events in other countries were learned with a delay of whole weeks, and sometimes even months. For example, news from Europe to America was delivered in two weeks, and this was not the longest time yet. Therefore, the creation of the telegraph met the most urgent needs of mankind.
After this technical novelty appeared in all parts of the world and telegraph lines circled the globe, it took only hours, and sometimes even minutes, for the news on electrical wires from one hemisphere to rush to the other. Political and stock reports, personal and business messages could be delivered on the same day interested parties. Thus, the telegraph should be attributed to one of the most important inventions in the history of civilization, because with it the human mind won the greatest victory over distance.
With the invention of the telegraph, the problem of transmitting messages over long distances was solved. However, the telegraph could only send written dispatches. Meanwhile, many inventors dreamed of a more perfect and communicative method of communication, with the help of which it would be possible to transmit the live sound of human speech or music over any distance. The first experiments in this direction were undertaken in 1837 by the American physicist Page. The essence of Page's experiments was very simple. He assembled an electrical circuit, which included a tuning fork, an electromagnet, and galvanic cells. During its oscillations, the tuning fork quickly opened and closed the circuit. This intermittent current was transmitted to an electromagnet, which just as quickly attracted and released a thin steel rod. As a result of these vibrations, the rod produced a singing sound similar to that of a tuning fork. Thus, Page showed that it is possible in principle to transmit sound using electric current, it is only necessary to create more advanced transmitting and receiving devices.
And later, as a result of long searches, discoveries and inventions, mobile phone, television, the Internet and other means of communication of mankind, without which it is impossible to imagine our modern life.
Seventh place in the top 10 according to the polls Automobile
The automobile is one of those greatest inventions which, like the wheel, gunpowder or electric current, had a colossal influence not only on the era that gave birth to them, but also on all subsequent times. Its multifaceted impact goes far beyond the transport sector. The automobile shaped modern industry, spawned new branches of industry, arbitrarily rebuilt production itself, for the first time giving it a mass, serial and in-line character. It transformed the appearance of the planet, which was surrounded by millions of kilometers of highways, put pressure on the environment and even changed human psychology. The influence of the car is now so multifaceted that it is felt in all spheres of human life. He became, as it were, a visible and visual embodiment of technical progress in general, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
There were many amazing pages in the history of the car, but perhaps the brightest of them dates back to the first years of its existence. One cannot help but be struck by the speed with which this invention went from appearance to maturity. It took only a quarter of a century for the car to turn from a capricious and still unreliable toy into the most popular and widespread vehicle. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it was basically identical to a modern car.
The immediate predecessor of the gasoline car was the steam car. The first practical steam car is considered to be a steam cart built by the Frenchman Cugnot in 1769. Carrying up to 3 tons of cargo, she moved at a speed of only 2-4 km / h. She also had other shortcomings. The heavy vehicle did not obey the helm very well, constantly ran into the walls of houses and fences, causing destruction and suffering considerable damage. The two horsepower that her engine developed was hard to come by. Despite the large volume of the boiler, the pressure dropped rapidly. Every quarter of an hour, to maintain pressure, it was necessary to stop and kindle the firebox. One of the trips ended in a boiler explosion. Fortunately, Kuno himself survived.
Cugno's followers were more fortunate. In 1803, Trivaitik, already known to us, built the first steam car in Great Britain. The car had huge rear wheels about 2.5 m in diameter. A cauldron was attached between the wheels and the rear of the frame, which was served by a stoker standing on the back. The steam car was equipped with a single horizontal cylinder. From the piston rod through the connecting rod-crank mechanism, the drive gear rotated, which was engaged with another gear mounted on the axis of the rear wheels. The axis of these wheels was pivotally connected to the frame and turned with a long lever by the driver, sitting on a high irradiation. The body was suspended on high C‑shaped springs. With 8-10 passengers, the car reached speeds of up to 15 km / h, which, of course, was a very good achievement for that time. The appearance of this amazing car on the streets of London attracted a lot of onlookers who did not hide their delight.
The car in the modern sense of the word appeared only after the creation of a compact and economical internal combustion engine, which made a real revolution in transport technology.
The first gasoline-powered car was built in 1864 by the Austrian inventor Siegfried Markus. Fascinated by pyrotechnics, Marcus once set fire to a mixture of gasoline and air vapors with an electric spark. Struck by the force of the ensuing explosion, he decided to create an engine that would use this effect. In the end, he managed to build a two-stroke gasoline engine with electric ignition, which he installed in an ordinary wagon. In 1875, Marcus created a more advanced car.
The official glory of the inventors of the car belongs to two German engineers - Benz and Daimler. Benz designed two-stroke gas engines and was the owner of a small plant for their production. The engines were in good demand and Benz's business flourished. He had enough funds and leisure for other developments. Benz's dream was to create a self-propelled carriage with an internal combustion engine. Benz's own engine, like Otto's four-stroke engine, was not suitable for this, since they had a low speed (about 120 revolutions per minute). With a slight decrease in the number of revolutions, they stalled. Benz understood that a car equipped with such an engine would stop in front of every bump. What was needed was a high-speed engine with a good ignition system and an apparatus for the formation of a combustible mixture.
Cars improved rapidly Back in 1891, Edouard Michelin, the owner of a rubber products factory in Clermont-Ferrand, invented a removable pneumatic tire for a bicycle (a Dunlop tube was poured into the tire and glued to the rim). In 1895, the production of removable pneumatic tires for cars began. For the first time these tires were tested in the same year at the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race. The Peugeot equipped with them hardly reached Rouen, and then was forced to retire, as the tires were constantly punctured. Nevertheless, experts and motorists were amazed at the smoothness of the car and the comfort of driving it. Since that time, pneumatic tires have gradually come into life, and all cars began to be equipped with them. The winner of these races was again Levassor. When he stopped the car at the finish line and stepped on the ground, he said: “It was crazy. I was doing 30 kilometers per hour!” Now at the finish line there is a monument in honor of this significant victory.
Eighth place - Light bulb
In the last decades of the 19th century, electric lighting entered the life of many European cities. Appearing first on the streets and squares, it very soon penetrated into every house, into every apartment and became an integral part of the life of every civilized person. It was one of major events in the history of technology, which had enormous and manifold consequences. The rapid development of electric lighting led to mass electrification, a revolution in energy and major shifts in industry. However, all this might not have happened if the efforts of many inventors had not created such a common and familiar device for us as an electric light bulb. Among the greatest discoveries of human history, she undoubtedly belongs to one of the most honorable places.
In the 19th century, two types of electric lamps became widespread: incandescent and arc lamps. Arc light bulbs appeared a little earlier. Their glow is based on such an interesting phenomenon as the voltaic arc. If you take two wires, connect them to a sufficiently strong current source, connect them, and then push them apart at a distance of several millimeters, then something like a flame with a bright light is formed between the ends of the conductors. The phenomenon will be more beautiful and brighter if two pointed carbon rods are used instead of metal wires. With a sufficiently large voltage between them, a light of dazzling power is formed.
For the first time, the phenomenon of a voltaic arc was observed in 1803 by the Russian scientist Vasily Petrov. In 1810, the English physicist Devi made the same discovery. Both of them obtained a voltaic arc, using a large battery of cells, between the ends of charcoal rods. Both of them wrote that the voltaic arc can be used for lighting purposes. But first it was necessary to find a more suitable material for the electrodes, since the charcoal rods burned out in a few minutes and were of little use for practical use. Arc lamps had another inconvenience - as the electrodes burned out, it was necessary to constantly move them towards each other. As soon as the distance between them exceeded a certain permissible minimum, the light of the lamp became uneven, it began to flicker and went out.
Foucault, a French physicist, designed the first manually adjustable arc lamp in 1844. Charcoal he replaced with hard coke sticks. In 1848, he first used an arc lamp to illuminate one of the Parisian squares. It was a short and very expensive experience, since the source of electricity was powerful battery. Then various devices were invented, controlled by a clockwork, which automatically shifted the electrodes as they burned.
It is clear that from the point of view of practical use, it was desirable to have a lamp that was not complicated by additional mechanisms. But was it possible to do without them? It turned out that yes. If two coals are placed not against each other, but in parallel, moreover, so that an arc can form only between their two ends, then with this device the distance between the ends of the coals is always kept unchanged. The design of such a lamp seems very simple, but its creation required great ingenuity. It was invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Yablochkov, who worked in Paris in the workshop of Academician Breguet.
In 1879, the famous American inventor Edison took up the improvement of the electric light bulb. He understood that in order for the light bulb to shine brightly and for a long time and have an even, unblinking light, it is necessary, firstly, to find a suitable material for the thread, and, secondly, to learn how to create a very rarefied space in the balloon. A lot of experiments were done with various materials, which were set up with Edison's characteristic scope. It is estimated that his assistants tested at least 6,000 different substances and compounds, while over 100 thousand dollars were spent on experiments. At first, Edison replaced the brittle paper charcoal with a more durable one made from coal, then he began to experiment with various metals, and finally settled on a thread of charred bamboo fibers. In the same year, in the presence of three thousand people, Edison publicly demonstrated his electric light bulbs, illuminating his house, laboratory and several adjacent streets with them. It was the first long life light bulb suitable for mass production.
penultimate, ninth place in our top 10 are antibiotics, and in particular - penicillin
Antibiotics are one of the most remarkable inventions of the 20th century in the field of medicine. Modern people far from always realize how much they owe to these medicinal preparations. Mankind in general very quickly gets used to the amazing achievements of its science, and sometimes it takes some effort to imagine life as it was, for example, before the invention of television, radio or steam locomotive. Just as quickly, a huge family of various antibiotics entered our lives, the first of which was penicillin.
Today it seems surprising to us that back in the 30s of the 20th century, tens of thousands of people died every year from dysentery, that pneumonia in many cases ended in death, that sepsis was a real scourge of all surgical patients, who died in large numbers from blood poisoning, that typhus was considered the most dangerous and incurable disease, and pneumonic plague inevitably led the patient to death. All these terrible diseases (and many others, previously incurable, such as tuberculosis) were defeated by antibiotics.
Even more striking is the effect of these drugs on military medicine. It is hard to believe, but in previous wars, most soldiers died not from bullets and shrapnel, but from purulent infections caused by wounds. It is known that in the space around us there are myriads of microscopic organisms of microbes, among which there are many dangerous pathogens.
Under normal conditions, our skin prevents their penetration into the body. But during the injury, dirt entered the open wounds along with millions of putrefactive bacteria (cocci). They began to multiply with tremendous speed, penetrated deep into the tissues, and after a few hours no surgeon could save a person: the wound festered, the temperature rose, sepsis or gangrene began. A person died not so much from the wound itself, but from wound complications. Medicine was powerless before them. At best, the doctor managed to amputate the affected organ and thus stopped the spread of the disease.
To deal with wound complications, it was necessary to learn how to paralyze the microbes that cause these complications, to learn how to neutralize the cocci that got into the wound. But how can this be achieved? It turned out that it is possible to fight against microorganisms directly with their help, since some microorganisms in the course of their life activity emit substances capable of destroying other microorganisms. The idea of using microbes to fight germs dates back to the 19th century. Thus, Louis Pasteur discovered that anthrax bacilli die under the action of some other microbes. But it is clear that the solution of this problem required a lot of work.
Over time, after a series of experiments and discoveries, penicillin was created. Penicillin seemed like a real miracle to seasoned field surgeons. He cured even the most seriously ill patients who were already ill with blood poisoning or pneumonia. The creation of penicillin turned out to be one of the most important discoveries in the history of medicine and gave a huge impetus to its further development.
Well, the last tenth place in the survey results took Sail and ship
It is believed that the prototype of the sail appeared in ancient times, when a person just started building boats and dared to go to sea. In the beginning, the sail was simply a stretched animal skin. The person standing in the boat had to hold it with both hands and orient it relative to the wind. When people came up with the idea to strengthen the sail with the help of a mast and yards, it is not known, but already on the oldest images of the ships of the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut that have come down to us, you can see wooden masts and yards, as well as stays (cables that keep the mast from falling back), halyards (tackle for lifting and lowering sails) and other rigging.
Therefore, the appearance of a sailing ship must be attributed to prehistoric times.
There is much evidence that the first large sailing ships appeared in Egypt, and the Nile was the first deep river on which river navigation began to develop. Every year from July to November, the mighty river overflowed its banks, flooding the entire country with its waters. Villages and cities were cut off from each other like islands. Therefore, ships were a vital necessity for the Egyptians. In the economic life of the country and in communication between people, they played a much greater role than wheeled carts.
One of the earliest types of Egyptian ships, which appeared about 5 thousand years BC, was the barge. It is known to modern scientists from several models installed in ancient temples. Since Egypt is very poor in forests, papyrus was widely used to build the first ships. The features of this material determined the design and shape of ancient Egyptian ships. It was a sickle-shaped boat, bound from bundles of papyrus, with a bow and stern curved upward. To give the ship strength, the hull was pulled together with cables. Later, when regular trade with the Phoenicians was established and Lebanese cedar began to arrive in Egypt in large quantities, the tree began to be widely used in shipbuilding.
An idea of what types of ships were built at that time is given by the wall reliefs of the necropolis near Saqqara, dating back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. These compositions realistically depict individual stages in the construction of a plank ship. The hulls of the ships, which had neither a keel (in ancient times it was a beam lying at the base of the bottom of the vessel), nor frames (transverse curved beams that ensure the strength of the sides and bottom), were recruited from simple dies and caulked with papyrus. The hull was strengthened by means of ropes that fitted the vessel along the perimeter of the upper plating belt. Such vessels hardly had good seaworthiness. However, they were quite suitable for swimming on the river. The straight sail used by the Egyptians allowed them to sail only with the wind. The rigging was attached to a bipedal mast, both legs of which were set perpendicular to the ship's midline. At the top, they were tightly bound. The beam device in the ship's hull served as a step (nest) for the mast. In the working position, this mast was held by stays - thick cables that went from the stern and bow, and legs supported it towards the sides. The rectangular sail was attached to two yards. With a side wind, the mast was hastily removed.
Later, by about 2600 BC, the bipedal mast was replaced by the one-legged one that is still used today. The one-legged mast made sailing easier and for the first time gave a ship the ability to maneuver. However, a rectangular sail was an unreliable means that could only be used with a fair wind.
The main engine of the ship was the muscular strength of the rowers. Apparently, the Egyptians own an important improvement of the oar - the invention of oarlocks. They did not yet exist in the Old Kingdom, but then the oar began to be fastened with rope loops. This immediately allowed to increase the power of the stroke and the speed of the vessel. It is known that the elite rowers on the ships of the pharaohs did 26 strokes per minute, which allowed them to reach a speed of 12 km / h. They controlled such ships with the help of two steering oars located at the stern. Later, they began to be attached to a beam on the deck, by rotating which it was possible to choose the desired direction (this principle of steering the ship by turning the rudder blade remains unchanged to this day). The ancient Egyptians were not good sailors. On their ships, they did not dare to go to the open sea. However, along the coast, their merchant ships made long journeys. So, in the temple of Queen Hatshepsut there is an inscription reporting on a sea voyage made by the Egyptians around 1490 BC. to the mysterious country of incense Punt, located in the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Somalia.
The next step in the development of shipbuilding was taken by the Phoenicians. Unlike the Egyptians, the Phoenicians had an abundance of beautiful construction material. Their country stretched in a narrow strip along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Extensive cedar forests grew here almost at the very shore. Already in ancient times, the Phoenicians learned how to make high-quality dugout single-deck boats from their trunks and boldly went out to sea on them.
At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, when maritime trade began to develop, the Phoenicians began to build ships. A marine vessel is significantly different from a boat; its construction requires its own design solutions. The most important discoveries along this path, which determined the entire subsequent history of shipbuilding, belong to the Phoenicians. Perhaps the skeletons of animals led them to the idea of installing stiffening ribs on one-poles, which were covered with boards on top. So for the first time in the history of shipbuilding, frames were used, which are still widely used.
In the same way, the Phoenicians first built a keel ship (originally, two trunks connected at an angle served as a keel). The keel immediately gave the hull stability and made it possible to establish longitudinal and transverse bracing. Sheathing boards were attached to them. All these innovations were the decisive basis for the rapid development of shipbuilding and determined the appearance of all subsequent ships.
Other inventions in various fields of science, such as: chemistry, physics, medicine, education and others, were also recalled.
After all, as we said earlier, this is not surprising. After all, any discovery or invention is another step into the future, which improves our life, and often prolongs it. And if not every, then very, very many discoveries deserve to be called great and are extremely necessary in our life.
Alexander Ozerov, based on the book by Ryzhkov K.V. "One Hundred Great Inventions"
The greatest discoveries and inventions of mankind © 2011
