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Important Discoveries and Inventions Prior to the 20th Century

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I need some help with the following:
· Create a timeline that displays at least five significant discoveries made by humans prior to the 20th century, and five significant inventions made by humans prior to the 20th century. Neither should come from prehistory. Identify each item as a discovery or invention.

o A discovery, as defined here, is new knowledge that is uncovered about something that already exists. An example is J.J. Thompsonâ??s discovery of the electron in 1897. Consider fields like medicine, biology, botany, and astronomy.

o An invention is defined as the human creation of something new that can be replicated. The steam engine, invented by Newcomen in 1712, is an example.

· Include the approximate date of each discovery and each invention, as well as a short description, and the names of the principal discoverers and inventors.

· Arrange your list chronologically.

· Explain how the discoveries and inventions helped humans to understand their relationship with nature. Does the discovery or invention continue to be significant?

Thank you

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Solution Summary

The solution lists 5 significant scientific discoveries and 5 significant inventions following a linear timeline from the 2nd century AD prio to the 20th century. Each of these discoveries and inventions had been selected because of their contributions and importance in human development. Each are discussed in an explanatory paragraph and an online reference is listed so that students can study the matter further. A word version of the solution is also attached for easy printing and digital use.

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Dear Student,
I gather from your post that you need a comprehensive picture for this particular project. The timeline here includes a description and discussion of the discoveries and inventions indicated to justify their significance. You can also use the listed references for further research. Good luck with your studies and thank you for using Brainmass.

Sincerely,
OTA 105878/Xenia Jones
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Timeline of significant Discoveries

Discovery is about finding and uncovering something new. Academically speaking, it is about observing a phenomenon for the first time which leads to previously unrealized or unestablished but valid explanations about the world. A discovery is the culmination of continued experience and observation or it could be something sudden and unexpected. A discovery is arrived at usually because the person who did interrogated what is before him or is searching for an answer. It could be a scientific or critical discovery or one of practical applications or it could be a sighting, a discovery of new land, territory, objects and of new species. The following discoveries, for me are very significant for they defined an era and led to the development of new thoughts and perspectives:

Discovery of Planetary Movements

2nd Century - Claudius Ptolomaeus or Ptolemy is a Roman scholar, astronomer and thinker who lived in Alexandria, Egypt under Roman rule. In his lifetime he was a prolific thinker, an early scientist and he retained the knowledge of the Greeks in his many scientific treatises. One of this was the 'Almagest' (150AD), in it he presented his discoveries - the distance between the earth, the moon and the sun and a proposal - that these heavenly bodies move around the earth at specific intervals which have a direct effect on the seasons and the tides. This proposal became known as the 'Ptolemaic geocentricism' and it became the established idea until the Scientific Revolution.

For more:
http://arnett.us.com/psc/theman.html
http://www.archive.org/details/pt1claudiiptolemaei01ptoluoft

Discovery of Children's Diseases & Fuel

10th Century - Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya; or Rassi is a Persian scholar, thinker and scientist. He might not appear much on Western history but his discoveries during his lifetime (865 AD - 925 AD) led to the discovery of measles and smallpox, and of kerosene and distilled petroleum, the last two elements becoming essential as Persia grew to be a power and still very much the center of human activities today as via petroleum, the world is powered. While he is a polymath, his being a clinician and a chemist is seen as very important for as a clinician he published several scholastic works including one on the diseases that ravaged children. His experiments in curing sick children led him to discover ethanol and its use in medicine - we now use this today and refer to it as 'rubbing alcohol'. He is considered the 'father of pediatrics'.

For more:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_06.html

The Scientific Method

13th Century - Bishop Robert ...

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