World War II can be considered as one of the most destructive military clash of our recent history. According to an estimation around 70-85 million people died in the span of 6 years between 1939-1945. But we all must have heard that old saying, "Necessity is the mother of inventions". This time of crisis acted as a catalyst in bringing forth many new inventions. People were facing a massive global conflict and they need more and more of everything. Military needed more advanced weapons, more faster and secure communication and common people needed better health facilities and more security.
These demands encourages scientists and inventors to design and invent new products. Some of these innovations played a major role in victory and had a significant impact on common people's lives as well. Some of the technologies designed for winning war found use as commercial products as well. In this article we are going to discuss some of the most important innovations of World War II.
Improved Radar Technology Using Cavity Magnetron
The idea of using radio waves to detect object and their speed was introduced long way before the war but the first radar navigation system came into picture during world war II. The introduction of cavity magnetron improved the prewar RADAR technology by increasing its accuracy over greater distances. Cavity magnetron is a small device which generates microwaves.
Radar navigation system played a significant role in the victory of allies. Some historians even claim that radar helped allies win the war more than any other technologies.
After the war, the palm-sized device cavity magnetron forever changed the way of preparing and consuming food. This technology starts its commercial inning as a microwave and soon it became the day-to-day necessity of common American people due to the ease of heating food in it.
Radar became a key component of meteorology. Shortly after the World War II, radar was developed further to predict weather forecast. Now it is used to track rainfall as well as storm system.
Development Of ENIAC.
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| p.c :- spectrum.ieee.org |
Although computers have been in development way before the start of World War II but the war demands rapid advancement in the technology. More faster and precise computers were required. This results in the developments of new computers. One such example was Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). It was capable of performing thousands of calculations in a second. It was being designed for military purpose but it was completed finally in 1945. In 1946, US government released ENIAC to general public, presenting it as a revolutionary tool.
By 1970s, the restriction on modification of ENIAC technology was lifted which led to many developments through decades making computers more smaller, more powerful and affordable.
Mass Production Of Penicillin
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| p.c - cooper group |
Along with the development in other technologies, World War II also brought notable innovations in the field of healthcare and medicine. The number of fatalities and the devastation scale was so high that it required the development and use of new techniques and innovations in medical field. Many new and improved techniques were introduced and mass production of antibacterial medicines were also started.
The condition before antibiotics was very dangerous. Even a small scratch can led you to death due to infection. Although penicillin was developed by scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928 but its mass production was started during World War II to treat soldiers.
Millions of doses of penicillin was produced and its benefits were advertised to bring awareness of this "Miracle Drug" to the public. This established penicillin as an antibiotic responsible for saving lives of millions of people. Even now, Penicillin remains an effective treatment for bacterial infections.
The Atomic Bomb
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| p.c - History.com |
We all are well aware of the fact that atomic bomb shaped the outcome of World War II. This also started a competition between countries, mainly united states and soviet union to hold as many as possible nuclear weapons. This led to a rapid development in the nuclear technology and from there comes a new era of science and technology which make it possible for the first man to set its foot on moon.
Whether it is microwave or space exploration program, the technological innovations of World War II forever changed the role of technology in our day to day life.
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