Inventions & Discoveries
Key Concepts & Formulas
| # | Concept | Quick Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) | Steam engine (James Watt, 1769) → mechanised textile, coal/iron boom. |
| 2 | Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914) | Electricity, internal-combustion engine, steel (Bessemer), telegraph/telephone. |
| 3 | Third (Digital) Revolution (1960s) | Microchip (Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce, 1958-59), ARPANET → Internet (1969). |
| 4 | Nobel Rule-of-Thumb | Physics → breakthrough devices; Chemistry → new materials/processes; Medicine → vaccines/antibiotics. |
| 5 | Country-Owner Trick | Penicillin (UK), Television (Scotland), Diesel engine (Germany), Zipper (USA), X-ray (Germany). |
| 6 | Decade Memory Grid | 00s-Wright Bros flight; 10s-TV; 20s-Penicillin; 30s-Jet engine; 40s-Computer/Transistor; 50s-Solar cell; 60s-Laser; 70s-Microprocessor; 80s-World-Wide-Web idea; 90s- SMS texting. |
| 7 | Discovery vs Invention | Discovery = found existing (X-ray, radium); Invention = created new (telephone, dynamite). |
10 Practice MCQs
1. Who invented the safety pin in 1849?
**Options:** A) Elias Howe B) Walter Hunt C) George Eastman D) Isaac Singer **Answer:** B) Walter Hunt **Solution:** Hunt patented the modern safety pin while trying to pay off a $15 debt. **Shortcut tip:** “Safety first – Hunt for safety.” **Concept tag:** Everyday inventions – 19th-century USA.2. The first successful polio vaccine (Salk) was introduced in which year?
**Options:** A) 1948 B) 1952 C) 1955 D) 1961 **Answer:** C) 1955 **Solution:** Large-scale trials declared 80-90 % efficacy on 12 Apr 1955. **Shortcut tip:** “Salk = 55 (both have double-5).” **Concept tag:** Medical milestones.3. Match the invention to the inventor: 1. Dynamo 2. Revolver 3. Barbed wire
**Options:** A) 1-Faraday 2-Colt 3-Glidden B) 1-Watt 2-Smith 3-Singer C) 1-Edison 2-Browning 3-Tesla D) 1-Oersted 2-Wesson 3-Howe **Answer:** A) 1-Faraday 2-Colt 3-Glidden **Solution:** Michael Faraday (1831), Samuel Colt (1836), Joseph Glidden (1873). **Shortcut tip:** “FCG – First Class Grade.” **Concept tag:** 19th-century hardware.4. Which country is associated with the invention of ‘Diesel’ engine?
**Options:** A) France B) Germany C) Sweden D) USA **Answer:** B) Germany **Solution:** Rudolf Diesel, patented in 1892 in Munich. **Shortcut tip:** “Diesel sounds German; Mercedes uses it.” **Concept tag:** Power engines.5. The World Wide Web was first publicly demonstrated at CERN in—
**Options:** A) 1989 B) 1991 C) 1993 D) 1995 **Answer:** B) 1991 **Solution:** Tim Berners-Lee posted the first web page in Aug 1991. **Shortcut tip:** “WWW has 3 W’s; 1991 has 1 & 9 → 1+9+1=11, like twin towers.” **Concept tag:** Digital revolution.6. Who discovered the phenomenon of radio-activity?
**Options:** A) Marie Curie B) Henri Becquerel C) Rutherford D) Einstein **Answer:** B) Henri Becquerel **Solution:** 1896, uranium salts fogged photographic plates. **Shortcut tip:** “Becquerel = ‘Be first’.” **Concept tag:** Nuclear physics.7. India’s first indigenous satellite, Aryabhata, was launched in—
**Options:** A) 1969 B) 1975 C) 1979 D) 1981 **Answer:** B) 1975 **Solution:** Launched by USSR’s Kosmos-3M rocket on 19 Apr 1975. **Shortcut tip:** “75 = India’s 25th year of independence + 50.” **Concept tag:** Indian Space.8. The ‘Black box’ flight recorder was invented by—
**Options:** A) USA B) Australia C) UK D) Canada **Answer:** B) Australia **Solution:** Dr David Warren, 1953, Melbourne. **Shortcut tip:** “Black box → Aussie ‘black’ box jellyfish country.” **Concept tag:** Aviation safety.9. Which company released the first commercial digital camera (0.01 MP) in 1991?
**Options:** A) Kodak B) Nikon C) Canon D) Sony **Answer:** A) Kodak **Solution:** Kodak DCS-100, priced $20 k. **Shortcut tip:** “Kodak moment → first moment.” **Concept tag:** Imaging tech.10. ‘Bakelite’, the first fully synthetic plastic, was invented by—
**Options:** A) Wallace Carothers B) Leo Baekeland C) Hermann Staudinger D) Alexander Parkes **Answer:** B) Leo Baekeland **Solution:** 1907, USA; patent filed Dec 1909. **Shortcut tip:** “Baekeland → Bake-lite.” **Concept tag:** Materials science.5 Previous Year Questions
[RRB NTPC 2021] Who is credited with inventing the lift/elevator safety brake?
**Options:** A) Elisha Otis B) Werner von Siemens C) Thomas Alva Edison D) George Westinghouse **Answer:** A) Elisha Otis **Solution:** 1852 safety brake demonstration made passenger elevators viable. **Shortcut tip:** “OTIS lifts still carry his name.”[RRB JE 2019] Match: A. Dynamo B. Electric bulb C. Steam engine
**Options:** A) 1-Watt 2-Edison 3-Faraday B) 1-Faraday 2-Edison 3-Watt C) 1-Edison 2-Watt 3-Faraday D) 1-Watt 2-Faraday 3-Edison **Answer:** B) 1-Faraday 2-Edison 3-Watt **Solution:** Basic GK triad. **Shortcut tip:** “F-E-W → FEW people changed the world.”[RRB Group-D 2018] X-ray was discovered by—
**Options:** A) Becquerel B) Roentgen C) Thomson D) Rutherford **Answer:** B) Roentgen **Solution:** 8 Nov 1895, Würzburg, Germany. **Shortcut tip:** “X looks like R (Roentgen) rotated.”[RRB ALP 2018] India’s first nuclear reactor ‘Apsara’ went critical in—
**Options:** A) 1956 B) 1958 C) 1960 D) 1962 **Answer:** A) 1956 **Solution:** 4 Aug 1956, BARC Trombay. **Shortcut tip:** “56 = 5+6 = 11, like 1+1 first reactor.”[RRB NTPC 2016] Which invention is associated with Guglielmo Marconi?
**Options:** A) Telephone B) Telegraph C) Radio telegraphy D) Television **Answer:** C) Radio telegraphy **Solution:** First trans-Atlantic wireless signal 1901. **Shortcut tip:** “Mar-cone-i → coned the radio waves.”Speed Tricks & Shortcuts
| Situation | Shortcut | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Need country of inventor | “-el / -en” endings often German (Diesel, Roentgen, Otto) | Diesel → Germany |
| Decade confusion | Add 30 to year of major event → invention usually 10-20 yrs earlier | Wright flight 1903 → engine tech 1880s |
| Two-name confusion (Kilby/Noyce) | Kilby (TI) = 1958 IC prototype; Noyce (Fairchild) = 1959 planar IC → both = Silicon Valley | Answer both names if option says “integrated circuit” |
| Alphabet pairing | C-Curie (radioactivity), B-Becquerel, R-Roentgen (X-ray) | Remember “B-C-R” sequence |
| Indian space vs nuclear | Space = SLV-3 (1980), ASLV (1987), PSLV (1993); Nuclear = 1956 Apsara, 1974 Pokhran-I | 80s = Space, 70s = Bomb |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Why Students Make It | Correct Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Confusing Discovery vs Invention | “Radioactivity” sounds invented | Discovery = natural phenomenon (Becquerel); Invention = man-made device (Geiger counter) |
| Switching Wright Bros & Louis Bleriot | Both “first flight” headlines | Wright Bros = 1903 first powered; Bleriot = 1909 first cross-Channel |
| Saying Edison invented light “bulb” outright | Forgot Swan’s prior work | Edison = commercially viable carbon filament & vacuum, 1879 |
| Writing Marconi invented “radio” fully | Forgot prior work by Tesla & Bose | Credit Marconi for first practical wireless telegraphy, 1896 patent |
Quick Revision Flashcards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Steam engine (improved) | James Watt, 1769 |
| Dynamite | Alfred Nobel, 1867 |
| Penicillin (drug) | Alexander Fleming, 1928 |
| Jet engine (1st patent) | Frank Whittle, 1930 |
| Transistor | Bardeen, Brattain, Shockley, 1947 |
| Laser | Townes & Schawlow, 1960 |
| WWW | Tim Berners-Lee, 1991 |
| SMS (first sent) | Neil Papworth, UK, Dec 1992 |
| USB standard released | Intel-Ajay Bhatt, 1996 |
| CRISPR gene editing | Doudna & Charpentier, 2012 |
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