Test: Inventions - UPSC MCQ

Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone. He was an inventor, scientist, and teacher of the deaf. Bell's work on the telephone was influenced by his research on telegraphy and speech. On March 10, 1876, Bell successfully transmitted the first intelligible telephone message to his assistant, Thomas Watson.

Alexander Fleming is credited with the discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic. In 1928, Fleming observed that a mold called Penicillium notatum produced a substance that killed bacteria. This accidental discovery led to the development of penicillin as a powerful antibiotic that revolutionized medicine.

Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the practical incandescent light bulb. Although there were previous inventors who developed early versions of electric lighting, Edison's design was the first commercially successful and long-lasting light bulb. He patented his invention in 1879.

Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity. His groundbreaking work on special relativity (1905) and general relativity (1915) revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and gravity. Einstein's theory of relativity introduced the famous equation E=mc², which relates mass and energy.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, are known for inventing and building the world's first successful airplane. On December 17, 1903, they achieved the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered aircraft in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

James Watson and Francis Crick, along with Maurice Wilkins, are credited with the discovery of the structure of DNA. In 1953, Watson and Crick proposed the double helix structure of DNA, which explained how genetic information is stored and transmitted in living organisms.

Tim Berners-Lee is credited with inventing the World Wide Web (WWW). In 1989, while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory, Berners-Lee developed the foundational technologies and protocols that allowed for the creation of the web as we know it today.

Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa mountaineer from Nepal, were the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. They successfully climbed the world's highest peak as part of the British expedition led by John Hunt.

Isaac Newton is associated with the discovery of gravity. His law of universal gravitation, published in 1687, described the force of gravity and its effect on objects. Newton's work laid the foundation for understanding the motion of celestial bodies and the laws governing the physical universe.

James Watt is credited with significant improvements to the steam engine, making it more efficient and practical for various applications. Although steam engines were developed earlier by other inventors, Watt's contributions, including the separate condenser and rotary motion mechanisms, greatly enhanced their efficiency and usefulness.

Neil Armstrong, an American astronaut, was the first person to walk on the moon. On July 20, 1969, as part of NASA's Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong took the historic "giant leap for mankind" and became the first human to set foot on the lunar surface.

Isaac Newton is known for discovering the laws of motion. His three laws of motion, published in his work "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" in 1687, describe the relationship between forces acting on objects and their resulting motion. Newton's laws form the foundation of classical mechanics.

Charles Darwin is credited with the discovery of the theory of evolution. In his book "On the Origin of Species" published in 1859, Darwin proposed the concept of natural selection, which explained how species evolve and adapt to their environments over time.

Johannes Gutenberg is credited with inventing the printing press. In the 15th century, Gutenberg developed a movable type printing press that revolutionized the production of books. His invention enabled the mass production of printed materials and significantly contributed to the spread of knowledge and the Renaissance.

Jonas Salk is credited with the discovery of the polio vaccine. In the early 1950s, Salk developed a killed-virus vaccine for polio, which effectively prevented the disease. His work played a crucial role in the eventual eradication of polio in many parts of the world.

The invention of the electric telegraph is associated with Samuel Morse. In the 1830s, Morse developed a practical system of telegraphy that used electrical signals to transmit messages over long distances. He also invented Morse code, a series of dots and dashes used to represent letters and numbers in telegraph communication.

Guglielmo Marconi is credited with the invention of the radio. In the late 19th century, Marconi developed and demonstrated the first practical system of wireless telegraphy, which eventually led to the development of radio broadcasting and communication.

Isaac Newton is attributed with the discovery of the law of gravitation. His law of universal gravitation explains the force of gravity between objects and is one of the fundamental laws of physics.

Charles Babbage is credited with the invention of the computer. Although Babbage's designs for mechanical computers were not fully realized during his lifetime, his analytical engine concept laid the foundation for modern computer architecture and programming.

Alexander Fleming is credited with the discovery of penicillin. In 1928, while working at St. Mary's Hospital in London, Fleming made a serendipitous discovery. He noticed that a mold called Penicillium notatum had contaminated a petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria he was studying. To his surprise, he observed that the bacteria near the mold had been killed, while those further away continued to grow.

Recognizing the significance of this observation, Fleming conducted further experiments to isolate and identify the substance produced by the mold. He named it penicillin and recognized its potential as an antibacterial agent.

Although Fleming's initial discovery was important, it was not until the 1940s that penicillin was further developed and produced on a large scale for medical use. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, along with their team at the University of Oxford, played a crucial role in purifying and testing penicillin, leading to its successful mass production and clinical use as the first widely available antibiotic.

Fleming's discovery of penicillin revolutionized the field of medicine by providing an effective treatment for bacterial infections and paving the way for the development of numerous other antibiotics. His work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945, shared with Florey and Chain.