At times, while waiting for quantum computers to become ubiquitous, or wondering what happened to flying cars, it ‘s easy to forget how far technology has come over the last 50 years. .
Yes, we can all list inventions that have changed the way the world works – the internet, smartphones, radio telescopes – but sometimes it’s hard to put that kind of change into reality.
To our delight, however, pictures often speak louder than words. Below are a handful of photos that might just stop you and thank the scientists and engineers who got us to where we are today.
Since you live in a world where you get your food delivered, revive the entire history of the Earth, and discovering all the new grains using a machine in your pocket can be very good.
8. Where are my empty tubes? I was promised empty tubes!
(Toresbe / Wikimedia)
This is the PDP-7 minicoputer, manufactured by the Digital Equipment Corporation back in 1965. At the time, it was considered extremely powerful, and cost $ 72,000 relatively cheaply. It had a memory of 9 kb, but it could increase to 144 kb.
7. Bill, that’s pretty cool, but in 2014, one researcher put 1,000 terabytes on a CD.
(Louie Psihoyos)
Speaking of which, remember when we all used floppy disks?
6. “One minute” has a very different meaning these days.
(Statista)
On the one hand, it’s no surprise that time is passing so fast these days. On the other hand, 2020 was still somehow coming to an end …
5. Fact: The computer that landed Apollo 11 on the Moon had less processing power than the TI-83 calculator.
(NASA)
Seriously, the Apollo engineers did a commendable job with their limited technology.
4. Speaking of place, we see things a lot clearer now.
(Science Journal)
And if it is elegant Solar Solar crisp pictures still not enough, 2021 has arrived with the first ever video of a Mars rover landing! Whoahh.
3. 1993 vs 2013 – all this, in one device.
(ImTheGuyWhoLoveGems / Reddit)
Not to mention that the iPhone 12 Pro now has LIDAR. LIDAR! That’s the technology they use to find ancient ruins.
2. And things have gotten a lot smaller, too.
Even the future of space travel is small.
1. And this happened in just 9 years …
(hombredeoso92 / Reddit)
Next step: DNA storage.
Bonus round: a quick note on diversity …
We still have a long way to go, but in 1946, these six women were written out of tech history.
Here’s how engineering is now:
A draft of this article was first published in May 2016.