The aspirin

The aspirin is the most known drug and the most used in the world. It is a cheap, safe and effective pill.

The aspirin was discovered by Felix Hoffmann, who was a scientist, in 1897 when he discovered acetylsalicylic acid because he wanted to find some medication for his father.

• Properties:
  

1. Analgesic: this pill can do disappear headache, toothache, muscle ache...
   


2. Antipyretic: It can do reduce temperature.


3. Anti-inflammatory.


4. Anti-rheumatic: It is use for fight with some acute and chronic diseases.
   

• New possibilities:
  

1. Anti-cancerous: The aspirin can reduce the risk of cancer.
   


2. Cerebral protector: This pill can protect neurons.
   


3. Anti-cataract: The prevention of cataract in old people.

The telephone

The need for remote communication is as old as man. The invention of the telephone created a world without distances.

The reason of this revolution is Alexander Graham Bell, who in 1876 invented the telephone.

He was born in Scotland, he received his doctorate in medicine and he taught himself to speak well to people with problems with hearing. In one of his experiences noted that, when speaking in front of a thin layer of metal, it vibrated in a way very similar to the voice. By placing the membrane around an electromagnet, the electric flux could repeat what you had said, and could be transmitted by an electric cable.

And he managed to transmit the first sentence of the story told by telephone, which said:

"Mr. Watson, come here, I need you help".

The first plants could accommodate a few subscribers. The terminal operator entered the cable from the caller to contact with someone, the one hand, and the contact that is called in another.

The phone has evolved until the current mobile phones. At first there were phones only in places specialized, then they came to the houses and now they can be transported where you want.
Scientists are still investigating and no one knows what the future holds.

Assisted reproduction

-Artificial insemination:

Artificial insemination technique is a painless, outpatient and simple technique which consists in the introduction of male sperm into the uterus of women with a cannula.

More information here

-In vitro fertilization (IVF):

Fertilization of egg and sperm is produced in the laboratory. Then, this fertilized egg is transferred to the maternal uterus.

More information here

-Intracytoplasmic sperm injection:

Only sperm is injected into the egg cytoplasm with the help of a microscope and a micropipette.

More information here

Multiple fertilization:

It's the main complication of IVF.

In the UK, almost 50% of babies born by IVF didn't come alone, in the US, 32% were twins and 7% were triplets.

Spanish first test tube baby: Victoria Ana was born in Spain, in Barcelona Clinic Dexeus, in 1984.

By Olga Caballer :)

Quartz Clocks

Clocks are instrument that measure the time. A watch a mechanism that oscillates at a constant rate, either a pendulum, a spring or a crystal. The search for accuracy and less weight was a constant in the job of Watchmakers. If we discard the atomic clocks and timers, the quartz watches were an accurate revolution on a ancient technology.

Warren Alvison Marrison, a Canadian watchmaker, was its inventor, in 1929 in the USA.

The quartz clock was preceded by many other watches, such as the hourglass of the Middle Ages, the water clock or clepsydra used until the Middle Ages, a sundial used by the Egyptians before 1500 BC and the mechanical clock that appears in Europe in 1300. And, of course, pocket watches and wristwatches that appeared in 1504, but they are seen as luxury until in 1868 he invented the first winding watch.

Quartz watches include the famous Swatch (watches which are very simple and cheap with no possibility of repair and much used by individuals and companies as promotion at the time), Japanese watches (such as Citizen, Seiko, Casio) that feature high precision and low prices and finally the Swiss watchmakers , who are always devoted to luxury watches.

As a curiosity, quartz electric clocks, run by a temporary display by exploiting the piezoelectric property of quartz, by applying an electric field equal to the self oscillation of the crystal, 60 kHz, it oscillates with the same frequency so regular that in turn, stabilizes the alternating current, which moves the hands of a clock analog or electrodes segments that show the numbers on digital clocks

Quartz Watches

And finally I think that my favourite brand watches is Tissot

Television

Life had never been as it is now, and it never will be the same as it was....

Many inventions have taken several centuries to develop into their modern forms. Each invention may be just one small step on the road to the ultimate goal.

The television was a really big revolution in the communications of that time. This world has become smaller because of the ability to be everywhere that something happens, and its power in society is so strong that it says what is in fashion and what you have to say or think to millions of television viewers. What is more: our free time can’t be thought of without television.

No one can grant, in the topic of the television, who was the inventor of this gadget but we can talk about the people who intervened in this invention:

One of them was Paul Nipkow, who patented in 1884 a system to break down the light in different little points. After ten year the cathode rays were invented by Ferdinand Braum.

The first American star of the television was Félix cat. His adventures were looked in 1928 in all TV shows.

The fist play that was shown on television was “The man with the flower in the mouth” by Pirandello, in 1930.

The first program broadcast on the international television was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

1949 was the year in which the shadow mask tube was developed. It is the beginning of the television with colours. The television broke borders when it started to use satellites of communication to send and receive pictures transoceanic. Finally in 1969 the pictures with the arriving of the man to the moon were seen live on televisions of all over the world.

All the rest we already know. Television has become so much better, with better screens and better quality and colours, and it has become so small that we can look at this in a common mobile phone but it has become so big too that we can look at this as if we were in the cinema watching a film.

At the moment almost everybody has a minimum of one or two high definition television at home. But I sometimes think about what it would happen if we were our parents when they were 5 or 6 years old, most of them didn’t have this gadget… Maybe they were happier than us now…maybe not.

Personally I'm not sure about if it has been the most appropriated invention or the worst substitute to the innocence of the children.

For curious people here you have a link: TELEVISION

By Teresa R. B.

THE RADIO

The radio is a communication method that sends sound signals by radio waves.

It’s really hard to claim this invention to only one person, but officially it is claimed to Guglielmo Marconi, a Bologna (Italy) physicist who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries.
All radios have an electric circuit than can separate a few current from the antenna and send it to the loudspeaker. I’ve found a diagram about how the radio works.
Radio signals travel by four types of waves:- In 1901 Marconi made the first radio emission, he sent “S” letter in Morse code.
- High frequency waves travel short distances. (They are used in villages).

- Long waves travel to 2.000 km around. (They are used by national radio stations)

- Medium waves can travel around a hundred km. (they are used by national and local radio stations).

- Short waves can travel thousands of km. (they are used by international radio stations).

HISTORY

- In 1924, Radio Barcelona is created, the first Spanish transmitter.

- In 1932, Edwin Armstrong invents frequency modulation that minimizes interferences.

- 1961, the first stereo sounds are emitted in the USA.

- 1988, first car with radio.

Today. radios are used for listening to the news, music or other programs. Everybody has one, on our mobile phone, Mp3 or in our cars. But in the past it was really hard to have a radio.

The toothbrush

The toothbrush was first introduced in Europe in the seventeenth century.
The first brushes had a wood handle and natural bristles, then they were replaced by plastic.
When the colour of the cell means there is going to change it. ?????
The toothpaste is essential for hygiene. the bleach Centrif help against discolouration of the teeth.
???to maintain strong healthy teeth and oral hygiene is essential to achieve proper teeth should be washed 2 to 3 minutes and do it gently, in circular motions around the mouth. you can also use the electric toothbrush that is recharged with a battery and more or less weight is 120 to 150 grams. white teeth do not exist, there are people who have more clear than others, for that reason the function of the brush is not whiten but cleaned.

Photography

A combination between chemistry and optics, trying to get more clear images gave place to photography.

Nicèphore Niepce took the first photograph known. We can see it here -->

In the 60s and 70s there was a new configuration in cameras, at that time, they were adapted to all types of light, they added new functions.
In the beginning cameras used to weigh 50 kilos, so they weren't portable.The first portable camera was named Kodak.

Fuji invented disposable(you use them and when you finish using them, you throw them away) cameras, In 1986

In 1981 the first digital camera appeared, it was goodbye to old films. Now all the images were saved in pendrives, Dvd's or hard disk.

Nowadays, everybody has a camera and it is very common to see people taking lots of pictures everyday, mainly Japanese people when they come to Spain, as they love our culture.

Fountain pens and ballpoint pen.

THE FOUNTAIN PENS

The fountain pens appeared as an evolution from the ancient feathers that people used to write with. Before Waterman invented the fountain pen, a nib was incorporated to feathers but it could only retain a few drops of ink, so it was necessary to refill the feather in the inkpot. As well as the spots were frequent, the nibs broke easily.

It isn't clear who the inventor of the fountain pens is, but Waterman presented his fountain pen model in 1884 and it has been considered the first modern fountain pen because it included the capillarity principle. This principle says the water can advance through tiny grooves if it is in contact with all their walls.

(The Waterman's pen design)

In the modern models we insert the ink in a small tank. The air enters in the tank through a small hole in the nib, it prevents the vacuum when the ink leaves the fountain pen and then we can write.

(A nib with the hole through the air enters)

Nowadays we can find three kind of nibs with different forms according to the broadness we want to write, so we can find nibs type F (fine), M (medium) or B (broad). There is a special nib for calligraphy too, it has an angular tip to do special strokes.

Today there are many fountain pen models in honour of great historical personalities or facts.

Waterman, Parker or Montblanc are some of the most important fountain pens brands.

THE BALLPOINT PENS

The ballpoint pens were designed by the Biro brothers, they were called Laszlo and Geor.

They changed the fountain pens, they introduced a point with a small ball in 1919. This ball was situated at the end of the tank of ink and it permitted the ink to leave while the air enters when it turns. It is the most important difference with the fountain pens.

The pointball pens imposed over the fountain pens for their regularity to apply ink, the manufacturing cost and security.

(Biro's patent)

(Biro's ballpoint pen)

THE PLANE

The plane is the means of transport with fewer accidents and much faster than any other medium. The first flight led and driven over a device heavier than air was conducted in North Carolina in 1903 by the Wright brothers.

How to pilot it? The pilot controls the aircraft through the fins. Using foot pedals, the pilot moves the rudder, which turns the plane left or right. When pulled if the steering wheel moves up and when he pushes down. For most of the flight, modern aircraft are directed to the autopilot.

Take off and landing:These two manoeuvres are the most dangerous, because the slow, also decreases the lift. When the wheels touch the ground, there eliminate buoyancy to rise as the air brakes that increase air resistance. The plane experienced a sudden halt when the engines first expel the exhaust gases forward, contrary to what they do in flight, which slows down. When this has been made ​​smaller, the pilot activates the wheel brakes.

How do you hold? The plane is sustained by the great speed of travel and the profile of wings that are curved above and flat below. A plane can not stand still for what the off needs to speed up the lifting force created by the pressure difference is greater than its weight.

Finally, we are making plans to develop new aircraft capable of travelling routes as Paris-Tokyo in Pocoma as three hours. They are hypersonic aircraft that travel at speeds above Mach 5 and up to 25 Mach speed at which one could go around the world in less than an hour.

The electric bulb

In the middle of the 19th century, the candles, oil or gas lamps and the fire from fireplaces were the only light sources in homes. The smoke, soot, and the gas expulsion put the health of people in danger. But this situation would change when the bulbs appeared. The inventor of the electric bulb was Thomas Alva edison, who made it possible that the filament of the bulb didn't melt with the help of a carbonized cotton string. But the bulbs didn't work without electricity, although Thomas solved this problem by creating an electricity-central with steam engines in New York, the first central that got the street lighting in 1882.
There are a lot of types of bulbs:

• Incandescent bulbs: They are the common bulbs. The light is produced when the electricity passes through the filament.

• Halogen bulbs: The incandescent conventional bulbs lose the light because the tungsten filament evaporates, but this type of bulbs are more durable than the others and with them is possible to consume less with clearer and brighter light.

• Bulbs with low consumption: They are an adaptation of the fluorescent tubes. They produce white light and cold, so the consumption is less than incandescent bulbs.

• Fluorescent tubes: these lamps have a tube form with mercury vapor inside. As they aren´t heat, they don´t lost energy, and consume less than incandescent bulbs.These were used for the first time in NY World's Fair in 1939.

• Neon lights: they were introduced in 1910 by the french chemist Geogers Claude. Consist in a tube, with neon gas inside and they emit a light tinted. They are used in advertising.

And finally one important question: Why do bulbs burn? Because the metal of the filament evaporates with the use, and then the filament breaks.