Penicillin

The invention: The first successful and widely used antibiotic
drug, penicillin has been called the twentieth century’s greatest
“wonder drug.”
The people behind the invention:
Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), a Scottish bacteriologist,
cowinner of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Baron Florey (1898-1968), an Australian pathologist, cowinner
of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Ernst Boris Chain (1906-1979), an émigré German biochemist,
cowinner of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Search for the Perfect Antibiotic
During the early twentieth century, scientists

Pap test

The invention: A cytologic technique the diagnosing uterine cancer,
the second most common fatal cancer in American women.
The people behind the invention:
George N. Papanicolaou (1883-1962), a Greek-born American
physician and anatomist
Charles Stockard (1879-1939), an American anatomist
Herbert Traut (1894-1972), an American gynecologist
Cancer in History
Cancer, first named by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates
of Cos, is one of the most painful and dreaded forms of human disease.
It occurs when body cells run wild and interfere with the normal
activities of the body. The early diagnosis of cancer is extremely
important because early detection often makes it possible to effect
successful cures. The modern detection of cancer is usually done by
the microscopic examination of the cancer cells, using the techniques
of the area of biology called “cytology, ” or cell biology.
Development of cancer cytology began in 1867, after L. S. Beale
reported tumor cells in the saliva from

Pacemaker

The invention: 

A small device using transistor circuitry that regulates
the heartbeat of the patient in whom it is surgically emplaced.

The people behind the invention:

Ake Senning (1915- ), a Swedish physician
Rune Elmquist, co-inventor of the first pacemaker
Paul Maurice Zoll (1911- ), an American cardiologist

Orlon

The invention: A synthetic fiber made from polyacrylonitrile that
has become widely used in textiles and in the preparation of
high-strength carbon fibers.
The people behind the invention:
Herbert Rein (1899-1955), a German chemist
Ray C. Houtz (1907- ), an American chemist
A Difficult Plastic
“Polymers” are large molecules that are made up of chains of
many smaller molecules, called “monomers.” Materials that are
made of polymers are also called polymers,

Optical disk

The invention:Anonmagnetic storage medium for computers that
can hold much greater quantities of data than similar size magnetic
media, such as hard and floppy disks.
The people behind the invention:
Klaas Compaan, a Dutch physicist
Piet Kramer, head of Philips’ optical research laboratory
Lou F. Ottens, director of product development for Philips’
musical equipment division
George T. de Kruiff, manager of Philips’ audio-product
development department
Joop Sinjou, a Philips project leader
Holograms Can Be Copied Inexpensively
Holography is a lensless photographic method that uses laser
light to produce three-dimensional images. This is done by splitting
a laser beam into two beams. One of the beams

Oil-well drill bit

The invention: Arotary cone drill bit that enabled oil-well drillers
to penetrate hard rock formations.
The people behind the invention:
Howard R. Hughes (1869-1924), an American lawyer, drilling
engineer, and inventor
Walter B. Sharp (1860-1912), an American drilling engineer,
inventor, and partner to Hughes
Digging for Oil
Arotary drill rig of the 1990’s is basically unchanged in its essential
components from its earlier versions of the 1900’s. A drill bit is
attached to a line of hollow drill pipe. The latter passes through a
hole on a rotary table, which acts essentially as a horizontal gear
wheel and is driven by an engine. As the rotary table turns, so do the
pipe and drill bit.
During drilling operations, mud-laden water is pumped under
high pressure down the sides of the drill pipe and jets out with great
force through the small holes

Nylon

The invention: A resilient, high-strength polymer with applications

ranging from women’s hose to safety nets used in space flights.

The people behind the invention:Wallace Hume Carothers (1896-1937),

an American organic chemist Charles M. A. Stine (1882-1954), an American chemist

and director of chemical research at Du Pont Elmer Keiser Bolton (1886-1968),

an American industrial chemist Pure Research In the twentieth century,

American corporations created industrial research laboratories.

Their directors became the organizers of inventions,

and their scientists served as the sources of creativity.

The research program of

Nuclear reactor

The invention: 

The first nuclear reactor to produce substantial
quantities of plutonium, making it practical to produce usable
amounts of energy from a chain reaction.

The people behind the invention:

Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), an American physicist
Martin D. Whitaker (1902-1960), the first director of Oak Ridge
National Laboratory
Eugene Paul Wigner (1902-1995), the director of research and
development at Oak Ridge

Nuclear power plant

The invention: 

The first full-scale commercial nuclear power plant, which gave birth to the nuclear power industry.  



The people behind the invention:

Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), an Italian American physicist who
won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics
Otto Hahn (1879-1968), a German physical chemist who won the
1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Lise Meitner (1878-1968), an Austrian Swedish physicist
Hyman G. Rickover (1898-1986), a Polish American naval officer

Nuclear magnetic resonance

The invention: 

Procedure that uses hydrogen atoms in the human
body, strong electromagnets, radio waves, and detection equipment
to produce images of sections of the brain.

The people behind the invention:

Raymond Damadian (1936- ), an American physicist and
inventor
Paul C. Lauterbur (1929- ), an American chemist
Peter Mansfield (1933- ), a scientist at the University of
Nottingham, England