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Who Invented Telephone? | Invention of Telephone | The Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz

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A telephone, also known as a phone, is a communication tool. Originally it was an electric tool transmitting analogue speech along wires. Now it is an electronic tool sending digital signals on wires or radio transmission. Using a telephone, two people who are in different places can talk to each other. Early telephones needed to be connected with wires which are called fixed or landline telephones. Modern mobile phones use radio waves.

Alexander Graham Bell was the first person to patent the telephone, in 1876. Early telephones were wired directly to each other and could only talk to the phone that they were connected to. Later, telephone exchanges allowed connecting to other telephones. During the 20th century the machines that made the connections were automated.

Types of telephones

There are many different types of telephone. A telephone that can be carried around is called a mobile phone or cell phone. These became popular in the late 1980s. It has become common for people to carry mobile phones and in some places it is unusual to not have one. The majority are smartphones, which can be used as computers. Some mobile phones are able to make telephone calls using communications satellites instead of masts on the ground, which means people can make calls from anywhere in the world.

In most countries there are public payphones. To use one, people pay with coins, a credit card or a prepaid card.

Computers can use a machine called a modem or a Digital subscriber line router to talk to other computers over a telephone line. This allows a computer to connect to other computer networks including the Internet.

Most countries have a telephone network. The telephones in one place are connected to a telephone exchange. The exchanges are connected together in a world-wide network. In less developed countries cell phones are used as a cheaper and faster way to connect the countryside to the network.

Telephone number

Most telephones have their own number. Today, telephone numbers are about seven to ten digits long. In many countries, part of the telephone number is called the area code. Area codes are used to make sure the numbers are not the same in two different places. Areas have their own area code, and countries have their own country code.

By the end of 2009, there were a total of nearly 6 billion mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers worldwide. This included 1.26 billion fixed-line subscribers and 4.6 billion mobile subscribers.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Teléfono para niños

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The telephone is a very common device for communicating over a distance. With a telephone, a person can talk almost instantly with someone on the other side of the world....

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How do you think people communicated using this?

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What do you think this was used for? How was it used? What is the purpose of each part?

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What do you notice about this telephone? How has it change from the original telephone? Describe this telephone to the group.

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The History of Automobile for kids | automobile | cars | learning vides for kids

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The surprisingly long history of electric cars - Daniel Sperling and Gil Tal

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Kidobotica: The Educational Encyclopedia for Kids

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How Cars Were Invented 🚗 | Car History for Kids | From Steam to Electric Vehicles!

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Toys Past And Present  | KS1 Year 1 History STEM Summer Camp

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Who Invented Computers? | COLOSSAL QUESTIONS

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Invention of Television | Who Invented The First TV? | Evolution of Television | The Dr. Binocs Show

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How do you think this worked? How is this the same or different compared with televisions today?

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How do you think this was controlled? What do you think the images were like?

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What does this image tell you about televisions in the past? How has this changed from the very first television? What changes were made to this television to make a television today?

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Identify similarities and difference between TV's from the past and TV's today.

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Invention of Television | Evolution of Television | Who Invented First TV? | Television's History

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What major changes have there been to the telephone? What are the similarities and differences? Over what period of time has the phone evolved?

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How have cars developed over time? What technology has changed in cars since they were first made?

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Who made the first cars?

Beginning in the 1770s, many people tried to make cars that would run on steam. Some early steam cars worked well, and some did not. Some were fire pumpers that moved by themselves, and others were small locomotives with road wheels. Beginning in the 1880s, inventors tried very hard to make cars that would run well enough to use every day. These experimental cars ran on steam, gasoline, or electricity. By the 1890s, Europeans were buying and driving cars made by Benz, Daimler, Panhard, and others, and Americans were buying and driving cars made by Duryea, Haynes, Winton, and others. By 1905 gasoline cars were more popular than steam or electric cars because they were easier to use and could travel further without adding fuel. By 1910 gasoline cars became larger and more powerful, and some had folding tops to keep drivers and passengers out of the rain.

How did the first cars work?

A steam car burned fuel that heated water in a boiler. This process made steam that expanded and pushed pistons, which turned a crankshaft. An electric car had a battery that powered a small electric motor, which turned a drive shaft. A gasoline car ignited fuel that caused a small explosion inside each cylinder. This explosion pushed the piston and turned a crankshaft connected to the wheels by a chain or drive shaft.

Who drove the first cars?

In 1900 wealthy people bought cars for pleasure, comfort, and status. Many doctors bought small, affordable cars because they were more dependable than horses and easier to keep ready. Rural Americans liked cars because they could cover long distances without depending on trains. They carried produce to market, went to stores and movies in town, and even used their cars to plow fields. Families in towns and cities liked cars because they were handy for errands, going to the train station, visiting relatives, going to church, and going on drives in the country. A family's house with a car in the driveway has been a common sight since about 1910. Young people liked cars because they could go to movies, restaurants, and other fun places instead of staying at home with their parents.

Why do so many people use cars?

Cars are fast, comfortable, nice looking, and fun to drive. They can go almost anywhere, and they are always ready for use. In many ways, driving is easier than walking, biking, or riding in a train, bus, or airplane. But owning a car is a big responsibility. It takes a lot of money to buy one and keep it running, and drivers must be trained, licensed, and always alert to avoid mistakes and accidents. It takes a lot of space to park cars, and too many cars cause congestion on roads and in parking lots. Some car owners have returned to walking, biking, or riding a train or bus when it's more practical or convenient. For most Americans, cars are a favorite way to travel, but there will always be a need for other types of transportation.

What was different about the Ford Model T?

Ford Model T
Built near the end of the Model-T era, this Model-T roadster came off the assembly line in 1926. Courtesy of the National Museum of American History.

The Ford Model T, made between 1908 and 1927, cost less than other cars, but it was sturdy and practical. It ran well on dirt roads and fields because it could twist as it rolled over bumps. The Model T looked like an expensive car but actually was very simply equipped. From 1915 to 1925, it only came in black because black paint dried faster than other colors, making it possible to build and sell more Model Ts. For all of these reasons, more Model Ts were sold than any other type of car at the time-a total of just over 15 million. Farmers, factory workers, school teachers, and many other Americans changed from horses or trains to cars when they bought Model Ts.

Why do most cars today run on gasoline?

The gasoline engine has been reliable, practical, and fairly efficient since about 1900. It is easier to control than a steam engine and less likely to burn or explode. A gasoline car can go much further on a tank of gasoline than an electric car can go between battery charges. Gasoline engines have been improved by the use of computers, fuel injectors, and other devices. But growing concern about chemicals that gasoline engines release into the air (i.e., pollution) have led to new interest in clean, electric cars and cars that run on natural gas, a vapor that is different from gasoline.

How many cars are in the Smithsonian?

The Smithsonian Automobile Collection in the Division of Work and Industry at the National Musuem of American History contains around 80 full-size automobiles. The automobile collection attempts to include significant automotive milestones as cars changed from horseless carriages to an intrinsic part of American life. The Smithsonian has been collecting cars since 1899, and almost all of them have been given by people or businesses.

Where can I see more early cars in person and on the Web?

Some of the Smithsonian's cars are on loan to the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio, the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, New York, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing in York Springs, Pennsylvania. Major car museums not connected with the Smithsonian include the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, the Imperial Palace Collection in Las Vegas, Nevada and Biloxi, Mississippi, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana, and the Owl's Head Museum in Owl's Head, Maine.

Where else can I find out about cars on the Web?

A Brief History of The First 100 Years of the Automobile Industry in the United States: www.theautochannel.com/mania/industry.orig/history

Prepared by the Division of the History of Technology,
Transportation Collections, National Museum of American History,
in cooperation with Public Inquiry Services
TRA40 2/2000, revised 4/2001

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Early Cars: Fact Sheet for Children | Smithsonian Institution

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Who made the first cars? Beginning in the 1770s, many people tried to make cars that would run on steam. Some early steam cars worked well, and some did not.... Learn more

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The early history of the automobile can be divided into a number of eras, based on method of propulsion. Later periods were defined by trends in exterior styling, size, and utility preferences. The question of who invented the first automobile depends on how you define the words "automobile" and "invent". The history of the automobile is rich and varied. It goes back to Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century who created early designs and models of transportation vehicles.

Early pioneers

In 1807 François Isaac de Rivaz designed the first hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine. In 1813 he built a car 6 metres (20 ft) long and weighing over 1 metric ton (0.98 long tons; 1.1 short tons).

Between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson built the first electric-powered carriage in Scotland.

In 1864 Siegfried Marcus built the first gasoline powered internal combustion engine. In 1870 he placed it on a pushcart making it the first four wheeled gasoline-powered vehicle. He built four more combustion-engine cars over a 10-to-15-year span that influenced later cars. Marcus created the two-cycle combustion engine. The car's second version in 1880 introduced a four-cycle, gasoline-powered engine. It had an ingenious carburetor design, and magneto ignition. He created an additional two models further refining his design with steering, a clutch, and brakes. His second car is on display at the Technical Museum in Vienna. During his lifetime, he was honored as the originator of the motorcar. But his place in history was all but erased by the Nazis during World War II. Because Marcus was of Jewish descent, the Nazi propaganda office ordered his work to be destroyed, his name expunged from future textbooks, and his public memorials removed. They gave credit instead to Karl Benz.

In 1885-1886, Karl Benz developed a petrol- or gasoline-powered automobile. It was called the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. This is also considered to be the first "production" automobile.

In 1886, Gottlieb Daimler built the first four-wheeled, four-stroke engine called the "Cannstatt-Daimler."

In 1893, Charles Duryea and his brother J. Frank Duryea built the first successful gasoline-powered car with a two-stroke engine. The two brothers set up the first American car manufacturing company.

In 1895, George Baldwin Selden received the patent for the combined internal-combustion engine with a carriage. He never produced the vehicle and only seldom collected royalties for using his patent.

In 1908, Henry Ford began producing affordable, simple and reliable cars anyone could drive.

Evolution of the automobile

Invention era

This is the period starts with the car made by Karl Benz in 1885. There were earlier inventions that used mainly steam-power to move the vehicles but the Benz car was the first to use a gasoline powered internal combustion engine in what could be called an automobile. The period goes up to the start of the production of Henry Ford's Model T.

Manufacturing era

This period dates from 1908 to 1914 and the beginning of World War I. While earlier designs were more ornamental, vehicles from this period are simpler and more affordable. It is the time when hundreds of smaller automobile manufacturers were trying to compete for attention and sales. A number of improvements were developed during this time. These include the electric ignition system, four-wheel brakes and the independent suspension. Transmissions were adopted. Along with throttle controls, these allowed the vehicles to travel at a number of speeds depending on conditions.

Coachwork era

From about 1920 to 1930, car manufacturers began creating a closed body on the vehicle. This protected the driver and passengers from the weather. Vehicles began using curved glass and the new enclosed bodies gave a sense of privacy. Heaters were added for comfort. Many of the features of modern cars came from this period. These include four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, and hybrid electric vehicles. Safety glass protected those inside the car from sharp glass in cases of an accident. By the end of the 1920s cars were becoming faster and were showing a level of style and beauty.

Classic era

The classic era began about 1930 during the Great Depression and ended just before World War II. The Great Depression was a time when many in the United States were just trying to survive. But it is also the era of some of the most significant improvements to the automobile. Cars took on a great deal of style and sophistication. They became works of art in many cases.

Many new features were introduced during this era including the automatic transmission, the V-8, the V-12 and the V-16 engines. The gearshift lever moved to the steering column, hydraulic brakes were introduced for faster stopping and cars got trunks to carry luggage and cargo.

The car industry changed during the 1930s. It saw the rise of the Big Three automakers. These were General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler. They were able to successfully design and sell cars during the Great Depression when fewer people could afford a new car.

Integration period

In 1949, the automobile industry finally got back on its feet after World War II. This same year General Motors, Cadillac and Oldsmobile introduced the integrated one-piece automobile body. The process joined all the different parts of the body into one body shell. Cars produced during this period concentrated on safety. Cars were big during this time. But in the late 1960s carmakers tried to market much smaller cars. The attempts by General Motors, Chrysler and Ford were all marketing failures. Instead, what sold was the performance car. Cars like the Ford Mustang and the Plymouth Barracuda were very successful. During the late 1950s, many smaller countries began producing cars. Both India and Iran were making cars from about 1959. The first Indian car design from 1950 was very similar to the Opel Kapitän. The first Iranian cars were very similar to several American cars. Both were designed in the United Kingdom.

This period started about 1968 and continues to today. Body styles changed dramatically. The three most popular are the hatchback, the Minivan and the Sport utility vehicle (SUV). Starting in the Integration period, car manufacturers began designing cars for men while others are designed to attract women. The body shapes, colors and other cues are designed to appeal to a particular sex.

Today, women tend to prefer crossovers more than men. Examples are the Kia Sportage and the Honda CR-V. Men seem to prefer powerful cars like the Chevrolet Camaro and the GMC Sierra pickup truck. In car colors, men seem to prefer brighter colors while more women seem to prefer traditional neutral colors.

Related pages

Images for kids

German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, regarded as the first electric car of the world

In My Merry Oldsmobile songbook featuring an Oldsmobile Curved Dash automobile (produced 1901-1907) and period driving clothing

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History of the automobile Facts for Kids

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The early history of the automobile can be divided into a number of eras, based on method of propulsion. Later periods were defined by trends in exterior styling, size, and utility preferences. The question of who invented the first automobile depends on how you define the words "automobile" and "invent".

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Toys Large Display Poster A4. What are the main similarities and differences between toys in the past and toys now? What materials were used in the past compared with today? Why do you think there were changes in the materials used?

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Do you know how these toys were played with? What mechanisms do you see?

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How are toys played with today compared with in the past? What are the biggest differences with toys today? What is the main thing you notice?

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How has computing evolved over time? What do you think influenced computing?

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What do you think this computer was used for? Is it similar to computers today? Why?

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How has the computer evolved? Are they used the same today as in the past?

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It's a chilly, breezy day in December 1903. Wilbur Wright stands on the beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, staring at the sky above him. Soaring overhead in an airplane is his brother Orville-he's in the middle of the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane flight.

Today the Wright brothers are remembered as innovative engineers, and their history-making flight inspired generations of future fliers.

GROWING UP WRIGHT

The Wright brothers were interested in flying from a young age. As children in Dayton, Ohio, their favorite toy was a small helicopter-like object that was powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, the brothers hoped to one day build a flying machine big enough to hold them both.

As young men, the brothers went into business together, first operating a printing press, then a bicycle repair shop. Eventually the duo began selling their own custom-made bicycles to customers.

But the brothers never lost their love of flying. At the time, other aircrafts such as gliders-or aircrafts without engines-did exist, but the Wrights wanted to add more power to the objects they were flying. In 1899 the brothers began experimenting with building their own aircrafts.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

In 1900 the brothers traveled from Ohio to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to begin their flight experiments. The oceanside dunes at Kitty Hawk had regular breezes and soft, sandy landing surfaces-perfect for their studies.

The brothers first conducted tests with kites before experimenting with gliders. Both Orville and Wilbur separately piloted the gliders during their testing process.

In 1903 the brothers built an airplane called the Wright Flyer I, which featured wooden propellers the men had designed and carved themselves. The plane also had a gasoline engine.

After weeks of unsuccessful attempts, the craft-with extra fabric incorporated to increase the stiffness of the wings-took flight for 12 seconds on December 17, 1903, traveling 120 feet before landing. The plane worked! Both brothers flew the craft a few more times that day. They had flown the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane.

WINGS OF CHANGE

After their success in North Carolina, the Wright brothers continued to travel around the world, perfecting their craft and modifying their designs. But they did so much more, kicking off the era of modern aviation and inspiring future adventurers.

The decades following Kitty Hawk were filled with accomplishments in aviation, including the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first passenger flight. And, of course, flight didn't just stay in this world-a little over 65 years after the Wrights' famous first flight, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. The Wright brothers didn't just fly the first piloted engine-powered airplane-they created a whole new way for us to explore our world.

It's a chilly, breezy day in December 1903. Wilbur Wright stands on the beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, staring at the sky above him. Soaring overhead in an airplane is his brother Orville-he's in the middle of the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane flight.

Today the Wright brothers are remembered as innovative engineers, and their history-making flight inspired generations of future fliers.

GROWING UP WRIGHT

The Wright brothers were interested in flying from a young age. As children in Dayton, Ohio, their favorite toy was a small helicopter-like object that was powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, the brothers hoped to one day build a flying machine big enough to hold them both.

As young men, the brothers went into business together, first operating a printing press, then a bicycle repair shop. Eventually the duo began selling their own custom-made bicycles to customers.

But the brothers never lost their love of flying. At the time, other aircrafts such as gliders-or aircrafts without engines-did exist, but the Wrights wanted to add more power to the objects they were flying. In 1899 the brothers began experimenting with building their own aircrafts.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

In 1900 the brothers traveled from Ohio to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to begin their flight experiments. The oceanside dunes at Kitty Hawk had regular breezes and soft, sandy landing surfaces-perfect for their studies.

The brothers first conducted tests with kites before experimenting with gliders. Both Orville and Wilbur separately piloted the gliders during their testing process.

In 1903 the brothers built an airplane called the Wright Flyer I, which featured wooden propellers the men had designed and carved themselves. The plane also had a gasoline engine.

After weeks of unsuccessful attempts, the craft-with extra fabric incorporated to increase the stiffness of the wings-took flight for 12 seconds on December 17, 1903, traveling 120 feet before landing. The plane worked! Both brothers flew the craft a few more times that day. They had flown the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane.

WINGS OF CHANGE

After their success in North Carolina, the Wright brothers continued to travel around the world, perfecting their craft and modifying their designs. But they did so much more, kicking off the era of modern aviation and inspiring future adventurers.

The decades following Kitty Hawk were filled with accomplishments in aviation, including the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first passenger flight. And, of course, flight didn't just stay in this world-a little over 65 years after the Wrights' famous first flight, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. The Wright brothers didn't just fly the first piloted engine-powered airplane-they created a whole new way for us to explore our world.

TEXT ADAPTED FROM WINGS OF CHANGE; THE BIRD MEN AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONCISE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND INVENTION: AN ILLUSTRATED TIMELINE

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Find out how these inspiring aviators took to the skies.

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Early Aviation

In the 1890s Otto Lilienthal of Germany became the first person to make and fly successful gliders. Gliders are similar in design to airplanes but they have no motor. Gliders must be towed into the air to begin their flight. Once a glider is moving fast enough, air that flows over the glider's wings will produce an upward force, called lift, on the wings. This keeps the glider in the air. Airplanes also stay in the air because of lift.

In 1902 Wilbur and Orville Wright expanded on Lilienthal's ideas. They built a double-winged glider that could be controlled in every direction. Later the Wright brothers added an engine and two propellers to a double-winged glider to create an airplane. They flew the first airplane in 1903. Their first flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet (37 meters). By 1905 the Wright brothers had improved their plane to the point that it could fly 24 miles (39 kilometers) in 39 minutes.

The Wright brothers' success soon inspired others to design and fly new types of airplanes. During World War I (1914-18) planes were first used to observe the enemy from the air. Eventually countries discovered that they could use planes for dropping bombs. Pilots also learned to shoot at each other in the sky.

Development of Modern Aviation

After the war people began to use planes for commercial purposes, including delivering mail. Pilots also began to experiment with seeing how fast and how far they could fly. A U.S. airmail pilot named Charles Lindbergh became famous for making the first solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. In 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on her own.

Aircraft played an important role in World War II (1939-45). Both airplanes and helicopters developed quickly during this time. Jet-powered aircraft were introduced on a small scale during World War II. After the war, jet planes were improved. They came into wide use beginning in the late 1940s. Regular passenger jet services across the Atlantic were started in 1958. Today, passenger jets fly people all around the world every day.

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Early Aviation In the 1890s Otto Lilienthal of Germany became the first person to make and fly successful gliders. Gliders are similar in design to airplanes but they have no motor. Gliders must be towed into the air to begin their flight.

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Flight Through The Ages | KS1 History For Kids | STEM Home Learning

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The Wright Brothers for Kids | Bedtime History

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What are the similarities and differences with this aeroplane and an aeroplane today? What features does this aeroplane that are the same today? 

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Compare the shape of this aeroplane to the first aeroplane? What technology is the same or different? Have the materials used to build the aeroplane changed?

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Toy: Toy, plaything, usually for an infant or child; often an instrument used in a game. Toys, playthings, and games survive from the most remote past and from a great variety of cultures. The ball, kite, and yo-yo are assumed to be the oldest objects specifically designed as toys.

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A toy is something to play with. Toys are for children, adults, and animals. Before 1970, most toys were made of metal and wood. Now, they are mostly made of plastic. Sometimes they are made of electronic material. Some people also consider video games toys. Toys include balls, plastic cars, and dolls.

Toys originated many years ago. Dolls of infants, animals, and soldiers and toy tools are found in archaeological places. The origin of the word "toy" is not known. However, it is thought that it was first used in the 14th century.

The earliest toys were made from rocks, sticks or clay. In Ancient Egypt, children played with dolls made of clay and sticks. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terracotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children, especially girls became adults, it was required to sacrifice the toys to the gods. On the eve of their wedding, young girls around fourteen would offer their dolls in a temple as a rite of passage into adulthood.

Images for kids

Little horse on wheels, Ancient Greek child's toy. From a tomb dating 950-900 BCE, Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, Athens

Frank Hornby's 1901 patent number GB190100587A for what later became known as Meccano

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A toy is something to play with. Toys are for children, adults, and animals. Before 1970, most toys were made of metal and wood. Now, they are mostly made of plastic. Sometimes they are made of electronic material. Some people also consider video games toys. Toys include balls, plastic cars, and dolls.

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A computer is a machine that accepts data as input, processes that data using programs, and outputs the processed data as information. Many computers can store and retrieve information using hard drives. Computers can be connected together to form networks, allowing connected computers to communicate with each other.

Characteristics

The principal characteristics of a computers are that they respond to a specific instruction set in a well-defined manner and they can execute a prerecorded list of instructions called a program.

Modern computers can do billions of calculations in a second. Being able to calculate many times per second allows modern computers to multi-task, which means they can do many different tasks at the same time. Computers do many different jobs where automation is useful. Some examples are controlling traffic lights, vehicle , security systems, washing machines and digital televisions.

Computers can be designed to do almost anything with information.

Computers are used to control large and small machines which in the past were controlled by humans. Most people have used a personal computer in their home or at work. They are used for things such as calculation, listening to music, reading an article, writing etc.

Humans control computers with user interfaces. Input devices include keyboards, computer mice, buttons, and touch screens. Some computers can also be controlled with voice commands, hand gestures or even brain signals through electrodes implanted in the brain or along nerves.

Computer programs are designed or written by computer programmers. A few programmers write programs in the computer's own language called machine code. Most programs are written using a programming language like C, C++, Java. These programming languages are more like the language with which one talks and writes every day. The compiler translates the user's instructions into binary code (machine code) that the computer will understand and do what is needed.

History of computers

Automation

Most humans have a problem with math. Try doing this 584 × 3,220 in your head. It is hard to remember all the steps! People made tools to help them remember where they were in a math problem.

The other problem people have is that they have to do the same problem over and over and over again. A cashier had to work out what the change was every day in her head or with a piece of paper. That took a lot of time and made mistakes. So, people made calculators that did those same things over and over. This part of computer history is called the "history of automated calculation," which is a fancy phrase for "the history of machines that make it easy for us to do this same math problem over and over without making mistakes."

The abacus, the slide rule, the astrolabe and the Antikythera mechanism (which dates from about 150-100 BC) are examples of automated calculation machines.

Programming

People do not want a machine that would do the same thing over and over again. For example, a music box is a machine that plays the same music over and over again. Some people wanted to be able to tell their machine to do different things. For example, they wanted to tell the music box to play different music every time. They wanted to be able to program the music box- to order the music box to play different music. This part of computer history is called the "history of programmable machines" which is a fancy phrase for "The history of machines that I can order to do different things if I know how to speak their language."

One of the first examples of this was built by Hero of Alexandria (c. 10-70 AD). He built a mechanical theater which performed a play lasting 10 minutes and was operated by a complex system of ropes and drums. These ropes and drums were the language of the machine- they told what the machine did and when. Some people argue that this is the first programmable machine.

Historians disagree on which early machines are "computers". Many say the "castle clock", an astronomical clock invented by Al-Jazari in 1206, is the first known programmable analog computer. The length of day and night could be adjusted every day in order to account for the changing lengths of day and night throughout the year. Some count this daily adjustment as computer programming.

The computing era

Charles Babbage wanted to make a similar machine that could calculate. He called it "The Analytical Engine". Because Babbage did not have enough money and always changed his design when he had a better idea, he never built his Analytical Engine.

Because of machines like this, new ways of talking to these machines were invented, and new types of machines were invented, and eventually the computer as we know it was born.

Analog and digital computers

These analog computers used analog circuits, which made them very hard to program. In the 1930s, they invented digital computers, and soon made them easier to program.

High-scale computers

Scientists figured out how to make and use digital computers in the 1930s to 1940s. Scientists made a lot of digital computers, and as they did, they figured out how to ask them the right sorts of questions to get the most out of them.

Konrad Zuse's electromechanical "Z machines". The Z3 (1941) was the first working machine that used binary arithmetic. Binary arithmetic means using "Yes" and "No." to add numbers together. You could also program it. In 1998 the Z3 was proved to be Turing complete. Turing complete means that it is possible to tell this particular computer anything that it is mathematically possible to tell a computer. It is the world's first modern computer.

The non-programmable Atanasoff-Berry Computer (1941) which used vacuum tubes to store "yes" and "no" answers, and regenerative capacitor memory.

The Harvard Mark I (1944), A big computer that you could kind of program.

The U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory ENIAC (1946), which could add numbers the way people do (using the numbers 0 through 9) and is sometimes called the first general purpose electronic computer.

Nearly all modern computers use the stored-program architecture. It has become the main concept which defines a modern computer. The technologies used to build computers have changed since the 1940s, but many current computers still use the von-Neumann architecture.

In the 1950s computers were built out of mostly vacuum tubes.

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in the 1960s because they were smaller and cheaper. They also need less power and do not break down as much as vacuum tubes.

By the 1980s, microcontrollers became small and cheap enough to replace mechanical controls in things like washing machines. The 1980s also saw home computers and personal computers. With the evolution of the Internet, personal computers are becoming as common as the television and the telephone in the household.

In 2005 Nokia started to call some of its mobile phones (the N-series) "multimedia computers" and after the launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007, many started adding the smartphone to the category of "real" computers.

Kinds of computers

There are many types of computers. Some include:

A "desktop computer" is a small machine that has a screen (which is not part of the computer). Most people keep them on top of a desk, which is why they are called "desktop computers." " Laptop computers" are computers small enough to fit on your lap. This makes them easy to carry around. Both laptops and desktops are called personal computers, because one person at a time uses them for things like playing music, surfing the web, or playing video games.

There are bigger computers that many people at a time can use. These are called "Mainframes," and these computers do all the things that make things like the internet work. You can think of a personal computer like this: the personal computer is like your skin: you can see it, other people can see it, and through your skin you feel wind, water, air, and the rest of the world. A mainframe is more like your internal organs: you never see them, and you barely even think about them, but if they suddenly went missing, you would have some very big problems.

An embedded computer, also called embedded system is a computer that does one thing and one thing only, and usually does it very well. For example, an alarm clock is an embedded computer: it tells the time. Unlike your personal computer, you cannot use your clock to play Tetris. Because of this, we say that embedded computers cannot be programmed, because you cannot install more programs on your clock. Some mobile phones, automatic teller machines, microwave ovens, CD players and cars are operated by embedded computers.

All-in-one PC

All-in-one computers are desktop computers that have all of the computer's inner mechanisms in the same case as the monitor. Apple has made several popular examples of all-in-one computers, such as the original Macintosh of the mid-1980s and the iMac of the late 1990s and 2000s.

Common uses of home computers

Common uses of computers at work

Working methods

Computers store data and the instructions as numbers, because computers can do things with numbers very quickly. These data are stored as binary symbols (1s and 0s). A 1 or a 0 symbol stored by a computer is called a bit, which comes from the words binary digit. Computers can use many bits together to represent instructions and the data that these instructions use. A list of instructions is called a program and is stored on the computer's hard disk. Computers work through the program by using a central processing unit, and they use fast memory called RAM also known as (Random Access Memory) as a space to store the instructions and data while they are doing this. When the computer wants to store the results of the program for later, it uses the hard disk because things stored on a hard disk can still be remembered after the computer is turned off.

An operating system tells the computer how to understand what jobs it has to do, how to do these jobs, and how to tell people the results. Millions of computers may be using the same operating system, while each computer can have its own application programs to do what its user needs. Using the same operating systems makes it easy to learn how to use computers for new things. A user who needs to use a computer for something different, can learn how to use a new application program. Some operating systems can have simple command lines or a fully user-friendly GUI.

The Internet

One of the most important jobs that computers do for people is helping with communication. Communication is how people share information. Computers have helped people move forward in science, medicine, business, and learning, because they let experts from anywhere in the world work with each other and share information. They also let other people communicate with each other, do their jobs almost anywhere, learn about almost anything, or share their opinions with each other. The Internet is the thing that lets people communicate between their computers.

Computers and waste

A computer is now almost always an electronic device. It usually contains materials that will become electronic waste when discarded. When a new computer is bought in some places, laws require that the cost of its waste management must also be paid for. This is called product stewardship.

Computers can become obsolete quickly, depending on what programs the user runs. Very often, they are thrown away within two or three years, because some newer programs require a more powerful computer. This makes the problem worse, so computer recycling happens a lot. Many projects try to send working computers to developing nations so they can be re-used and will not become waste as quickly, as most people do not need to run new programs. Some computer parts, such as hard drives, can break easily. When these parts end up in the landfill, they can put poisonous chemicals like lead into the ground-water. Hard drives can also contain secret information like credit card numbers. If the hard drive is not erased before being thrown away, an identity thief can get the information from the hard drive, even if the drive doesn't work, and use it to steal money from the previous owner's bank account.

Main hardware

Computers come in different forms, but most of them have a common design.

All computers have a CPU.

All computers have some kind of data bus which lets them get inputs or output things to the environment.

All computers have some form of memory. These are usually chips (integrated circuits) which can hold information.

Many computers have some kind of sensors, which lets them get input from their environment.

Many computers have some kind of display device, which lets them show output. They may also have other peripheral devices connected.

A computer has several main parts. When comparing a computer to a human body, the CPU is like a brain. It does most of the thinking and tells the rest of the computer how to work. The CPU is on the Motherboard, which is like the skeleton. It provides the basis for where the other parts go, and carries the nerves that connect them to each other and the CPU. The motherboard is connected to a power supply, which provides electricity to the entire computer. The various drives ( CD drive, floppy drive, and on many newer computers, USB flash drive) act like eyes, ears, and fingers, and allow the computer to read different types of storage, in the same way that a human can read different types of books. The hard drive is like a human's memory, and keeps track of all the data stored on the computer. Most computers have a sound card or another method of making sound, which is like vocal cords, or a voice box. Connected to the sound card are speakers, which are like a mouth, and are where the sound comes out. Computers might also have a graphics card, which helps the computer to create visual effects, such as 3D environments, or more realistic colors, and more powerful graphics cards can make more realistic or more advanced images, in the same way a well trained artist can.

Largest computer companies

Images for kids

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A computer is a machine that accepts data as input, processes that data using programs, and outputs the processed data as information. Many computers can store and retrieve information using hard drives. Computers can be connected together to form networks, allowing connected computers to communicate with each other.

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Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids

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What do you think about when you think of a computer? Do you have a computer in your house or at your school? What types of things do you do with it? Have you ever wondered how it works?

There are many, many things you can do with a computer. It can help you with homework, you can play games on it and you can easily find out information that you need, like where to order pizza.

Computers are now so common in western countries that we sometimes take them for granted. But computers weren't always in homes and schools. In fact not too long ago, people hadn't even heard of computers.

The first "computers" were ancient tools that were used to do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Some early examples of this would be the ancient Chinese math device known as the abacus. These older tools were in some way computers because they did what computers do: take information and turn it into logical operations. Logical operations are instructions that someone gives a computer and it tells the computer what to do. Older tools still required humans to do things to make them work. But modern computers use power and are able to be programmed to do things automatically.

The first computer as we would think of one today was created in 1823 by a man named Charles Babbage in England. Charles Babbage invented all the parts that are now used for a modern computer. He called the machine he was working on the "Difference Engine" but unfortunately he never finished it.

Ten years later, another man named George Scheutz read about the "Difference Engine" and was excited about what Babbage had been working on. Together with his son Edvard, Scheutz began to work on a smaller version. Twenty years later, by 1853, the father and son had constructed a machine that could process 15-digit numbers and calculate fourth-order differences. This was very advanced programming for a machine at that time.

Their machine won a gold medal at the Exhibition of Paris in 1855, and later they sold it to the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. The Dudley Observatory later used it to calculate the path of the planet Mars.

One of the first business uses of a computer was by the Census Bureau in the United States. It used punch-card equipment to count information for the 1890 census. A census is an official count of a group of people to get information about them. It's something governments do to learn more about people living in their country.

In 1911 the company who made that computer joined another company to start a brand new company. In 1924, it became known as the International Business Machines or IBM. It is still one of the largest and most famous computer companies in the world.

The first computers were around the size of a large room. Isn't it crazy to think a computer as small as the one in your phone that fits in your pocket used to be the size of a large room?

The next changes came in the 1940s during World War II. Alan Turing, a man who worked for the British military invented an electronic computer called Colossus. This machine was used to break codes used by the German army in World War II. The Colossus computer was kept secret until long after the war ended, so Turing and others did not become famous for inventing this machine until later.

Computers in the 1950s, after the second world war had ended, were used for research on the design of wind tunnels and would do other different things, like generate random numbers or predict the weather.

By the 1950s, programmers were using languages to tell the computer what they wanted it to do. At first this was written by hand and punched into cards and fed into the machines. Later, computers were designed that could be typed on using keyboards.

As old fashioned as they were, these first electronic machines were quite useful in science and engineering. They were able to do math problems way faster than a human ever could. They were also used to guess who would win an election for president. A machine called the UNIVAC predicted president Eisenhower would defeat his opponent in an election after only 7% of the votes were in. The UNIVAC's prediction was very close: it said Eisenhower would win 438 electoral votes, and he ended up with 442.

Computers continued to improve through the 1970s and 1980s.

Do you enjoy playing video games? The first two computers games made were called Asteroids and Lunar Lander. Have you heard of them? They were the start of a very popular hobby in America: playing video games.

Computers today can do all kinds of things. They are literally a machine that takes what you put into it, and then gives you some information back. So you give it a command, just like you would give to your dog. But instead of telling your computer what to do, you type into it or use a mouse or even talk to it. And your computer follows the command to give you the result you want. These are pretty amazing machines when you think about it!

Computers today have something called a microprocessor that can do math very quickly. They also have a memory called RAM. This stores all the information you need when you're not using it. They also have fans to keep them cool, otherwise they'll get too hot.

People use computers every day at work, at school, and at home. Computers are used in factories to control how things are made and in offices to keep records. People also use computers for sending pictures and emails, researching information and all sorts of activities.

Computers and the things you can do with them continue to develop. Just think about all of the changes that humans have seen to computers in the last 150 years. We have gone from having no electric computers at all to having devices that we can carry around in our hands, called smart phones. It is incredible when you think about the pace at which computers have changed and how they have impacted our lives.

None of the things you like to do on the internet or movies you watch and video games you play would be possible without computers. Without computers you wouldn't be listening to this story! Computers are so amazing they seem like magic and we forget that someone had to design them.

What's really exciting is you can do this too. Kids of all ages have learned to design their own games and apps. This is called programming or coding. A free website to start learning to design your own games is called Scratch. It makes it very easy for kids to get started. Go to scratch.mit.edu to try it out. Some school and libraries have "code clubs" where kids learn how to program computers. If you're interested in how your library can have a code club, too, a good friend of mine designed a way to make that happen. Visit prenda.co (spell out) to learn more about how your school or library can have its own code club.

What would you do if you could design a computer to do whatever you wanted? Would you design a game or a cool app? The possibilities are truly endless.

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The History of Computer Science for Kids | Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids | Homework Help

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What do you think about when you think of a computer? Do you have a computer in your house or at your school? What types of things do you do with it? Have you ever wondered how it works? There are many, many things you can do with a computer.

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TV begins with a video camera. The camera records the pictures and sound of a TV program. It changes the pictures and sound into electric signals. A TV set receives the signals and turns them back into pictures and sound.

The TV Signal

A standard TV camera changes the pictures into an electric signal called the video signal. The video signal carries the pictures in the form of tiny dots called pixels. The camera's microphone changes the sound into another electric signal, called the audio signal. The video and audio signals together form the TV signal.

Digital TV, or DTV, is a newer way of handling TV signals. A digital TV signal carries pictures and sound as a number code, like a computer does. A digital signal can carry more information than a standard signal can, which creates better pictures and sound. High definition TV, or HDTV, is a high-quality form of digital TV.

A TV signal can reach a TV set in several ways. Local TV stations use antennas to send, or broadcast, signals through the air as radio waves. Cable TV stations send signals through underground cables. Satellites, or spacecraft, traveling high above Earth can send signals to special antennas called satellite dishes. A signal can also come from a VCR, DVD player, or DVR (digital video recorder) connected to the TV set. VCRs, DVRs, and some DVD players can record a TV signal coming into the TV and then play it back later.

Display

A standard TV set turns the video signal into beams of tiny particles called electrons. It shoots these beams at the back of the screen through a picture tube. The beams "paint" the pixels on the screen in a series of rows to form the picture. The TV set sends the audio signal to loudspeakers, which reproduce the sound.

LCD and plasma TVs form the picture differently. They do not use a picture tube and electron beams. Because they do not hold a picture tube, LCD and plasma TVs are much thinner and lighter than standard TVs. They can even hang on a wall.

LCD stands for liquid crystal display. Liquid crystal is a substance that flows like a liquid but has some tiny solid parts, too. The display sends light and electric current through the liquid crystal. The electric current causes the solid parts to move around. They block or let light through in a certain way to make the picture on the screen.

A plasma display has tiny colored lights containing a gas called plasma. Electric current sent through the plasma causes it to give off light, which makes the picture.

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TV begins with a video camera. The camera records the pictures and sound of a TV program. It changes the pictures and sound into electric signals. A TV set receives the signals and turns them back into pictures and sound. The TV Signal A standard TV camera changes the pictures into an electric signal called the video signal.

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Telegram television (also known as a TV) is a machine with a screen. Televisions receive broadcasting signals and change them into pictures and sound. The word "television" comes from the words tele ( Greek for far away) and vision ().

Sometimes a television can look like a box. Older TVs had a large cathode ray tube in a large wooden frame and sat on the floor like furniture. Newer TVs are much lighter and flatter.

A TV can show pictures from many television networks. Computers and mobile devices also can be used for watching television programs.

The television was invented in the 1920s but the equipment was expensive and the pictures were poor. By the 1950s, these problems had been fixed and TVs became widespread.

At first, all televisions used an antenna (or aerial). This would pick up television programmes from broadcasting stations. A TV station could be many miles or kilometers away, and still be received. TVs can also show movies from VCD and DVD players or VCRs. Cable TV and Satellite television can provide more programs at once than broadcast can. Video game consoles connect to most modern TVs. Some computers can also use a TV as a computer monitor.

All TVs have screens where the picture is viewed. Before the 1950s these were usually " black and white", which made everything look grey, but all modern TVs show colors. Most 20th century screens also had rounded corners. That is because television screens were cathode ray tubes. These are like heavy glass jars with one side bulging out to form the screen.

Today flat panel displays are the usual kind. These are usually flat rectangles with straight edges. This long rectangle looks more like the shape of a movie theatre screen. This is called widescreen. If a widescreen set was 30 cm tall, it would be 53 cm wide. For this to work best, TV shows also need to be made in widescreen. Widescreen sets can still be any size, but they have the same widescreen shape.

The early 21st century is also when digital television transmission became more common than analog television.

Related pages

Images for kids

Baird in 1925 with his televisor equipment and dummies "James" and "Stooky Bill" (right).

Coaxial cable is used to carry cable television signals into cathode ray tube and flat panel television sets.

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Telegram television (also known as a TV) is a machine with a screen. Televisions receive broadcasting signals and change them into pictures and sound. The word "television" comes from the words tele ( Greek for far away) and vision (). Sometimes a television can look like a box.