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Jan 1, 1500
Miscellaneous
Leonardo da Vinci (b 4/15/1452, d 5/2/1519) invents many devices including a glider, parachute and a helicopter type of device. In 1502, da Vinci designs a windmill with a revolving turret.
Da Vinci also invents an oil lamp with a glass chimney that acts as a lens, concentrating the light and for use at night. -
Transportation
British engineer William Symington developed a practical steamboat for towing barges on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland. In 1807, the American inventor Robert Fulton successfully demonstrated his steamboat by making a run between New York City and Albany on the Hudson River. -
Nuclear
Jacob Perkins invents a radiator for use with hot water central heating. -
Miscellaneous
Rudolf Clausius discovers the first statement of the second law of thermodynamics, restated by Clausius in 1865 as "entropy always increases in a closed system." In other words, energy in a closed system will change toward heat and disorder. -
Miscellaneous
The earliest known record of the direct conversion of solar radiation into mechanical power belongs to Auguste Mouchout. By the following year he was granted the first patent for a motor running on solar power and continued to improve his design until about 1880. During this period the inventor laid the foundation for our modern understanding of converting solar radiation into mechanical steam power. -
Electricity
Nikola Tesla develops A.C. (alternate current) generators enabling electricity to be transmitted longer distances. The first plant is built on the Willamette River near Oregon City, Ore. Later that year, A.C. generators are introduced to Santa Barbara, Visalia, Pasadena and Highgrove hydroelectric plants. -
Miscellaneous
Landflling is introduced and becomes a popular disposal method. -
Fossil fuel year: 700,000 BC
A thick ash layer forms between this time and 40000 BCE in L Escale Cave in southeastern France. This layer has sometimes been viewed as earliest known evidence of fire used by hominids in Europe, although it cannot be established that it is not the result of naturally caused fires. -
Electricity
General Motors Corp. introduces an Electric Vehicle at the Greater LA Auto Show: the Impact -
Biomass
One company AGRA Biofuels has announced that it will build no less than 11 biodiesel plants in Pennsylvania in the next five years. Another company, Keystone Biofuels has a new plant there that
