Great Inventions part 3

Great Inventions part 3
"Four Great Inventions" (part 2/2)

Papermaking:
Paper was used already in about 2nd century BC for wrapping and padding, but paper mass production was invented in about 100 AD. First sheets of paper were made of mulberry and other bast fibres, fishnets, old rugs and hemp waste. Using paper as writing medium was widespread by 3rd century AD. By 6th century paper in China paper sheets begun to be used as a toilet paper and one century later it was folded and sewn to create bags for tea. The paper currency was first developed in 7th century but it wasn't really used until 11th century.

Printing:
Woodblock printing was first found in China is about 220 AD and futher advanced by 11th century. In China was also invented movable type of printing but because of the number of chinese characters it wasn't that popular. Creating a book by using printing method was long and tedious work due to the need to assemble thousands of individual characters but if the same book must have been be copied thousand times it became eventually more efficient than rewriting.

According to the comment below the first part of "Four Great Inventions" these inventions are so important to China because none of them were reinvented in Europe but they were brought there from China. Of course they were very much improved in Europe (like modern dry compass and western printing press).

Great Inventions part 2

Great Inventions part 2
Today let's look at "Four Great Inventions". (part 1/2)

This term describes four inventions from ancient China that are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as symbols of ancient China's advanced science and technology.

Compass:
The first one is Compass. Invented in about 200 BC during the Han Dynasty but it wasn't used for navigation but for geomancy and fortune-telling. The earliest reference of usage for navigation comes from the book dated to 1040-1044. Initially the lodestone compass was a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water(known as "wet compass").

Gunpowder:
It was discovered in 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. During this time the gunpowder formulas' nitrate level was between 27% and 50%. By the end of 12th century formulas was improved and capable to be used in the earliest granades.
In 1280 there was a fire in a bomb store in arsenal in Weiyang which caused  great explosion where 100 guards were killed instantly and wooden pillars were blown to the sky for a distance of 3 km away.
In 14th century the quality of gunpowder allowed to produce first gunpowder powered guns.


Phrases from "Ted":
Baloney - something not true
Example: I think that UFO is utter baloney.
Split-second - very short period of time
Example: They time I had to make a split-second decision.

Great Inventions part 1

Great inventions part 1
Let's start with something that certainly nobody expected - Fire and Wheel.

The discovery how to ignite, keep and control fire is dated back 75 thousand years ago. Prehistoric people used it to cook their meals and create tools. The first methods to ignite the fire were bow drill also called fire drill, hand drill and fire plough - these are methods based on friction. Also the most primal method was striking a stone onto another stone - this is called percussion method.
This discovery is probably the most important of all. Becouse of this people could craft more advansed tool or prepare better food which contributed in human evolution. This is also the first thing that distinguish human from animals.

Now lets look at the Wheel. It was invented in Mesopotamia about 3500 BCE and used to build first wagons (4 wheels, 2 axles) - used for transport and a potter's wheel - first machine based on rotary motion which made the production of dishes way easier and contributed in creation of the first profession - a potter. Later people invented more machinse based on wheel such as lathe, reel, pulley, rotary quern and gear. Wheel unlike fire mayby not help in human evolution in a biolgical terms but surly accerelated the evolution in technology.

Moon formation theory phrases:
To break sth off - to sepatate a part of sth from the biggest part
Example: Big iceberg broke off the ice shelf at the north pole.
To gaze up - to stare at sth above
Example: Many people love to gaze up at the stars.
Debris - fragments, remains of sth
Example: The Moon is probably made of the debris of the Earth.