发明英文d

Ⅰ 有一个新的发明英语怎么写

Have a new invention

Ⅱ 介绍发明的英语作文

The Telephone
The telephone is one of the most welcome and useful inventions.No wonder more and more families have got to use their own telephones today.
The telephone makes things easy in many ways.Especially,after the mobile telephone appears,communication becomes easier and rapider.To students and people going out for business far away from their homes,the telephone can shorten the distance between them and their families.Thus they will get comfort whenever they are homesick or they run into trouble.With the help of the telephone,people can keep in touch with anyone at any time and in any place for urgent help.
All in all,the telephone is so helpful that we can say that nowadays we can not live without the telephone in our daily life.We will further improve the performance of the telephone so as to create better conditions for its development.
电话
电话是目前最受欢迎和最有用的发明之一,怪不得越来越多的人已经使用了自己的电话.
电话在许多方面使事情变得简单,尤其是在移动电话出现以后,通讯变得更加快捷方便.对于那些离家的学生和做生意的人来说,电话缩短了同家人的距离,在此它能蛤想家的人和处在困难中的人一个好的心情.有了电话帮助,人们可以随时随地和任何人联系,寻求紧急帮助.在这种情况下,电话显得尤其重要.
总之,电话是如此有用,以至于如今的日常生活离不开它.我们逐步提高电话功能,为它的发展创造更好的条件.

Ⅲ 26个英文字母是谁发明的

英文26个字母的由来

人们都知道，英文有26个字母。但这26个字母的来历，知道的人恐怕就不多了。原来，英文字母渊源于拉丁字母，拉丁字母渊源于希腊字母，而希腊字母则是由腓尼基字母演变而来的。
腓尼基是地中海东岸的文明古国，其地理位置大约相当于今天黎巴嫩和叙利亚的沿海一带。“腓尼基”是希腊人对这一地区的称谓，意思是“紫色之国”，因该地盛产紫色染料而得名。罗马人则称之为“布匿”。
公元前20世纪初，在腓尼基产生一些小的奴隶制城邦，但从未形成统一的国家。在古代，腓尼基以工商业和航海业闻名于世。至公元前10世纪前后，其活动范围已达今塞浦路斯、西西里岛、撒丁岛、法国、西班牙和北部非洲，并建立了许多殖民地。公元前8世纪以后，亚述、新巴比伦等国相继侵入腓尼基。公元前6世纪，腓尼基终于被波斯帝国兼并。
大约公元前13世纪，腓尼基人创造了人类历史上第一批字母文字，共22个字母（无元音）。这是腓尼基人对人类文化的伟大贡献。腓尼基字母是世界字母文字的开端。在西方，它派生出古希腊字母，后者又发展为拉丁字母和斯拉夫字母。而希腊字母和拉丁字母是所有西方国家字母的基础。在东方，它派生出阿拉美亚字母，由此又演化出印度、阿拉伯、希伯莱、波斯等民族字母。中国的维吾尔、蒙古、满文字母也是由此演化而来。
据考证，腓尼基字母主要是依据古埃及的图画文字制定的。在古埃及，“A”是表示“牛头”的图画；“B”是表示“家”或“院子”的图画；“C”和“G”是表示“曲尺”的图画；“D”是表示“门扇”的图画；“E”是表示一个“举起双手叫喊的人”的图画；“F”、“V”、“Y”是表示“棍棒”或“支棒”的图画；“H”是表示“一节麻丝卷”的图画；“I”是表示“展开的手”的图画；“K”是表示“手掌”的图画；“M”是表示“水”的图画；“N”是表示“蛇”的图画；“O”是表示“眼睛”的图画；“P”是表示“嘴巴”的图画；“Q”是表示“绳圈”的图画；“R”是表示“人头”的图画；“S”和“X”是表示“丘陵地”或“鱼”的图画；“T”是表示“竖十字型”的图画；“Z”是表示“撬”或“箭”的图画。公元前2世纪时，拉丁字母已包括了这23个字母。后来，为了雕刻和手写的方便，并为了使元音的“V”和辅音的“V”相区别，便把原来的“V”的下方改成圆形而定为元音“U”；又把两个“V”连起来变出了一个做辅音用的“W”，这个“W”的出现已是11世纪的事了。后来人们又把“I”稍稍变化而另创出一个辅音字母“J”。这样，原来的23个字母再加上“U”、“W”、“J”三个字母，就构成了26个字母的字母表了。中世纪时，拉丁字母基本定型，后世西方文字（当然也包括英文）都是由它演变而来。 原载1993年《历史大观园》

Ⅳ 有关发明的英语作文

三篇收集的作文，望采纳
1、In modern life we have many inventions.Thesemachines are very useful.They can make things better and faster than people.A washing machine can help us wash clothes.We have more time to do that we want to doring this time.A printing machine prints a lot of books,newspapers and other things qiickly.Buses,bikes,cars,trains,planes and shipshelr us travel faster than before.The compter is wonderful machine.It is one of the most important inventions. Today it is used in many ways.It can store innformations and work out math problems millions of times faster than a person can.In a few years,the computer may touch the lives of everyone.Even people in faraway villages.
在现代生活中，我们有许多发明。这些都是很有用的。他们可以做的更好，比人快。洗衣机可以帮我们洗衣服。我们有更多的时间去做我们想干这一次。印刷机出版了大量的书籍，报纸和其他东西qiickly公共汽车，自行车。汽车，火车，飞机，和shipshelr我们游得更快。计算机是神奇的机器。它是最重要的发明之一。今天，它是用来在许多方面。它可以存储innformations和解决数学问题的数百万倍的人能更快。在几年之内，计算机可能触及每个人的生活。即使人在遥远的村庄。

2、19世纪初，人们开始使用煤气灯(瓦斯灯)，但是煤气靠管道供给，一但漏气或堵塞，非常容易出事，人们对于照明的改革，十分殷切。事实上，爱迪生为自己订定了一个不可能的任务：除了改良照明之外，还要爱迪生发明的电灯创造一套供电的系统。 于是他和梦罗园的伙伴们，不眠不休的做了1600多次耐热材料和600多种植物纤维的实验，才制造出第一个炭丝灯泡，可以一次燃烧45个钟头。后来他更在这基础上不断改良制造的方法，终于推出可以点燃1200小时的竹丝灯泡。 19世纪80年代中期，爱迪生的电灯事业获得了成功，这一成功比以往任何成就给他带来的声誉都大。在80年代中期以前，他很少有失误，中期以后，尽管他也取得了很大成就，但失败也是屡见不鲜的。爱迪生最不值得称赞的行为之一就是他批评交流电，说它有副作用，可能造成死亡与损伤，但他未加具体说明。所以有人说，“像他这样一个自己搞出了许多发明创造的人竟然对别人的新发明大加攻击，这是很矛盾的事。”他反对使用交流电而赞成直流电，因而在一场激烈而固执的论战中败北。在这方面，反映出了爱迪生成为名人之后渐渐滋生的顽固守旧的缺点。
In the early nineteenth century, people began to use gas (gaslight), but the gas pipeline supply by a leak or blockage, very easy to have an accident, people for illumination of reform, very ardent. In fact, Edison for himself set the mission impossible: in addition to improve lighting, but also of Thomas Edison electric light Create a set of power supply system. And he and the dream LuoYuan buddies, sleepless do 1600 repeatedly heat-resistant material and more than 600 plant fiber experiment, only proced the first carbon wire bulb, can a burning 45 hours. Later he more on this basis, the method of continuous improvement manufacture can ignite 12 hours finally came out with the ZhuSi bulbs. The 19th century the 1980s, Edison electric light career succeeded, this success than any previous achievements brought him reputation. In the 1980s, before he had little mistake, intermediate later, although he has made great achievements, but also common occurance of failure. Edison's most not commendable actions is one of his criticism alternating current, say it has side effects, likely cause of death and injury, but he did not add details. So somebody said, "as he such a mess out many inventions that people about others' new invention saurday attack, this is very contradictory things." He opposes the use of alternating current and direct current, so the approve a fierce debate and stubborn in failure. In this respect, reflects the Edison became a celebrity after the stubbornness of started to foster old-fashioned shortcomings.

3、I will invent a time machine in the as it 's been my dream in my life. Time machine allows people to travel back in time to prevent disaster to happen. It also allows people to tavel into dinstant future to find out solution for Incurable illness including cancer and aids. However, this machine may be abused by people to create chaos in our world or even completely change our history. Therfore, security features are essential for my invention. The future invention of time machine will definately bring more advantages for human being.我会因为它是我的梦想在我的生活中，发明时间机器。时间机器允许人们旅行回来的时间来防止灾难的发生。它也允许人们对tavel入dinstant未来发现无法治愈的疾病包括癌症和艾滋病的解决方案。然而，这台机器可能被滥用的人创造了我们的世界甚至完全改变我们的历史的混乱。因此，安全的特点是我发明的关键。未来的时间机器肯定会为人类带来更多的优势。

Ⅳ 最伟大的发明 英文

口语考试，《最伟大的发明》，以下的较为简单，但是不知道你要讲几分钟，全篇给你贴上：
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Ten Great Inventions of China
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In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have nearly rewritten history. It’s been an exciting time, full of adventure and surprises. Around every corner there are new responses to questions we had already imagined answered. And of these breakthroughs, none shines as brightly as the impact of ancient Chinese inventions on modern life. As we explore ten of the greatest inventions and innovations of Ancient China, you may be surprised at their influence on recent technology.

1. Paper. Paper, as we know it, was invented in China around the year 105. After seeing earlier attempts made from silk, bamboo sticks and animal skins, Cai Lun came up with his own idea. After mixing mulberry bark, rags, wheat stalks and other stuff, a pulp formed. This pulp was pressed into sheets and dried, becoming a crude form of paper. Paper was such an important invention that the process of making it was a jealously guarded secret. The secret was safe until the seventh century when the art spread to India.

2. The Printing Press. Before Johann Gutenberg “invented” the printing press in the 1440’s, China created a type of printing press between 206 B.C. and A.D. 45. It was made using stone tablets to create a “rubbing” of famous Buddhist and Confucian texts. Next came block printing in the Sui Dynasty. In block printing, images and words were engraved on wooden boards, smeared with ink and pressed onto sheets of paper. Later, moveable type printing presses were introced. According to the authors of Ancient Inventions, “By A.D. 1000, paged books in the modern style had replaced scrolls – a good 450 years ahead of Gutenberg.”

3. The First Book. Due to the early advent of the printing press, China also claims the first book. In 868, almost six hundred years before the Gutenberg Bible, the earliest known book was printed. By the end of the Tang dynasty, China had bookstores in almost every city.

4. Paper Money. While today you’d rather carry a lot of cash instead of coin, that hasn’t always been the case. The idea of paper currency was first attempted under Emperor Han Wu-Ti (140-87 B.C.) after war had drained the treasury. He issued treasury notes, worth and in exchange for 400,000 copper coins. Instead of paper, the Emperor used the skin of the white stag. But the creature was so rare that the idea soon lost appeal. In the early 800’s, the idea revived to deter highway robbers. In 812, the government was again printing money. By the year 1023, money had an expiration date and was already plagued by inflation and counterfeiting. Nearly six hundred years later paper money headed west, first printed in Sweden in 1601.

5. The Abacus. Well before Texas Instruments, the first calculator was in the works. The abacus dates from around the year 200 B.C. It is a very advanced tool with a simple design. Wood is crafted into a rectangular frame with rods running from base to top. About 2/3’s from the base, a divider crosses the frame, known as the counting bar. On each of the rods are beads. All of the beads above the counting bar equal five. Those below equal one. The rows of rods are read from right to left. The furthest bar to the right holds the one’s place, the next holds the ten’s place, then the hundred’s, and so on. While its design may sound complex, there are some Chinese today so skilled that they can solve difficult math problems faster than someone using a calculator!

6. The Decimal System. In the West, the decimal system appeared quite recently. Its first believed instance was in a Spanish manuscript dated around 976. But, the first true example goes back much further. In China, an inscription dated from the 13th century B.C., “547 days” was written as “five hundred plus four decades plus seven of days.” The Chinese likely created the decimal system because their language depended on characters (like pictures) instead of an alphabet. Each number had its own unique character. Without the decimal system, the Chinese would have had a terrible time memorizing all of these new characters. By using units of ones, tens, hundreds, etc., the Chinese saved time and trouble.

7. The Mechanical Clock. In the year 732, a Buddhist monk and mathematician invented the first mechanical clock. He named it “Water-Driven Spherical Bird’s-Eye-View Map of the Heavens.” Like earlier clocks, water gave it power, but machinery cased the movement. But, after a few years, corrosion and freezing temperatures took their toll. It wasn’t until 1090, when astronomer Su Sung designed his mechanical marvel “Cosmic Engine”, that a more dependable timepiece was made. Created for Emperor Ying Zong, this clock had a tower over 30 feet tall. It housed machinery that, among other things, caused wooden puppets to pop from one of five doors at regular intervals throughout the day. (Much like the modern idea of a Cuckoo clock.) The entire machine was powered by a giant waterwheel. This clock ran until 1126, when it was dismantled by the conquering Tartars and moved to Peking for another several years. The first clock reference in Western history was in 1335, in the church of St. Gothard in Milan.

8. The Planetarium. A planetarium is a big enclosed space that shows the stars and constellations on the inside. Orbitoscope was the name of the first projection planetarium. It was built in Basil in 1912 by Professor E. Hinderman. But, once again, China is the mother of this invention. The first planetarium is attributed to the design of an early emperor. As one source states, an astronomer named Jamaluddin created a planetarium ring the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), along with a perpetual calendar and other important astronomical devices.

9. The Earthquake Sensor. The earliest earthquake sensor was also an interesting piece of art. It was a bronze cylinder about 8 feet around, with 8 dragons perched above 8 open-mouthed frogs. In the mouth of each dragon rested a bronze ball. When an earthquake struck, a penlum inside the cylinder would swing. It knocked the ball from the mouth of the dragon and down into the frog’s mouth. That frog’s back was then facing the direction of the center of the quake. Chang Heng invented it in A.D. 132 (ring the Han Dynasty), almost 600 years before the first western sensor was made in France. Later, in 1939, Imamura Akitsune recreated the invention and actually proved it effective.

10. The Helicopter Rotor & Propeller. While the Ancient Chinese didn’t actually invent the helicopter, they were involved in its creation. In the 4th century A.D., they invented a toy called the “Bamboo Dragonfly”. You’ve probably seen them as prizes at local fairs or carnivals. It was a toy top, with a base like a pencil and a small helicopter-like blade at the end. The top was wrapped with a cord. When you pulled the cord, the blade would spin around and soar into the air. This toy was studied by Sir George Cayley in 1809 and played a role in the birth of modern aviation. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the first helicopter took flight.

Ⅵ 中国四大发明翻译成英文

中国四大发明的英文：The four great inventions of ancient China

一、 invention

英[ɪn'venʃ(ə)n]美[ɪn'vɛnʃən]

n. 发明；发明物；虚构；发明才能

Such changes have not been seen since the invention of the printing press.

自从发明了印刷机，这种变革还没有出现过。

二、ancient

英[ˈeɪnʃənt]美[ˈenʃənt]

adj. 古代的；古老的，过时的；年老的

n. 古代人；老人

They believed ancient Greece and Rome were vital sources of learning.

他们认为古代希腊罗马是知识的重要发源地。

(6)发明英文d扩展阅读

具体四大发明的英文：

1、papermaking

美 [ˈpæpərˌmeɪkɪŋ]

造纸；造纸术；抄造；抄纸；第五章纸的抄造

Straw can be used both for fodder and for papermaking.

草可以做饲料，也可以造纸。

2、gunpowder

英 [ˈɡʌnpaʊdə(r)] 美 [ˈɡʌnpaʊdər]

n.火药

.

远在公元11世纪，中国已使用火药。

3、printing techniques

英 [ˈprɪntɪŋ tɛkˈniːks] 美 [ˈprɪntɪŋ tɛkˈniks]

印刷技术；印刷术

In the future, we will have a better a better understanding if our world through the effect of globalization, new media, cheaper printing techniques and so on.

在未来，透过全球化的影响、新媒体、更廉价的印刷技术，我们将有一个更好的更深入的了解我们的世界。

4、compass

英 [ˈkʌmpəs] 美 [ˈkʌmpəs]

n.罗盘；罗经；指南针；罗盘仪；圆规；两脚规；范围；范畴；界限

Without a compass, it is easy to lose one's bearings in the woods.

在森林中没有指南针是容易迷失方向的。

Ⅶ 26个英文字母是怎样发明的

英文字复母源于拉丁字制母，拉丁字母源于希腊字母，而希腊字母则是由腓尼基字母演变而来的。

腓尼基是地中海东岸的文明古国，其地理位置大约相当于今天黎巴嫩和叙利亚的沿海一带。“腓尼基”是希腊人对这一地区的称谓，意思是“紫色之国”，因该地盛产紫色染料而得名。

大约公元前13世纪，腓尼基人创造了人类历史上第一批字母文字，共23个字母(无元音)。据考证，腓尼基字母主要是依据古埃及的图画文字制定的。比如，“A”是表示“牛头”；“B”是表示“家”或“院子”；“C”和“G”是表示“曲尺”；“D”是表示“门扇”等等。原来的23个字母再加上稍稍变化而另创出的“U”、“W”、“J”三个字母，就构成了26个字母的字母表了。中世纪时，拉丁字母基本定型，后世西方文字都是由它演变而来。

Ⅷ 发明 的英语单词

语法标注解释 invent英音：[in'vent]美音：[ɪn'vɛnt]
语法标注解释 devise英音：[di'vaiz]美音：[dɪ'vaɪz]

Ⅸ 发明and英语

AT A GLANCE:
Probably no means of communication has revolutionized the daily lives of ordinary people more than the telephone. The actual history of the telephone is a subject of complex dispute. The controversy began with the success of the invention and continues today. Some of the inventors credited with inventing the telephone include Antonio Meucci, Philip Reis, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell. Bell's experiments with his assistant Thomas Watson finally proved successful on March 10, 1876, when the first complete sentence was transmitted: "Watson, come here; I want you.". THE STORY
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Invention: telephone on March 10, 1876
Early telephone photo courtesy www.att.com
Definition: noun / tel·e·phone
Function: An instrument which converts sound, specifically the human voice, to electrical impulses of various frequencies and then back to a tone that sounds like the original voice.t
Patent(s): 174,465 (US) issued March 7, 1876 filed February 14, 1876
161,739 (US) issued April 6, 1875 filed March 6, 1875
Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell photo courtesy www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca
Criteria; First practical. Modern prototype. Entrepreneur.
Birth: March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland
Death: August 2, 1922, at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada
Nationality: American
Milestones:
1831 Michael Faraday proved that vibrations of metal could be converted to electrical impulses
1861 Johann Philip Reis built a apparatus that changed sound to electricity and back again to sound
1871 Antonio Meucci filed his patent caveat (notice of intention to take out a patent)
1874 A. G. Bell while working on a multiple telegraph, developed the basic ideas for the telephon
1875 Bell files first patent for improved telegraphy
1876 Bell and Watson transmit the first complete sentence
1876 Bell files patent application on February 14,. patent issues March 7
1876 Elisha Gray filed his patent caveat (notice of intention to take out a patent) on February 14,
1877 formed Bell Telephone Company to operate local telephone exchange operation
1877 first city exchange installed in Hartford, Connecticut
1879 irst exchange outside the United States was built in London, England
1880 invented the photophone, which transmits speech by light rays
1882 acquired a controlling interest in the Western Electric Company, Elisha Gray's company
1883 irst exchange linking two major cities was established between New York and Boston
1885 formed American Telephone and Telegraph Company to operate the long distance network.
1888 coin operated pay telephone was patented by William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut
1891 first automatic telephone exchange was patented by Almon Strowger of Kansas City
1921 The Detroit Police Department, began experimentation with one-way vehicular mobile service.
1928 Detroit Police commenced regular one-way radio communication with all its patrol cars.
1933 Bayonne, NJ Police Department initiated regular two-way communications with its patrol cars
1936 Alton Dickieson, H.I. Romnes and D. Mitchell begin design of AT&T's mobile phone system
1940 Connecticut State Police began statewide two-way, on the frequency molated (FM)
1941 FM mobile radio became standard throughout the country following the success in Connecticut
1946 A driver in St. Louis, Mo., placed a phone call,it was the first AT&T mobile telephone call.
1948 wireless telephone service was available in almost 100 cities and highway corridors.
1947 cellular telephone service conceived by D.H. Ring at Bell Labs, but the technology didn't exist
1962 The first commercial touch-tone phones were a big hit in their preview at Seattle World's Fair.
1970 commercial Picture phone service debuted in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1971 Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel of AT&T applied computers and electronics to make it work.
1973 Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first cellphone call to his rival Joe Engel of AT&T Bell Labs
1978 AT&T concted FCC-authorized field trials in Chicago and Newark, N.J.
1979 the first cellular network was launched in Japan.
1982 FCC granted commercial licenses to an AT&T subsidiary, Advanced Mobile Phone Service
1983 AMPS was then divided among the local companies as part of the planning for divestiture
1983 Illinois Bell opened the first commercial cellular system in October
phone, telephone, bell, alexander graham bell, alex bell, bell telephone company, at&t, bell labs, western electric, Antonio Meucci, Philip Reis, Elisha Gray, invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts.
The Story:
Probably no means of communication has revolutionized the daily lives of ordinary people more than the telephone. Simply described, it is a system which converts sound, specifically the human voice, to electrical impulses of various frequencies and then back to a tone that sounds like the original voice. In 1831, Englishman Michael Faraday (1791-1867) proved that vibrations of metal could be converted to electrical impulses. This was the technological basis of the telephone, but no one actually used this system to transmit sound until 1861. In that year, Johann Philip Reis (1834-1874) in Germany is said to have built a simple apparatus that changed sound to electricity and back again to sound. A crude device, it was incapable of transmitting most frequencies, and it was never fully developed.

A practical telephone was actually invented independently by two men working in the United States, Elisha Gray and Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell. Incredibly, both men filed for a patent on their designs at the New York patent office on February 14, 1876, with Bell beating Gray by only two hours! Although Gray had built the first steel diaphragm / electromagnet receiver in 1874, he wasn’t able to master the design of a workable transmitter until after Bell had. Bell had worked tirelessly, experimenting with various types of mechanisms, while Gray had become discouraged.

According to the famous story, the first fully intelligible telephone call occurred on March 6, 1876, when Bell, in one room, called to his assistant in another room. "Come here, Watson, I want you."

Watson heard the request through a receiver connected to the transmitter that Bell had designed, and what followed after that is a history of the founding of the Bell Telephone Company (later AT&T), which grew to be the largest telephone company in the world.

The first telephone system, known as an exchange, which is a practical means of communicating between many people who have telephones, was installed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1877, and the first exchange linking two major cities was established between New York and Boston in 1883. The first exchange outside the United States was built in London in 1879. The exchange involved a group of operators working at a large switchboard. The operators would answer an incoming telephone call and connect it manually to the party being called. The first automatic telephone exchange was patented by Almon Strowger of Kansas City in 1891 and installed in 1892, but manual switchboards remained in common use until the middle of the twentieth century.

The coin operated pay telephone was patented by William Gray of Hartford in 1889. The first rotary dial telephone was developed in 1923 by Antoine Barnay in France. The mobile telephone was invented by Bell Telephone Company and introced into New York City police cars in 1924. Although the first commercial mobile telephone service became available in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946, the mobile telephone would not become common for another four decades.

The first touch-tone system - which used tones in the voice frequency range rather than pulses generated by rotary dials - was installed in Baltimore, MD, in 1941. Operators in a central switching office pushed the buttons; it was much too expensive for general use. However, the Bell System was intrigued by touch-tone because it increased the speed of dialing.

By the early 1960s, low-cost transistors and associated circuit components made the introction of touch-tone into home telephones possible. Extensive human factors tests determined the position of the buttons to limit errors and increase dialing speed even further. The first commercial touch-tone phones were a big hit in their preview at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

The first Picturephone test system, built in 1956, was crude—it transmitted an image only once every two seconds. But by 1964 a complete experimental system, the "Mod 1," had been developed. To test it, the public was invited to place calls between special exhibits at Disneyland and the New York World’s Fair. In both locations, visitors were carefully interviewed afterward by a market research agency.

People, it turned out, didn’t like Picturephone. The equipment was too bulky, the controls too unfriendly, and the picture too small. But the Bell System was convinced that Picturephone was viable. Trials went on for six more years. In 1970, commercial Picturephone service debuted in downtown Pittsburgh and AT&T executives confidently predicted that a million Picturephone sets would be in use by 1980.

What happened? Despite its improvements, Picturephone was still big, expensive, and uncomfortably intrusive. It was only two decades later, with improvements in speed, resolution, miniaturization, and the incorporation of Picturephone into another piece of desktop equipment, the computer, that the promise of a personal video communication system was realized.

In 1978, American Telephone and Telegraph’s (AT&T) Bell Laboratories began testing a mobile telephone system based on hexagonal geographical regions called cells. As the caller’s vehicle passed from one cell to another, an automatic switching system would transfer the telephone call to another cell without interruption. The cellular telephone system began nationwide usage in the United States in 1983.

The actual history of the telephone is a subject of complex dispute. The controversy began with the success of the invention and continues today. Some of the inventors credited with inventing the telephone include Antonio Meucci, Philip Reis, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell.