Science and technological advances of the 20th century have changed and, in many ways, shaped our modern existence. There are a number of inventions that have been able to improve the lives of many people. The inventions outlined in this article have had a tremendous impact on our world and have saved countless lives.
LifeStraw Portable Water Filter
The LifeStraw Portable Water Filter, developed by the Swiss design company Vestergaard Frandsen, is a small hand-held device, distributed freely in developing nations, which filters more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses, and parasites out of water, making nearly any water safe to drink. The filter has an effective life span of 700 liters, which equals enough water for one person for an entire year. The device has allowed millions of people without access to safe drinking water to purify their local water sources regardless of their conditions.
The Atlas Rope Ascender
The Atlas Rope Ascender is a portable, hand-held device that allows people to scale buildings and effectively reverse repel up a building in record speeds. The device allows the user to be pulled up to 600 feet in the air, at a weight of up to 250 pounds, and at a rate of over 10 feet per second. The device was invented by an MIT graduate in 2007 and has since been adopted by many firefighters, military, and other emergency technicians to help reach and rescue people trapped in high or difficult to access places.
Artificial Pacemaker
The artificial pacemaker, developed in the early 1900s, is a portable device that electronically monitors and maintains the heart's natural rhythm in the event that the heart seizes or fails. The device was first successfully tested on a human in 1926, when it was used to revive a stillborn infant. The first artificial pacemaker to be successfully implanted in a human being was in 1958, with millions receiving the device in subsequent decades.
Tags: Atlas Rope, Atlas Rope Ascender, device that, hand-held device, LifeStraw Portable, LifeStraw Portable Water
