Gadgets and technology: civilian from military
Our modern world is simply teeming with various technologies and unusual gadgets. Internet, satellite navigation, mobile phones and thousands of other amazing technologies surround us. And while the vast majority of all modern high technology came into our lives from the military. After all, this area is different in that it always needs to be one step, or even two ahead of the enemy. And this means that better minds first of all try for the benefit of the army, and only then some projects are developed and transferred to the real world. Today we propose to recall some of the "former military" technologies that we use almost every day.
Every day, thousands of users around the world connect to the Internet. It's no joke, but the idea of ​​creating a worldwide network was born in 1957. The reason was the launch by the Soviet Union of the first artificial Earth satellite. This was the period of the Cold War, so it was logical for the United States to decide that the country needed a reliable data exchange system in case of war. Such a network was proposed by the well-known US Agency for Advanced Defense Research (DARPA). It was commissioned to the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford Research Center, the University of Utah, and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
The network was then called ARPANET and by 1969 it united all 4 institutes. This year is considered to be the birthday of the Internet. After the 69th year, the network began to grow very quickly and more and more scientists and universities in the United States began to connect to the network. By 1971, the first e-mail program was created, and it immediately became very popular. The international network became only in 1973, when the United Kingdom and Norway were connected via a trans-Atlantic telephone cable.
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Then the “web” had many stages of development. This includes the creation of domain names and IRC channels, and the ARPANET rivalry with NFSNET, and the title “Internet” eventually passed to the latter. Today, millions of users are connected to the world wide web and use its resources every day. But if the United States did not want to get ahead of the USSR in an arms race, then who knows, could we just now watch YouTube or chat with friends on Facebook.
Another system, the creation of which pushed the launch of our satellite, is, of course, the GPS navigation system. The fact is that American scientists led by R. Kershner observed a signal coming from a Soviet satellite and found that, thanks to the Doppler effect, the frequency of the received signal increases as the satellite approaches and decreases as it moves away. The essence of the discovery was that if you know exactly your coordinates on the Earth, it becomes possible to measure the position and speed of the satellite, and vice versa, knowing the position of the satellite, you can determine your own speed and coordinates.
In the USSR, the theory of positioning was developed from 1964, on the basis of which the requirements for building satellite navigation systems were formulated. The first satellite of the global positioning system (hereinafter GLONASS) was launched in 1982. But in the “perestroika” the system was abandoned and only the appearance of GPS convinced everyone that their system was needed.
In 1973, the DNSS program was initiated, later renamed Navstar-GPS, and then GPS. In 1983, intensive work began on the creation of GPS, and the last of all 24 satellites needed to fully cover the earth's surface was put into orbit in 1993, and the GPS was put into service. It became possible to use it for accurate guidance of rockets at fixed and then at mobile objects in the air and on the ground. GPS was developed specifically for the military. However, after a Korean Airlines plane accidentally entered Soviet airspace and was shot down by a fighter, US President Ronald Reagan allowed the system to be used for civilian purposes around the world. But there is a nuance: so that the system could not be used for military needs, its accuracy was deliberately reduced.
Even such a thing as a “microwave” was developed by the military for the military. American engineer Percy Spencer worked for a long time with a magnetron and once noticed that chocolate was melting in his pocket. The first microwave oven “Radarange” was just made in the company where Spencer worked. She was a man's height, weighed 340 kg, and the power was 3 kW. Initially, this device was necessary for the military to warm frozen food, for example, in hospitals.
Surprisingly, even such a seemingly familiar thing in life as superglue was originally in service with the military. They invented this glue in 1942, when they were looking for a chemical composition for the production of clear glasses in optical sights. But the substance obtained was very sticky and was rejected. Later on, the soldiers used this glue to seal their wounds during the Vietnam War.
Just an indispensable thing for every self-respecting geek and projects in the style of " dear, I repaired everything ." This tape was developed in 1942 by one of the divisions of the Johnson & Johnson corporation to seal ammunition boxes to prevent water from seeping into them. However, the soldiers quickly realized that the tape could be used for many other needs, including the temporary repair of equipment. Today, most people, this tape is known in the same gray-metallic color, but initially it had a protective green color.
The world began to change irreversibly (although he did not know about it yet) in 1945, when the world's first ENIAC computer was assembled. Originally created as a device for calculating the firing tables for artillery shells, the 27-ton “gadget” did not have time to catch the war. But instead, he immediately began to be used for calculations in the program for the creation of thermonuclear weapons. Despite the proud title of the progenitor of computers, ENIAC remained the only one of its kind, because of the imperfections of computers similar to it, it was no longer created.
However, technology does not always move from military to everyday life. It happens quite the opposite. A great example is the Oculus Rift - virtual reality glasses, designed for gaming. To date, many glasses and applications have been developed for these points. But in the service of the US Army, they serve to train soldiers to control warships.
This project was named ProjectBlueShark. It is based not only on the simulation of work with the ship's console, but also on the integration of the virtual world into the control system. The developers have specially created an environment in which a person is an observer and has the ability to control real weapons and mechanisms, calculate the ship’s location, plot a course and much more. This became possible only thanks to the virtual reality helmet and auxiliary devices for controlling the virtual field.
As you can see, much of what has become familiar to us things used to serve the benefit of the military. But the army does not disdain civilian development and successfully applies them both in training and in battle.
the Internet
Every day, thousands of users around the world connect to the Internet. It's no joke, but the idea of ​​creating a worldwide network was born in 1957. The reason was the launch by the Soviet Union of the first artificial Earth satellite. This was the period of the Cold War, so it was logical for the United States to decide that the country needed a reliable data exchange system in case of war. Such a network was proposed by the well-known US Agency for Advanced Defense Research (DARPA). It was commissioned to the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford Research Center, the University of Utah, and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
The network was then called ARPANET and by 1969 it united all 4 institutes. This year is considered to be the birthday of the Internet. After the 69th year, the network began to grow very quickly and more and more scientists and universities in the United States began to connect to the network. By 1971, the first e-mail program was created, and it immediately became very popular. The international network became only in 1973, when the United Kingdom and Norway were connected via a trans-Atlantic telephone cable.
')
Then the “web” had many stages of development. This includes the creation of domain names and IRC channels, and the ARPANET rivalry with NFSNET, and the title “Internet” eventually passed to the latter. Today, millions of users are connected to the world wide web and use its resources every day. But if the United States did not want to get ahead of the USSR in an arms race, then who knows, could we just now watch YouTube or chat with friends on Facebook.
Navigation systems
Another system, the creation of which pushed the launch of our satellite, is, of course, the GPS navigation system. The fact is that American scientists led by R. Kershner observed a signal coming from a Soviet satellite and found that, thanks to the Doppler effect, the frequency of the received signal increases as the satellite approaches and decreases as it moves away. The essence of the discovery was that if you know exactly your coordinates on the Earth, it becomes possible to measure the position and speed of the satellite, and vice versa, knowing the position of the satellite, you can determine your own speed and coordinates.
In the USSR, the theory of positioning was developed from 1964, on the basis of which the requirements for building satellite navigation systems were formulated. The first satellite of the global positioning system (hereinafter GLONASS) was launched in 1982. But in the “perestroika” the system was abandoned and only the appearance of GPS convinced everyone that their system was needed.
In 1973, the DNSS program was initiated, later renamed Navstar-GPS, and then GPS. In 1983, intensive work began on the creation of GPS, and the last of all 24 satellites needed to fully cover the earth's surface was put into orbit in 1993, and the GPS was put into service. It became possible to use it for accurate guidance of rockets at fixed and then at mobile objects in the air and on the ground. GPS was developed specifically for the military. However, after a Korean Airlines plane accidentally entered Soviet airspace and was shot down by a fighter, US President Ronald Reagan allowed the system to be used for civilian purposes around the world. But there is a nuance: so that the system could not be used for military needs, its accuracy was deliberately reduced.
Microwave
Even such a thing as a “microwave” was developed by the military for the military. American engineer Percy Spencer worked for a long time with a magnetron and once noticed that chocolate was melting in his pocket. The first microwave oven “Radarange” was just made in the company where Spencer worked. She was a man's height, weighed 340 kg, and the power was 3 kW. Initially, this device was necessary for the military to warm frozen food, for example, in hospitals.
Super glue
Surprisingly, even such a seemingly familiar thing in life as superglue was originally in service with the military. They invented this glue in 1942, when they were looking for a chemical composition for the production of clear glasses in optical sights. But the substance obtained was very sticky and was rejected. Later on, the soldiers used this glue to seal their wounds during the Vietnam War.
Armored tape
Just an indispensable thing for every self-respecting geek and projects in the style of " dear, I repaired everything ." This tape was developed in 1942 by one of the divisions of the Johnson & Johnson corporation to seal ammunition boxes to prevent water from seeping into them. However, the soldiers quickly realized that the tape could be used for many other needs, including the temporary repair of equipment. Today, most people, this tape is known in the same gray-metallic color, but initially it had a protective green color.
Computer
The world began to change irreversibly (although he did not know about it yet) in 1945, when the world's first ENIAC computer was assembled. Originally created as a device for calculating the firing tables for artillery shells, the 27-ton “gadget” did not have time to catch the war. But instead, he immediately began to be used for calculations in the program for the creation of thermonuclear weapons. Despite the proud title of the progenitor of computers, ENIAC remained the only one of its kind, because of the imperfections of computers similar to it, it was no longer created.
Oculus rift
However, technology does not always move from military to everyday life. It happens quite the opposite. A great example is the Oculus Rift - virtual reality glasses, designed for gaming. To date, many glasses and applications have been developed for these points. But in the service of the US Army, they serve to train soldiers to control warships.
This project was named ProjectBlueShark. It is based not only on the simulation of work with the ship's console, but also on the integration of the virtual world into the control system. The developers have specially created an environment in which a person is an observer and has the ability to control real weapons and mechanisms, calculate the ship’s location, plot a course and much more. This became possible only thanks to the virtual reality helmet and auxiliary devices for controlling the virtual field.
As you can see, much of what has become familiar to us things used to serve the benefit of the military. But the army does not disdain civilian development and successfully applies them both in training and in battle.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/362087/
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