What is Modern Innovation?

Modern innovation is a different way of thinking or doing something, to improve it in the present time (collinsdictionary.com). Modern innovation is a great way to improve everyday tasks, and make them easier and quicker to complete.

A great example of a modern innovation is the calculator. Calculators started as a “calculating clock,” first innovated in 1623, by Wilhelm Schickard. Then, in 1773, the first functional calculator was innovated by Philip Matthäus Hahn, so he could complete calculations on clocks he was making. Ever since then, calculators have been innovated every few decades and have improved considerably. Now we have the first color graphing calculator, created in 2010, by Casio. Calculators have been innovated for hundreds of years, and now they are quicker, and even travel sized (edtechmagazine.com).

Another incredible example of a modern innovation is air conditioning. Sometimes we do not even realize how much air conditioning has improved. In 1902 the first air conditioning system was innovated by Willis Carrier. He innovated this to control the temperature and to dehumidify the air so paper does not wrinkle when written on, and so that the ink stays fresh. Then, in 1914, the first residential (or in-house) air conditioning was installed inside of a mansion in Minneapolis. Air conditioning kept improving greatly. Not long after, the window unit was invented for air conditioning (abchomeandcommercial.com). In the years 1950 to 1970, air conditioning started to become very popular, appearing in many homes nationwide.

An example of a fairly commonly used innovation are solar panels. Solar panels help us use natural sunlight to power things that usually use electricity or gasses. Solar panels also are great for the environment because they help prevent the usage of many gasses. These gasses can go into our environment and harm ecosystems, wildlife, and us! Technically, solar power was used all the way back in the 700 B.C. They used solar power to make fires with materials that are now used in today’s magnifying glasses. Another use of solar power in earlier times was in “sunrooms.” Sunrooms used very large windows that concentrated the sunlight into an area. Solar panels actually do not have a specific inventor, since many scientists contributed to creating this useful innovation. Those scientists have assisted and helped our environment immensely, and if we continue using solar panels instead of using electricity or gas, it can benefit future generations (news.energysage.com). 

Modern innovations continue to help our everyday tasks, so that they will be more efficient and quick in the future. Modern innovations can both affect our future in ways that are good, but also sometimes bad. But overall, modern innovations have improved our everyday lives, and hopefully will continue to improve them.

Works Cited

www.collinsdictionary.com. COBUILD Collocation, 2023, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/ us/dictionary/english/modern-innovations. March 12, 2023.

Akanegbu, Anuli, and Riberio, Ricky. https://edtechmagazine.com/. EdTech, November 20, 2012, https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2012/11/calculating-firsts-visual-history -calculators. March 12, 2023.

Downer, Ryan. abchomeandcommercial.com. ABC Blog,  May 7, 2013, https://www .abchomeandcommercial.com/blog/air-conditioning-history-timeline/. March 12, 2023.

news.energysage.com. Energysage, May 3, 2022, https://news.energysage.com/the-history -and-invention-of-solar-panel-technology/. March 12, 2023.