10. Nuclear Power

10、核能

Nuclear power was to the twentieth century what steam power had been to the nineteenth: a game changer. Suddenly humanity had a power source that didn’t pollute, was efficient and practically unlimited, and so had the potential to change the planet overnight. Unfortunately, it was a two-edged sword in that this same energy source could be used to create the most destructive weapons in history, threatening human survival with its very presence. Additionally, while nuclear power plants didn’t spew pollutants into the air, in the hands of the truly incompetent they had the capacity to render whole regions radioactive and, as such, uninhabitable for generations (as was demonstrated at Chernobyl in 1986).

However, it is hard to deny the overall positive impact nuclear power has had. The fear of mutually assured destruction probably prevented the world from experiencing a third world war and, when operated safely, nuclear power plants truly are a superb and cost-efficient energy source that has the capacity to power entire cities. The only question is whether we’re mature enough to handle that power into the next century.

9. The Personal Computer

9、个人电脑

It’s difficult to imagine our world today without computers. Of course, they have been around since World War Two, but they were clunky, massively expensive thingsthat had all the calculating power of a brick. When Steve Wozniak and Stephen Jobs introduced the Apple in 1976, however, it changed everything and the rest is, as they say, history. Today, of course, they are everywhere and we have become so dependent upon them that many people almost feel naked without one. For some, they even provide the very means of maintaining a livelihood: we use them to keep track of our finances, write books, design logos and sell real estate. Plus, they are rapidly replacing the stereo and television in their ability to entertain us with music, movies, and games. Makes it hard to understand how our ancestors did so well without them, doesn’t it? (Image: the Apple 1, 1976.)

     在21世纪的今天，很难想象一个没有电脑的世界。当然，第二次世界大战的时候电脑就出现了，但那真是一个愚笨、庞大、昂贵的玩意，活像一个会计算的大砖头。但当1976年，Steve Wozniak 和Stephen Jobs发明了苹果电脑时候，照他们所说，除了历史，一切都改变了。毫无疑问，今天的电脑存在于每一个角落。人们极度依赖于电脑，没了它，很多人就会觉得自己像个光屁股的猴子。甚至对一部分人来说，他们以此来维持自身最基本的生活：用电脑时刻管理着自己的资产，用电脑写书，用电脑设计艺术标识，用电脑售卖房产。而且，他们不断更新换代着立体声系统和电视，力所能及且乐此不疲的用音乐、电影和游戏武装着自己。我们的祖先没用过电脑，但居然也生活的不错，这在今天实在难以理解，不是吗？（图片：苹果1，1976年）

8. The Airplane

Just as the locomotive made the world a smaller place in the nineteenth century, the airplane did the same for us in the twentieth century, shrinking our planet to the point that a person could fly anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. Not only have they made travel quick and safe, but aircraft provide many other services as well: from crop dusting and fighting forest fires to overnight delivery of packages and chasing hurricanes. They have also revolutionized warfare, turning battle into a long-range affair fought at arm’s length by machines of such sophistication that the way wars are fought has completely changed. Of course, they’ve also been responsible for leveling whole cities and bringing war to the civilian population—who had rarely been directly affected by war until the twentieth century—but then no invention is perfect.

8. 飞机

    正如19世纪的世界因蒸汽机车的出现而发生变化一样，飞机的出现让20世纪的世界变得更加触手可及。一个人只需要几个小时便可到达这世界上的任何一个角落。它不仅使旅行更加安全便捷，而且具有更广泛的用途：从喷洒农药、森林灭火、长距离运输、到追踪飓风的足迹，样样精通。它也升级了战争的模式，拉长了战场的纵深，精密武器的有效打击距离左右了战场形势。总之，战争的面貌因此而完全改变。当然，飞机的出现让所有城市地位相同的同时，也将战争的影响带给了平民，要知道，在20世纪之前，平民很少会受到战争的直接伤害。不过话又说回来，任何发明都不会是完美的。

7. The Automobile

Though under development in Europe during the nineteenth century, the automobile didn’t really become a practical and reliable source of transportation until the twentieth century. Once it did, it changed everything; overnight the horse and buggy became quaint anachronisms while much of the country was paved over to make room for endless ribbons of asphalt. It also brought about a revolution in the market place, suddenly making it possible to truck in goods that otherwise would be impossible to acquire. Most of all, Henry Ford’s assembly-line production style made the automobile affordable and accessible to the average person (before Ford’s Model T was introduced in 1908, only the fabulously wealthy could afford a car). The automobile gave everyone a degree of mobility and personal freedom our forefathers could only dream of。

7.汽车

     在19世纪，汽车在欧洲的发展并未使之成为一种实用的、可以信赖的交通运输方式。但它在20世纪做到了，世界随之而改变。一夜之间，马儿和马车成为了古怪的不入流的玩意儿，几乎所有的国家都在拓宽道路铺设一条又一条的沥青路。汽车的出现同时改变了商业的面貌，大量货物的交易成为了可能。最重要的是，亨利福特的流水生产线将一辆辆便宜的汽车送进了千家万户（在福特模式出现的1908年之前，只有富商大贾才买的起一辆小轿车）。汽车赋予了我们父辈们不敢想象的便捷与自由。

6. Rocketry

While the rocket was first invented and used by the Chinese over three thousand years ago—and used occasionally by the Greeks and Romans since —it wasn’t until the twentieth century that it came into its own and became more than just a dazzling amusement or a largely harmless but still effective “terror weapon” for ancient armies. In the twentieth century, rockets became bigger and more powerful. Most importantly, they became controllable, which suddenly made them useful both as weapons of war and, even more vitally, as our means of accessing outer space. Without the rocket, it is safe to say we would not only have never gone to the moon or visited every planet in our solar system. Rockets also place satellites into orbit around our planet, so without them we also wouldn’t be able to use GPS, predict the weather, make international calls or, for the most part, even use our cell phones much of the time.

6、火箭技术

    在3000年，中国人就已经发明而使用了火箭。随后的岁月里，希腊人和罗马人也间或使用过火箭。但是，这统统只是些令人目眩的把戏或者吓唬古代敌人的有效工具而已，规模够大，用处却小。在20世纪，“火箭”才真正成了火箭。火箭变得更大也更有破坏性。重要的是，它更高的可控性使之成为了战争中有效的武器，而且，这也是探索外太空的基石。没有了火箭，我们也就不可能到达月球或者任何一个太阳系的星球。没有了火箭，卫星就到不了地球的轨道，因此我们也就无法使用全球定位系统,预测明天的天气，打国际长途，甚至，大部分时间里我们对电话也触之不及。

5. The Submarine

Though submersible vessels had been used in the past (the CSS Hunley during the Civil War) and the first true submarine was invented in the 1880’s, it wasn’t until the twentieth century that the modern submarine came into its own. What started as an irritating, but still deadly, weapon in World War One grew into a monstrosity in World War Two- sinking more than any other type of weapon used. Today, with the advent of nuclear power—which gave the submarine nearly unlimited range and endurance—it has become the capital warship in every first-class Navy in the world and as such has effectively rendered naval warfare of the past obsolete. How effective is the modern submarine? Ask anyone who has ever served on one. They’ll tell you there’s only two types of ships in the world: submarines and targets. ‘Nuff said.