The Internet is, without exaggeration, the main technological breakthrough of recent decades. But by whom and when was it invented? In fact, the invention of the Internet is a rather complicated story, and we will sort it out in this post.

First Internet projects

For the first time, ideas and projects for a global computer network appeared in the early 1960s. In 1962, in the USA, Joseph Licklider, who was then working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published a series of notes in which he described the concept of the “Galactic Network”. The name was a joke, and Licklider saw the main purpose of this network in the convenient exchange of data and program code, but his concept really described some of the principles of a global computer network, reminiscent of the modern Internet. Soon Licladyer became the head of DARPA's information technology department, and largely thanks to his efforts, after some time this agency began implementing the project of one of the first computer networks, ARPANET.

V. M. Glushkov

In the same 1962, an article by Academician Kharkevich was published in the Soviet Union, in which he wrote about the need to create a nationwide computer network that would allow all institutions to exchange information and become the basis for planning and management in a variety of industries. Soon, Academician Glushkov came up with an even more detailed project, called OGAS (National Automated System of Accounting and Information Processing). The project involved the creation of a unified computer network in the USSR; within the framework of the project, it was planned to create 6,000 computer centers and train 300 thousand IT specialists. Khrushchev approved the plan and its implementation began, but after Brezhnev came to power, the Soviet bureaucracy began to openly sabotage the project. Instead of a single network, Soviet ministries began to build their own computer centers, not connected to each other, and attempts to network them did not go beyond experiments. Thus, the USSR missed the opportunity to overtake the West in the field of information technology.

OGAS Glushkova

ARPANET

In 1964, two years later than in the USSR, the implementation of the ARPANET network project began in the USA. But, unlike the USSR, there this project was completed. In 1969, this network began operating, although at first there were only 4 nodes.

ARPANET in 1969

Later, many began to consider this year the year the Internet appeared. But in fact, the ARPANET network was quite far from the modern Internet. The main problem that they tried to solve with the help of this network was the task of optimal use of computer power. Computers were still quite expensive, and if someone could remotely connect to another computer and use its power when it was idle, it would be a big savings. Due to various difficulties, this task was never realized, but ARPANET continued to develop.

Larry Roberts

In 1972, Larry Roberts, one of the developers of ARPANET, who by then had replaced Licklider as director of DARPA's IT department, organized an international conference on computer communications in Washington. At this conference, an ARPANET demonstration was held, during which anyone could connect to 20 computers from different cities in the United States and execute different commands on them. At the time, the demonstration made a big impression on skeptics who did not believe in the reality of computer networks.

In 1972, electronic mail appeared on the ARPANET. Soon the transmission of messages by e-mail became one of the most popular functions of ARPANET. Some even believe that email “saved” ARPANET, making this network truly useful and in demand. Then other ways to use the network began to appear - file transfer, instant messaging, bulletin boards, etc. However, ARPANET was not yet the Internet. And the first obstacle to the further development of the network was the lack of a universal protocol that would allow computers of different types and with different software to exchange information.

TCP/IP protocol

The variety of hardware and software created enormous difficulties for connecting computers into a network. To overcome them, in 1973, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn decided to create a universal information exchange protocol that would allow connecting a variety of computers and local networks.

Vinton ("Screw") Surf

Robert ("Bob") Kahn

The protocol was named TCP (Transmission-Control Protocol, or Transmission Control Protocol). Later, the protocol was divided into two parts and called TCP/IP (IP - Internet Protocol). By the way, at the same time, around the mid-70s, the word “Internet” itself appeared.

The development of the protocol took quite a long time. Initially, many doubted that small computers were even capable of supporting such a complex protocol. It was not until 1977 that the first data transmission using this protocol was demonstrated. And ARPANET switched to a new protocol only in 1983.

And in 1984, the first DNS server was launched, which made it possible to use domain names instead of poorly remembered IP addresses.

Development of computer networks and the end of ARPANET

In the late 70s, the first personal computers designed for home use appeared. In the 80s, more and more such computers began to appear, and computer networks also developed at the same time. Along with government and scientific ones, commercial and amateur networks appeared, to which one could connect via a modem through a telephone line. However, the functions of computer networks were still quite limited and were limited mainly to sending e-mail and exchanging messages and files through electronic bulletin boards (BBS). This was still not the Internet we were used to.

ARPANET, which at one time served as an impetus for the development of computer networks, fell into decay, and in 1989 this network was closed. The Pentagon, which financed DARPA, did not really need it, and the military segment of this network was separated from the civilian segment back in the early 80s. At the same time, the alternative global network NSFNET, created in 1984 by the US National Science Foundation, was actively developing. This network originally united American universities. In the mid-1980s, this network pioneered the use of high-speed data lines at 1.5 Mbps instead of the 56 Kbps that was the standard for modems and telephone lines. In the late 80s, the remnants of ARPANET became part of NSFNET, and NSFNET itself would become the core of the worldwide Internet in the early 90s. This will not happen right away, however, since the network was initially intended to be used only for scientific and educational purposes, but then these restrictions were eventually lifted. In 1994, NSFNET was effectively privatized and completely opened up for commercial use.

WWW

But in order for the Internet to become as we know it, in addition to computer networks and a universal protocol, something else had to be invented. This something was the technology of organizing websites. It was she who made the Internet truly popular and widespread.

Tim Berners-Lee

In 1989, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee was working on a document review system at CERN (the famous international nuclear research center in Switzerland). And then it occurred to him, based on the hypertext markup that he used in documents, to implement a large-scale project. The project was given the name World Wide Web.

For 2 years, Tim Berners-Lee worked hard on the project. During this time, he developed the HTML language for creating web pages, a method for specifying page addresses in the form of URLs, the HTTP protocol and the first browser.

On August 6, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee launched the first website on the Internet. It contained basic information about WWW technology, how to view documents, and how to download a browser.

This is how the first users saw the world's first website

In 1993, the first browser with a graphical interface appeared. In the same year, CERN issued a statement notifying that WWW technology would not be protected by any copyright and its free use was allowed to everyone. This wise decision led to an explosion in the number of sites on the Internet and to the emergence of the Internet as we know it today. Already in 1995, the WWW service became the most used service compared to all others (e-mail, file transfer, etc.), and for modern users it is practically synonymous with the Internet.

So who invented the Internet? The inventor of the Internet is not one person. But of those who made the greatest personal contribution to its appearance, the following people can be distinguished.

1. Initiators of the creation and developers of ARPANET. Among them we can distinguish such people as Joseph Licklider, Larry Roberts, and Paul Baran And Bob Taylor.
2. Creators of the TCP/IP protocol: Screw Surf And Bob Kahn.
3. Creator of WWW Tim Berners-Lee.

The emergence of RuNet

The first computer networks appeared in the USSR a long time ago, even earlier than in the West. The first experiments in this area date back to 1952, and in 1960 a network was already deployed in the USSR, connecting computers as part of the missile defense system. Later, specialized civilian networks appeared, designed, for example, to record railway and air tickets. Unfortunately, the development of general purpose networks has had major problems due to pervasive bureaucracy.

In the 1980s, Soviet scientists began to connect to foreign networks for the first time, at first only sporadically, for example, to hold some conferences on scientific topics. In 1990, the first Soviet computer network, Relcom, appeared, uniting scientific institutions from different cities of the USSR. Its creation was carried out by employees of the Institute of Atomic Energy named after. Kurchatova. In the same year, the su zone was registered - the domain zone of the Soviet Union (the ru zone appeared only in 1994). In the fall of 1990, Relcom established its first connections with foreign countries. In 1992, Relcom introduced the TCP/IP protocol and established a connection to the European EUnet network. Runet is becoming a full-fledged part of the Internet.

Where and when was printing invented?

Typography (replicating texts from matrices) was invented in China in 770 AD.

Under which khans did the Golden Horde reach the apogee of its power and who put an end to its existence?

The Golden Horde reached its maximum power under Khan Uzbek (1312–1342) and his successor Khan Janibek (1342–1357). The military forces of this feudal state under Uzbek numbered up to 300 thousand people. However, the unrest that began in 1357 with the murder of Khan Janibek marked the beginning of the collapse of the Horde. From 1357 to 1380, more than 25 khans ascended to the Golden Horde throne. In the 1360s–1370s, the temnik Mamai became the de facto ruler. In the early 1360s, Khorezm fell away from the Golden Horde, lands in the Dnieper River basin were captured by the Polish and Lithuanian kingdoms, and Astrakhan separated. Mamai also had to deal with the strengthening union of Russian principalities led by Moscow. Mamai's attempt in 1380 to again weaken Rus' through a predatory campaign led to the defeat of the Mongol-Tatars by united Russian troops in the Battle of Kulikovo. Under Khan Tokhtamysh (1380–1395), the unrest ceased and the central government began to control the main territory of the Golden Horde. In 1380, Tokhtamysh defeated the army of Mamai on the Kalka River, and in 1382 he went to Moscow, which he captured by deception and burned. After strengthening his power, he opposed the Samarkand emir Timur. As a result of several devastating campaigns, Timur defeated the troops of Tokhtamysh, captured and destroyed the Volga cities, including the Golden Horde capital of Sarai-Berke, and plundered the cities of Crimea. The Golden Horde was dealt a blow from which it could no longer recover.

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The compass is the simplest and most ancient navigation device. Navigating the terrain using a compass is simple: the magnetized arrow always points north. The device known to every schoolchild has a very long and interesting history.


Looking at modern astronomical or radio compasses, it is difficult to imagine that their prototype - a piece of magnetic ore that people invented to use to find directions - appeared long before the birth of Christ.

And again the Chinese

Like many other inventions that humanity uses to this day, the compass was invented by the ancient Chinese. According to some sources, prehistoric compasses appeared three millennia BC, according to others - no earlier than the 2nd century BC.

The first version is based more on myths than historical facts. In China, Emperor Huang Di is revered, who ruled the country around 2600 BC. He is credited with the invention of the first compass, with the help of which the ruler found his way in the desert and saved his army from certain death. However, historically reliable information about this person does not exist.

Another hypothesis states that during the Han Dynasty (in the 1st-2nd century BC), the Chinese were already using a compass. This compass was a magnetized object with a semicircular base that rotated, always pointing to one side of the world.


It is reliably known that during the Song Dynasty (in the 10th-13th centuries AD) the Chinese had compasses, which they used for orientation in the deserts.

Further spread of the compass

From the Chinese the compass came to the Arabs. The Arabs were good sailors; they needed navigational aids, so they liked the idea of ​​a compass. The 13th century Arabic compass was a magnetized object that was dipped into a container of water. The minimum frictional force allowed the object to move freely, turning in one of the cardinal directions. In this form, the prototype of the modern compass came to the Europeans.

European navigators needed a navigation device, and they quickly improved the Arabian device. The inventor of the European compass, which not only indicates the north-south direction, but allows you to more accurately navigate to the cardinal points, is the Italian Flavio Gioia. He divided the compass dial into 16 divisions.

In addition, Gioia finally installed the arrow on a thin pin (this idea had previously been used in some models of compasses), and to reduce the friction force in the axis, he poured water into the bowl. This happened in the 14th century. Since then, the design of the compass has undergone significant changes, but Joya's design is used in all modern magnetic compasses to this day.

Modern types of compasses

Several types of compass have been developed for use in various industries.

Magnetic compasses based on the action of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnetized element always occupies a position parallel to the meridians and points towards the magnetic poles of the planet. A successful model of a magnetic compass is the compass invented by our compatriot, the talented engineer Adrianov and named after him.

This is a well-known compass with an arrow that can be stopped using a stopper. For precise orientation, Adrianov's compass is equipped with a scale and two additional arrows (front and rear sight).

Electromagnetic compass uses the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. In such compasses, the stator (fixed part) is the Earth, and the rotor (moving part) is a frame with a winding. Electromagnetic compasses are used in airplanes and ships because they avoid the magnetization effect of the metal case and minimize errors.

Gyro-compass is based on the use of a special device - a gyroscope, and is distinctive in that it points not to the magnetic, but to the geographical pole. An invention of German engineers at the beginning of the 20th century.

Electronic compasses created in recent decades. In fact, these are not compasses, but devices that pick up signals from satellites and show the direction using a satellite navigation system.