Microprocessor has had the Biggest Impact on the World Over the Last 50 Years
(PhysOrg.com) -- Poll asked readers of New Scientist to vote for most important discovery of the last 50 years
To celebrate the launch of new EPSRC website IMPACT! World, New Scientist asked readers to vote on what scientific discovery they think has had the biggest impact on the planet in the last 50 years. The poll opened at the beginning of October and the result was announced on 2 December 2009.
And the winner, with 48 per cent of the vote, is the microprocessor! These clever devices were first developed in the 1970s and used in electronic calculators. Today, they are at the heart of every PC and the processing power behind everything from mobile phones to the largest super computers and subsequently have changed the lives of billions of people around the world.
One of the inventors of the microprocessor, Federico Faggin explains why this minuscule piece of technology has had such an impact on the world: “The power of computers has now been introduced not just into homes and offices, but also into tens of thousands of products where once it didn’t seem to fit, thanks to a small and beautiful device called the microprocessor. Today there is no industry and no human endeavour that hasn’t been touched directly or indirectly by microprocessors. Each of our lives has been changed by them.”
The other choices in the poll included mobile phones, space exploration, MRI scanners, the World Wide Web, global optic fibre network, error correcting codes, lasers, public key encryption and green chemistry. Each discovery was chosen by a different eminent scientist who wrote a summary of why they think their chosen discovery deserved to win.
To take part in the vote readers were invited to visit the New Scientist website where they could read about the different discoveries and then make their choice.
Editor of New Scientist, Roger Highfield gave his thoughts on the winning invention: “The overwhelming vote for the microprocessor by newscientist.com readers demonstrates that it is the ultimate tool and is further evidence, as if we need it, that we live in the information age.”
EPSRC Chief Executive Professor Dave Delpy said: “Engineering and physical sciences research is crucial to creating a healthy, prosperous and sustainable society. It has huge impact on the world around us. We hope our IMPACT Campaign will help the public understand why research is so crucial to the UK’s future.”
IMPACT! World is an innovative new website where users can explore how engineering and physical sciences research is helping to build the world around us and creating a healthy, productive and sustainable future for us all. It is part of a bigger EPSRC campaign which aims to demonstrate how UK scientists and engineers are solving some of the biggest challenges facing society today.
Provided by EPSRC Press Releases
