Part 16 (1/2)

Electric Welding--Elihu Thompson, United States, 1886.

Electric Waves discovered by experiment--Heinrich Hertz, Germany, 1888.

Coherer for receiving electric Waves--Edward Branly, France, 1890.

X-rays--Discovered by Prof. W. C. Roentgen, Germany; announced to the public in 1895.

Wireless telegraphy--G. Marconi, Italy, 1896.

Nernst electric light, a clay capable of conducting electricity when heated is used; it becomes incandescent without a vacuum--Walter Nernst, Germany, 1897.

Radium discovered by Madame Curie, France, 1898.

Explosives

Gunpowder--Inventor and date unknown.

Guncotton--Schonbein, Germany, 1845.

Nitroglycerine--Sobrero, 1847.

Explosive gelatine--A. n.o.bel, France, 1863.

Dynamite--A. n.o.bel, France, 1866.

Smokeless powder--Vielle, France, 1866.

Firearms and Ordnance

Spirally grooved rifle barrel--Koster, England, 1620.

Breech-loading shot-gun--Thornton and Hall, United States, 1811.

The revolver; a device ”for combining a number of long barrels so as to rotate upon a spindle by the act of c.o.c.king the hammer”--Samuel Colt, United States, 1836.

Breech gun-lock, interrupted thread--Chambers, United States, 1849.

Magazine gun--Walter Hunt, United States, 1849.

Breech-loading rifle--Maynard, United States, 1851.

Iron-clad floating batteries first used in Crimean War--1855.

Breech-loading ordnance--Wright and Gould, United States, 1858.

Revolving turret for floating batteries--Theodore Timby, United States, 1862.

First iron-clad floating battery propelled by steam: the _Monitor_--John Ericsson, United States, 1862.