Chinese Inventions: From Compass to Paper Money
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Presentation Transcript
Exploration and TravelCompass • Early Chinese compasses were made of a rock called lodestone, which, when floating, points north-south. • The Chinese eventually replaced lodestone with steel needles.
Compass • The compass still helps travelers navigate.
Exploration and TravelCanal Lock • The canal lock allowed boats to pass from one level to another in a canal. • The canal lock could raise boats 100 feet above sea level.
Canal Lock • Canal locks are still used on modern canals like the Panama Canal.
IndustryMovable Type • Movable type uses a separate block for each character. • Printers made characters out of clay, baked them, and then placed them in an iron frame.
Movable Type • Until recently, all newspapers, books, and magazines were printed using movable type.
IndustryPorcelain • Porcelain is a form of pottery of great beauty that some historians think was developed in the first century C.E. • Porcelain was mass-produced.
Porcelain • Fine dishes are still called “china” after fine porcelain.
Military TechnologyGunpowder • The discovery of gunpowder made possible the development of powerful weapons. • Gunpowder may have been discovered by accident by people looking for a way to extend life.
Gunpowder • Gunpowder changed the way wars were conducted around the world.
Military TechnologyRockets • Rockets were first used in fireworks. • The Chinese made a two-stage rocket, with the first stage carrying the weapon over the enemy and the second stage dropping arrows.
Rockets • The rockets we use to explore space are based on the same principles as ancient Chinese rockets.
Everyday ObjectsPaper Money • Paper money replaced coins. • Paper money was printed with wood blocks using many colors on each bill.
Paper Money • Paper money is the most common form of currency today.
Everyday ObjectsMechanical Clock • The mechanical clock had a wheel that made one revolution every 24 hours. Dripping water turned it. • Every quarter hour drums would beat, and every hour a bell would chime so people knew what time it was.
Mechanical Clock • Modern mechanical clocks are based on the same principles as early Chinese clocks.
Disease PreventionSmallpox • The Chinese developed a way to inoculate people against smallpox. • They made a powder from the scab of an infected person and inserted it into the nose of the person who wanted protection.
Smallpox • We have vaccines for many diseases.
Additional Chinese Discoveries and Inventions • paddlewheel boats • playing cards • watertight compartments • segmental arch bridges • papermaking • woodblock printing • steel production • artillery shells • catapults • bombs • rifles • cannons • flamethrowers • disinfectants • boiling to kill germs
