Tech & Science · 1902
Cooling Air and Splitting Atoms
In 1902, the dawn of the new century brought groundbreaking shifts in physics, chemistry, and practical engineering. From the isolation of mysterious radioactive elements to the birth of modern air conditioning, innovators unlocked powerful unseen forces shaping everyday life.
- July 17, 1902 | Mechanical Engineering
Carrier's Modern Air Conditioner
Willis Carrier submits designs for an apparatus that controls indoor humidity and temperature, inventing modern air conditioning to solve printing production problems.
- April 20, 1902 | Chemistry / France
Isolation of Radium Chloride
Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate one-tenth of a gram of pure radium chloride from tons of pitchblende ore.
- 1902 | Nuclear Physics / Canada
Theory of Radioactive Transmutation
Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy propose that radioactivity is caused by the spontaneous decay of unstable atoms transforming into entirely new elements.
- January 16, 1902 | Physiology / UK
Discovery of Secretin
William Bayliss and Ernest Starling isolate secretin, proving that chemical messengers in the bloodstream—later dubbed hormones—control vital body functions.
- 1902 | Atmospheric Physics
Prediction of the Ionosphere
Arthur E. Kennelly and Oliver Heaviside independently theorize an ionized atmospheric layer that reflects radio waves around Earth's curve.
- March 1902 | Telecommunications / USA
Stubblefield's Wireless Voice Transmission
Nathan Stubblefield conducts public demonstrations of wireless voice radio transmissions in Washington, D.C., sending speech through the air without wires.
- 1902 | Telecommunications / Germany
Korn's Phototelegraphy System
Arthur Korn develops a practical method using light-sensitive selenium cells to scan and transmit photographic images over standard telegraph lines.
- February 1902 | Wireless Telegraphy
Marconi's Daylight Effect Discovery
Aboard the SS Philadelphia, Guglielmo Marconi discovers that medium-wave radio signals travel far greater distances at night than during daylight.
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