Florida is a state that has been home to many important technological advancements. From the first successful airborne flight by the Wright Brothers to information technology developed in Silicon Valley and Orlando, Florida has played an important role in shaping our modern world. This blog post will explore major technologies from or in Florida.
1) Airborne Flight
The first successful airplane flight occurred at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17th, 1903. Orville and Wilbur Wright were from Ohio but chose to conduct their test flights near the coast of North Carolina because it was flat with a steady wind. The day following the historic event, they returned home, where they continued working on improving their machine. The first flight in Florida was not until May 15th, 1910, when the Wright flyer took off from Pensacola and flew for six minutes at four feet. This historic event occurred during one of their flights to demonstrate that airplanes could be used as weapons of war during World War I.
2) Information Technology
In 1969, a team of researchers from the University of South Florida created an online computer network that could share data across several computers. This technology became known as ARPANET and helped lay the groundwork for modern-day information sharing through internet networks. In 1971, Robert Metcalfe began work on Ethernet, a technology that allows computers to connect over cables instead of phone lines. Ethernet is the basis for most modern-day networking technologies and has helped rapid advancements such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and fiber optic internet connections.
3) The Apollo Program
The late 1950s and 60s was a time of intense competition between the United States and Russia. Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev had claimed that his country would be the first to send an astronaut into space, but in 1961, President Kennedy announced plans to put an American on the moon by 1970. This announcement came after the Soviet Union successfully launched Yuri Gagarin into space, the first human to do so. This new project became known as Apollo and was under the supervision of NASA. The program had many successes, but perhaps its most famous achievement is when astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon’s surface in 1969, saying, “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
4) Solar Power
Solar energy has been around for centuries but was not commercially available until the 1970s. NASA began powering some of its space shuttles with solar panels during this time. In 1991, Florida Power & Light Company installed two solar power units that could produce 40 kilowatts each at a local mall. This event helped pave the way for solar power as a viable form of alternative energy. In 2008, FPL began constructing the world’s largest photovoltaic plant, which produces 75 megawatts of electricity at peak performance and is located in DeSoto County.
Dil Bole Oberoi
