Contents
Volumes
The first edition is seven thin volumes of landmarks — not a complete catalogue.
Volume I
Mechanics
Force, heat, and moving parts — from stone flakes to jet engines.
Stone tools · Controlled fire · Wheel and axle · Lever, pulley, and screw · Mechanical clock · Movable-type printing · Steam engine · Interchangeable parts · Internal combustion engine · Moving assembly line · Jet engine · Industrial robot
Volume II
Electronics
Charge under control: batteries, lamps, tubes, and the first computers.
Voltaic pile · Dynamo · Electric light · Radio · Vacuum tube · Radar · Electronic digital computer · Transistor · Lithium-ion battery · Smartphone
Volume III
Automobiles
The road vehicle as a system: engine, tire, factory, and safety.
Internal combustion engine · Benz Motorwagen · Pneumatic tire · Ford Model T · Electric starter · Moving assembly line · Automatic transmission · Catalytic converter · ABS and airbag · Lithium-ion battery · Hybrid and EV platforms
Volume IV
Chemicals
Matter rewritten — metals, dyes, fertilizers, plastics, medicines.
Bronze smelting · Iron and steel · Distillation · Gunpowder · Bessemer converter · Synthetic dye (mauveine) · Bakelite · Haber–Bosch ammonia · Penicillin production · Catalytic converter · Lithium-ion battery
Volume V
Semiconductors
The switch that shrank: transistor to chip to accelerator.
Transistor · Integrated circuit · MOSFET · Photolithography · Moore’s observation · Microprocessor · CMOS image sensor · GPU and accelerators · Smartphone
Volume VI
Communications
Writing to wireless: how ideas left the room and then the planet.
Writing · Paper · Movable-type printing · Electric telegraph · Telephone · Radio · Electronic television · Packet internet · World Wide Web · GPS as a system · Smartphone
Volume VII
Transportation
Water, rail, air, orbit, and the box that stitched trade together.
Wheel and axle · Sail and hull · Canal lock · Steamship · Public railway · Wright Flyer · Jet engine · Containerization · Jet airliner · GPS as a system · Reusable orbital rocket