Important Events in Science and Technology, 1910–1919

1910

• The availability of electricity in American homes spurs the purchase of electric washing machines.
• American electrical engineer and mathematician Charles Steinmetz publishes Future of Electricity, warning that industry and technology can create air and water pollution. In addition, Steinmetz sees the potential of electricity to revolutionize the home, work, and transportation.
• On May 13, Halley's comet makes its closest approach to Earth. The comet completes its elliptical orbit every seventy-six years, next visiting Earth in 1986.
• In June, Major Frank Woodbury of the U.S. Army introduces tincture of iodine as a disinfectant for wounds.
• In December, the number of telephones in the United States exceeds seven million.

1911

• In February, physicists from around the world meet at the first Solvay Physics Conference—named for the Belgian industrial chemist...