World's Greatest Inventions

The ways in which inventions have helped to change lives, beginning with suspension bridges, taking a journey through their history.

A look back through the history of aviation, revealing how Frank Whittle invented the jet engine, which was initially used by military jet fighters.

An exploration of various dams, which have helped to control irrigation, sunken cities and hydropower as humanity has looked to nature for inspiration.

The innovation of the modern sewage system, which serves the important sanitary purpose in society of transporting bodily waste to the treatment plant and beyond.

A spotlight on the many satellites in orbit around the planet. Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, was launched into space on a rocket by the Soviet Union in 1957. A year later, the USA followed suit with Explorer. Today, there are more than 2,000 satellites in orbit around the Earth, used mainly for telephony, television, radio and digital data transmission. A large number are also used for geoscientific research and meteorology.

A German physics professor invents the X-ray and takes an image of his wife's hand, and in many years to come, the invention is used in medicine and other fields.

Underground railways were initially ridiculed, but subway systems soon changed the world as giant drills cut through the earth and electric fans were used.

The world is forever changed when Karl Benz creates the first petrol-driven car and when Henry Ford revolutionises the production process a few decades later.

The history of the TV reveals how the invention came to be after a farm boy produced an electronic image and Charles Jenkins used moving silhouette images.

The introduction of the supermarket and the invention of the car make large shops big business and change what shopping itself looks like.