How Did The Soviet Union Use Sputnik?
Unlike inventions such as the lightbulb or the telephone, the Internet had no single “inventor.” Instead, it has evolved over time. The Internet got its start in the United States more than 50 years ago as a government weapon in the Cold War with Russia. For years, scientists and researchers used it to communicate and share information with one another. Today, we use the Internet for almost everything, and for many people it would be impossible to imagine life without it.
The Sputnik scare
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union — a union of republics led by Russia — launched the world’s first man-made satellite into orbit. The satellite, known as Sputnik, did not do much: It tumbled aimlessly around in outer space, sending blips and bleeps from …show more content…
scientists and military experts were especially concerned about what might happen if the Soviets were to attack the nation’s telephone system. Just one missile, they feared, could destroy the whole network of lines and wires that made long-distance communication possible. In 1962, a scientist named J.C.R. Licklider proposed a solution to this problem: a network of computers that could talk to one another. Such a network would allow government leaders to communicate even if the Soviets destroyed the telephone …show more content…
It was only a simple communication from one computer to another. Both computers were in California and each was the size of a small house. The message — “LOGIN” — may have been short and simple, but it crashed the network anyway. The second computer only received the note’s first two letters.
The network grows
By the end of 1969, there were still only four computers connected to the ARPAnet. However, during the 1970s new local networks sprang up around the world, and the worldwide network grew steadily. There was a problem, though. As computer networks multiplied, it became more difficult to combine them into a single worldwide “Internet.”
By the end of the 1970s, a computer scientist named Vinton Cerf had begun to solve this problem. Cerf developed a way for all of the computers on all of the world’s mini-networks to communicate with one another. He called his invention “Transmission Control Protocol,” or TCP. One writer describes it as “the ‘handshake’ that introduces distant and different computers to each other."
The World Wide
The Sputnik scare
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union — a union of republics led by Russia — launched the world’s first man-made satellite into orbit. The satellite, known as Sputnik, did not do much: It tumbled aimlessly around in outer space, sending blips and bleeps from …show more content…
scientists and military experts were especially concerned about what might happen if the Soviets were to attack the nation’s telephone system. Just one missile, they feared, could destroy the whole network of lines and wires that made long-distance communication possible. In 1962, a scientist named J.C.R. Licklider proposed a solution to this problem: a network of computers that could talk to one another. Such a network would allow government leaders to communicate even if the Soviets destroyed the telephone …show more content…
It was only a simple communication from one computer to another. Both computers were in California and each was the size of a small house. The message — “LOGIN” — may have been short and simple, but it crashed the network anyway. The second computer only received the note’s first two letters.
The network grows
By the end of 1969, there were still only four computers connected to the ARPAnet. However, during the 1970s new local networks sprang up around the world, and the worldwide network grew steadily. There was a problem, though. As computer networks multiplied, it became more difficult to combine them into a single worldwide “Internet.”
By the end of the 1970s, a computer scientist named Vinton Cerf had begun to solve this problem. Cerf developed a way for all of the computers on all of the world’s mini-networks to communicate with one another. He called his invention “Transmission Control Protocol,” or TCP. One writer describes it as “the ‘handshake’ that introduces distant and different computers to each other."
The World Wide