World's Greatest Inventions

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

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.