Science and technology
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
is one of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
's most developed sectors. The country spent 1.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
in 2015, which is the
25th-highest ratio in the world.
Hungary ranks 32nd among the most innovative countries in the
Bloomberg Innovation Index
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately-held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan (Bloomberg), Du ...
, standing before
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
or
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. Hungary was ranked 36th in the
Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for and success in innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a Britis ...
in 2024.
In 2014, Hungary counted 2,651 full-time-equivalent researchers per million inhabitants, steadily increasing from 2,131 in 2010 and compares with 3,984 in the US or 4,380 in Germany. Hungary's
high tech
High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...
nology industry has benefited from both the country's skilled workforce and the strong presence of foreign high-tech firms and
research centres. Hungary also has one of the highest rates of filed
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s, the 6th highest ratio of high-tech and medium high-tech output in the total industrial output, the 12th-highest research
FDI inflow, placed 14th in research talent in business enterprise and has the 17th-best overall innovation efficiency ratio in the world.
The key actor of research and development in Hungary is the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office), which is a national strategic and
funding agency for scientific research, development and innovation, the primary source of advice on RDI policy for the
Hungarian government, and the primary RDI funding agency. Its role is to develop RDI policy and ensure that Hungary adequately invest in RDI by funding excellent research and supporting innovation to increase competitiveness and to prepare the RDI strategy of the Hungarian Government, to handle the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, and represents the Hungarian Government and a Hungarian RDI community in international organizations.
The
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...
and its research network is another key player in Hungarian R&D and it is the most important and prestigious
learned society
A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, with the main responsibilities of the cultivation of
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
, dissemination of scientific findings, supporting
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
and representing Hungarian science domestically and around the world.
Research universities and institutions
A mining school called "Berg Schola", the world's first institute of technology was founded in
Selmecbánya,
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
(today
Banská Štiavnica
Banská Štiavnica (; ; , ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of ...
, Slovakia), in 1735. Its legal successor is the
University of Miskolc
The University of Miskolc (before 1990: ''Technical University of Heavy Industry'') is the largest university of Northern Hungary.
Location
Most of the buildings can be found in Egyetemváros ("University Town"), a part of the city of Miskolc. ...
and the
University of Sopron in Hungary.
BME University is considered the world's oldest institute of technology which has university rank and structure. It was the first institute in Europe to train engineers at university level.
Among
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
's numerous
research universities
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of knowledge production", along with "intergenerational knowledge transfer and the ...
, the
Eötvös Loránd University
Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...
, founded in 1635, is one of the largest and the most prestigious public
higher education
Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education.
The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
institutions in Hungary. The 28,000 students at ELTE are organized into eight faculties, and into research institutes located throughout
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. ELTE is affiliated with 5 Nobel laureates, as well as winners of the
Wolf Prize
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of natio ...
,
Fulkerson Prize
The Fulkerson Prize for outstanding papers in the area of discrete mathematics is sponsored jointly by the Mathematical Optimization Society (MOS) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Up to three awards of $1,500 each are presented at e ...
and
Abel Prize, the latest of which was Abel Prize winner
Endre Szemerédi
Endre Szemerédi (; born August 21, 1940) is a Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist, working in the field of combinatorics and theoretical computer science. He has been the State of New Jersey Professor of computer science a ...
in 2012.
Semmelweis University
Semmelweis University (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Semmelweis Egyetem'', ) is a research-led medical school in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 1769. With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences.
...
in the recently released
QS World University Rankings
The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
2016 listed among the world's best 151–200 universities in the categories of medicine and pharmacy. According to the international ranking in the field of medicine Semmelweis University ranked first among the Hungarian universities. The "Modern Medical Technologies at Semmelweis University" project ensuring institution's place among the leading research universities in four main areas:
Personalised medicine; Imaging processes and bioimaging: from molecule to the human being; Bio-engineering and
nanomedicine
Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology, translating historic nanoscience insights and inventions into practical application. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and biological devices, to n ...
;
Molecular medicine.
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...
's research activities encouraged and is present on all levels from the B.Sc. through to the
doctoral level. During the 1980s the BUTE was among the first in the Eastern bloc to recognise the importance of participating in research activities with institutions in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
. Consequently, the university has the most well-established research relationships with Western European universities. There are many famous
alumni
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
at university:
Dennis Gabor
Dennis Gabor ( ; ; 5 June 1900 – 9 February 1979) was a Hungarian-British physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for his invention of holography. He obtained British citizenship in 1946 and spent most of his life in Engla ...
who was the inventor of
holography
Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
got his
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
in 1971,
George Oláh got his
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
in 1994. Nowadays the university has 110 departments, 1100 lecturers, 400 researchers.
University of Szeged
The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...
internationally acknowledged, competitive research activities are essential parts of its educational mission, and it is particularly important to ensure the institution's position as a research university. Its research and creative activities include basic and
applied research
Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...
, creative arts, product and service development.
University of Debrecen
The University of Debrecen ( ) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its establishment in 1538. The university has a well established progra ...
with a student body of about 30 thousand is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Hungary and its priority areas of research include:
molecular science; physical, computational and material science; medical, health, environmental and
agricultural science
Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professio ...
; linguistics, culture and bioethics.
University of Pécs
The University of Pécs ( , PTE; ) is one of the largest higher education institutions in Hungary. The history of the university began in the Middle Ages, when in 1367, at the request of Louis I of Hungary, King Louis I the Great, Pope Urban V gr ...
is one of the leading research universities in the country with a huge professional research background. The Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs is covers all aspects of education, research and innovation in the fields of biomedical, natural and environmental sciences. The infrastructure, instrumentation and expertise of the 22 research groups operating on the premises provide an excellent basis to become a well-known, leading research facility in Hungary as well as in
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
with an extensive and fruitful collaboration network.
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...
's research network also contributes significantly to research output of Hungary. It comprises 15 legally independent research institutions and more than 130 research groups at universities co-financed by the academy. This research network focusing above all on discovery research is unparalleled in Hungary, accounting for one-third of all scientific publications produced in the country. Citation indices of publications posted by the academy's researchers surpass the Hungarian average by 25.5%. The research network addresses discovery and targeted research, in cooperation with universities and corporations. The main components of the network are the
MTA Szeged Research Centre for Biology, the MTA Institute for Computer Science and Control, the
MTA Rényi Institute of Mathematics, the
MTA Research Centre for Natural Sciences, the
MTA Institute of Nuclear Research, the MTA Institute of Experimental Medicine, MTA Wigner Research Centre for Physics, the MTA Centre for Energy Research and MTA Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (involved with Konkoly Observatory).
Venture capital market
According to the HVCA (Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association) report joint efforts of the
venture capital
Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
and
private equity
Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
industry and the
Hungarian government, the access of Hungarian enterprises to venture capital and private equity funding could be significantly increased. During the past two decades these financial intermediaries have also played an increasingly important role in the
Hungarian economy. During this period, venture capital and private equity funds invested close to 4 billion US Dollars into more than 400
Hungarian enterprises.
However, so-called buyout transactions have accounted for about two thirds of the total volume of those investments, which were aimed at the acquisition of shares in mature companies that have been operating profitably for several years. The volume of investments in early and expansive stage companies was significantly lower. Only about 30% of the total volume of investments was directed at companies in the expansive stage and less than 5% at early stage companies. This is also reflected by the fact that over the last two decades slightly more than 10% of the total volume of venture capital and private equity investments came from funds focusing on early stage companies. The remaining close to 90% was invested by private equity funds focusing on more mature companies with greater economic strength. As for the number of transactions, companies in the expansive stage were targeted by the largest number of venture capital and private equity investments: such investments accounted for almost 60% of Hungarian transactions. Nearly a third of transactions involved early stage companies. Buy-out deals represented approximately 10% of transactions by number. Several factors have contributed to this growth. These include
tax exemptions on Hungarian venture capital, funds established in conjunction with large international banks and financial companies and the involvement of major organizations desirous to capitalize on the strengths of Hungarian start up and high-tech companies. In recent years, the share of venture capital invested in the growth stages of enterprises has flourished at the expense of early stage investments.
Nobel Prize laureates
Since the first
Hungarian won a
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
in 1905, the country has added a further 14 to its cache. With scientists, writers and economists all honored in the prestigious awards:
Hungarian Scientific Olympic Achievements
Hungary has excelled at the scientific Olympiads, ever since the beginnings.
Best result is in maths with absolute cumulative 4th place until 2019, behind China, Russia and US. Per capita result is a world leader.
Results in physics is just somewhat weaker. 9th place (3rd best in Europe). Per capita result is also a world leader.
Chemistry (1968–2019) results give 8th place and 4th place in Europe. This is also a world leader per capita.
However the results have weakened lately.
Hungarian inventions
*The English word "coach" came from the
Hungarian ''kocsi'' ("
wagon
A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by Working animal#Draft animals, draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Wagons are i ...
from
Kocs
Kocs () is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. It lies west of Tata (Hungary), Tata and northwest of Budapest. A site of horse-drawn vehicle manufacture from the 1400s, the name is the source of the word ''carriage, coach'' and its e ...
" referring to the village in Hungary where coaches were first made).
*
Wolfgang von Kempelen invented a manually operated
speaking machine in 1769.
*
János Irinyi invented the noiseless
match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
.
*In 1827,
Ányos Jedlik
Ányos István Jedlik (1800 – 1895) was a Hungarian inventor, engineer, physicist, and Benedictine priest. He was also a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He is considered by Hungarians and Slovaks to b ...
invented an early
electric motor
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
. He created the first device to contain the three main components of practical
direct current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...
motors: the
stator
The stator is the stationary part of a rotary system, found in electric generators, electric motors, sirens, mud motors, or biological rotors (such as bacterial flagella or ATP synthase). Energy flows through a stator to or from the rotat ...
,
rotor
ROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. To get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era syst ...
and
commutator
In mathematics, the commutator gives an indication of the extent to which a certain binary operation fails to be commutative. There are different definitions used in group theory and ring theory.
Group theory
The commutator of two elements, ...
. He built the first generator which used, instead of permanent magnets, two electromagnets opposite to each other to induce the magnetic field around the rotor.
2] This was also the discovery of the principle of "dynamo
self-excitation".
*
David Schwarz invented and designed the first flyable rigid airship (aluminium-made). Later, he sold his patent to German
Graf Zeppelin, who built the so-called
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...
airship.
*
Donát Bánki and
János Csonka
János Csonka (22 January 1852 in Szeged – 27 October 1939 in Budapest) was a Hungarian engineer, the co-inventor of the carburetor for the stationary engine with Donát Bánki, patented on 13 February 1893.
Life
Csonka, self-educated in ...
invented the
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter)
is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...
.
*
Ottó Bláthy
Ottó Titusz Bláthy (11 August 1860 – 26 September 1939) was a Hungarian electrical engineer. During his career he became the co-inventor of the modern electric transformer, the voltage regulator, the AC watt-hour meter, the turbo genera ...
,
Miksa Déri and
Károly Zipernowsky invented the modern
transformer
In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
in 1885.
*Ottó Bláthy invented the
turbogenerator
A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a turbine (water, steam, or gas) for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also u ...
and
wattmeter.
*
Kálmán Kandó
Kálmán Kandó de Egerfarmos et Sztregova (''egerfarmosi és sztregovai Kandó Kálmán''; July 10, 1869 – January 13, 1931) was a Hungary, Hungarian engineer, the inventor of phase converter and a pioneer in the development of AC electric rai ...
invented the
three-phase
Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, Electric power transmission, transmission, and Electric power distribution, distribution. It is a type of polyphase system ...
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...
, and was a pioneer in the development of electric railway traction.
*
Tivadar Puskás
Tivadar Puskás de Ditró (in older English technical literature: Theodore Puskás) (17 September 1844 – 16 March 1893) was a Hungarian inventor, telephone pioneer, and inventor of the telephone exchange. He was also the founder of Tele ...
invented the
telephone exchange
A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...
,
Telefon Hírmondó
The Telefon Hírmondó (also Telefonhírmondó, generally translated as "Telephone Herald") was a "telephone newspaper" located in Budapest, Hungary, which, beginning in 1893, provided news and entertainment to subscribers over telephone lines. It ...
.
*
Dezső Korda invented the
rotating capacitor (tuning capacitor).
*
József Galamb was the main engineer and inventor of the
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
and co-developer of the
assembly line
An assembly line, often called ''progressive assembly'', is a manufacturing process where the unfinished product moves in a direct line from workstation to workstation, with parts added in sequence until the final product is completed. By mechan ...
.
*
Eugene Farkas was main engineer on the
Fordson
Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 ...
tractor.
*
Sándor Just invented the
tungsten
Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...
electric bulb (1904).
*
Imre Bródy invented the
krypton
Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...
electric bulb.
*
Loránd Eötvös
Baron Loránd Eötvös de Vásárosnamény (or simply Loránd Eötvös ; ; ; 27 July 1848 – 8 April 1919), also called Baron Roland von Eötvös in English literature, was a Hungarian physicist. He is remembered today largely for his work on ...
:
weak equivalence principle
The equivalence principle is the hypothesis that the observed equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass is a consequence of nature. The weak form, known for centuries, relates to masses of any composition in free fall taking the same tr ...
and
surface tension
Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension (physics), tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects (e.g. Ge ...
.
*
Sándor Gaál invented the cyclotrone 1929 (but the German editorial, registered 5th of may, mistok it, and did not publish the study)
*
Kálmán Tihanyi
Kálmán Tihanyi (), or in English language technical literature often mentioned as Coloman Tihanyi or Koloman Tihanyi (28 April 1897 – 26 February 1947) was a Hungary, Hungarian physicist, electrical engineer and inventor. One of the ea ...
invented and described the "charge-storage" physical phenomenon, was a pioneer in developing the
electronic television and camera-tube (1926), and invented the
plasma TV (1936) and
infrared camera
Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared im ...
(1929).
*
István Juhász Gamma-Juhász predictor (electro-mechanical "computer") 1930 used for directing artillery.
*
Jenö Dulovits 1st mirror-reflex-camera:
Duflex
*
József Mihályi (Chief-designer at Kodak) was co-designer or designer and inventor for
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
of the following cameras:
Kodak Ekstra,
Kodak Medalist,
Kodak Super Six-20 and
Kodak Bantam Special.
*
Ödön Riszdorfer and 0
Mihályi
Mihályi is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, in Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, R ...
invented the first semi-automatic camera: Kodak Super Six-20
*
Ödön Riszdorfer light meter (1931)
*
Béla Barényi
Béla Barényi (1 March 1907, Hirtenberg, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy – 30 May 1997, Böblingen, Germany) was an ethnic Hungarian engineer from Austria-Hungary, who was a prolific inventor, sometimes even compared to Thomas Edison. Barényi ma ...
designed the
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
and is the father of
passive safety in automobiles.
*
Ervin Kováts invented the concept of
Kovats retention index, a concept used in
gas chromatography
Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for Separation process, separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without Chemical decomposition, decomposition. Typical uses of GC include t ...
.
*
Csaba Horváth constructed the first
high performance liquid chromatograph.
*
Ferenc Anisits invented the modern
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
.
*
Albert Szent-Györgyi
Albert Imre Szent-Györgyi de Rapoltu Mare, Nagyrápolt (; September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986) was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with first isolating vitamin C and disc ...
discovered
Vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...
and created the first artificial
vitamin
Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
. (
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
in 1937)
*
Theodore Kármán – Mathematical tools to study
fluid flow
In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...
and mathematical background of
supersonic flight
A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1). Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been used for r ...
and inventor of
swept-back wings, "father of Supersonic Flight".
*
Albert Fonó invented
ramjet
A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to .
Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...
propulsion.
*
György Jendrassik invented
turboprop
A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
propulsion.
*
Leó Szilárd hypothesized the
nuclear chain reaction
In nuclear physics, a nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series or "positive feedback loop" of thes ...
invented and patented the
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
(1934), co-patented the
nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
, invented the
electron microscope
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...
and the
linear accelerator
A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear ...
(the first particle accelerator), and later invented the
cyclotron
A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Januar ...
.
*
Tamás Péter Bródy Tamás () is a Hungarian, masculine given name. It is a Hungarian equivalent of the name Thomas.
The given name may refer to:
* Tamás Adamik (born 1937), Hungarian linguist and professor
* Tamás Bognár (born 1978), Hungarian footballer
* Tamá ...
invented the active-matrix thin film transistor technology which underpins the LCD and OLED displays commonly used today.
*
Dennis Gabor
Dennis Gabor ( ; ; 5 June 1900 – 9 February 1979) was a Hungarian-British physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for his invention of holography. He obtained British citizenship in 1946 and spent most of his life in Engla ...
invented
holography
Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
(
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
in 1971).
*
László Bíró invented the
ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) ...
.
*
Edward Teller
Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...
hypothesized thermonuclear fusion and the theory of the
hydrogen bomb
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...
.
*
John Kemeny developed the
BASIC
Basic or BASIC may refer to:
Science and technology
* BASIC, a computer programming language
* Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base
* Basic access authentication, in HTTP
Entertainment
* Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film
...
programming language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs.
Programming languages are described in terms of their Syntax (programming languages), syntax (form) and semantics (computer science), semantics (meaning), usually def ...
with
Thomas E. Kurtz
Thomas Eugene Kurtz (February 22, 1928 – November 12, 2024) was an American computer scientist and educator. A Dartmouth professor of mathematics, he and colleague John G. Kemeny are best known for co-developing the BASIC programming languag ...
.
*
Ferenc Pavlics was one of two co-developers of the NASA Apollo
Lunar rover
A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration Rover (space exploration), vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, ...
.
*
Antal K. Bejczy developed Mars Rover
Sojourner
A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place.
Sojourner may also refer to:
People
* Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), abolitionist and women's rights activist
* Albert Sojourner (1872–1951), member of the Mississippi House of Rep ...
.
*
Ernő Rubik invented the so-called
Rubik's Cube.
*
ArchiCAD 3-D software was developed by
Gábor Bojár (1987).
*
Charles Simonyi
Charles Simonyi (; , ; born September 10, 1948) is a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American software architect.
He introduced the graphical user interface to Bill Gates for the first time who later described it as the first of two revolutiona ...
was chief-architect at Microsoft and oversaw the creation of
Microsoft's flagship Office suite of applications.
*
Gömböc
A gömböc () is any member of a class of convex set, convex, three-dimensional and homogeneous bodies that are ''mono-monostatic'', meaning that they have just one stable and one unstable Mechanical equilibrium, point of equilibrium when r ...
, a new geometrical body, was invented in 2006 by Hungarian scientists
Gábor Domokos and Péter Várkonyi.
*
Endre Mester invented
low level laser therapy
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT), cold laser therapy or photobiomodulation (PBM) is a medical treatment approach that applies low-level (low- power) lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to the surface of the body. Whereas high-power lasers are ...
, also known as "light therapy".
*
Prezi
Prezi is a Hungarian video and visual communications software company founded in 2009 in Hungary, with offices in San Francisco, Budapest and Riga as of 2020. According to Prezi, in 2021, the software company has more than 100 million users worl ...
, a web-based presentation application and storytelling tool, developed by Adam Somlai-Fischer and Peter Halacsy in 2007.
*
Áron Losonczy invented the
LiTraCon, a
translucent
In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...
concrete building material.
*
Dániel Rátai invented the three-dimensional monitor:
Leonar3Do.
*The three-dimensional scanner microscope
3D Alba (international patent in 2007) was developed by Katona Gergely and Rózsa Balázs.
In August 1939, Szilárd approached his old friend and collaborator
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
and convinced him to sign the
Einstein–Szilárd letter, lending the weight of Einstein's fame to the proposal. The letter led directly to the establishment of research into nuclear fission by the U.S. government and ultimately to the creation of the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada.
From 1942 to 1946, the ...
. (Szilárd, with
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian and naturalized American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project ...
, patented the
nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
).
Science
Scientists and inventors
Important names in the 18th century are
Maximilian Hell (astronomer),
János Sajnovics
János Sajnovics de Tordas et Káloz ( Tordas, 12 May 1733 – Pest, 4 May 1785) was a Hungarian linguist and member of the Jesuit order. He is best known for his pioneering work in comparative linguistics, particularly his systematic demonstr ...
(linguist),
Matthias Bel (
polyhistor),
Sámuel Mikoviny (engineer) and
Wolfgang von Kempelen (polyhistor and co-founder of comparative linguistics). Physicist and engineer
Ányos Jedlik
Ányos István Jedlik (1800 – 1895) was a Hungarian inventor, engineer, physicist, and Benedictine priest. He was also a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He is considered by Hungarians and Slovaks to b ...
invented the first
electric motor
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
(1828), the
dynamo
"Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, )
A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...
,
self-excitation, the
impulse generator
Impulse or Impulsive may refer to:
Science
* Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time
* Impulse noise (disambiguation)
* Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...
, and the
cascade connection of capacitors. An important name in 19th-century physics is
Joseph Petzval
Joseph Petzval (6 January 1807 – 17 September 1891) was a mathematician, inventor, and physicist best known for his work in optics. He was born in the town of Szepesbéla in the Kingdom of Hungary (in German: Zipser Bela, now Spišská Belá in ...
, one of the founders of modern optics. The invention of the
transformer
In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
(by
Ottó Bláthy
Ottó Titusz Bláthy (11 August 1860 – 26 September 1939) was a Hungarian electrical engineer. During his career he became the co-inventor of the modern electric transformer, the voltage regulator, the AC watt-hour meter, the turbo genera ...
,
Miksa Déri and
Károly Zipernowsky), the AC
electricity meter
file:Hydro quebec meter.JPG, North American domestic analog signal, analog (Galileo Ferraris, Ferraris disk) electricity meter.
file:Transparent Electricity Meter found in Israel.JPG, Electricity meter with transparent plastic case (Israel)
fil ...
, and electricity distribution systems with parallel-connected power sources decided the future of electrification in the
war of the currents
The war of the currents was a series of events surrounding the introduction of competing electric power transmission systems in the late 1880s and early 1890s. It grew out of two lighting systems developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s: arc l ...
, which resulted in the global triumph of alternating current systems over the earlier direct current systems.
Roland von Eötvös discovered the
weak equivalence principle
The equivalence principle is the hypothesis that the observed equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass is a consequence of nature. The weak form, known for centuries, relates to masses of any composition in free fall taking the same tr ...
(one of the cornerstones in Einsteinian relativity).
Radó von Kövesligethy discovered laws of
black-body radiation
Black-body radiation is the thermal radiation, thermal electromagnetic radiation within, or surrounding, a body in thermodynamic equilibrium with its environment, emitted by a black body (an idealized opaque, non-reflective body). It has a specific ...
before
Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (; ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...
and
Wien
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
.
Mathematicians
Hungary is famous for its excellent
mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out Scholarly method, scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical know ...
, which has trained numerous outstanding scientists. Famous Hungarian mathematicians include father
Farkas Bolyai and son
János Bolyai, designer of modern geometry (
non-Euclidean geometry
In mathematics, non-Euclidean geometry consists of two geometries based on axioms closely related to those that specify Euclidean geometry. As Euclidean geometry lies at the intersection of metric geometry and affine geometry, non-Euclidean ge ...
) 1820–1823. Together with
John von Neumann
John von Neumann ( ; ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, in ...
, János Bolyai is considered to be the greatest Hungarian mathematician ever. The most prestigious Hungarian scientific award is named in honor of János Bolyai.
John von Neumann
John von Neumann ( ; ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, in ...
was a pioneer in
quantum theory,
game theory
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
and
digital computing, and he was the key mathematician on the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada.
From 1942 to 1946, the ...
. Mathematician
Paul Erdős
Paul Erdős ( ; 26March 191320September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. pursued and proposed problems in discrete mathematics, g ...
is famed for publishing in over forty languages, and his
Erdős number
The Erdős number () describes the "collaborative distance" between mathematician Paul Erdős and another person, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers. The same principle has been applied in other fields where a particular individual ...
s are still tracked.
[''The Contribution of Hungarians to Universal Culture''](_blank)
(includes inventors), Embassy of the Republic of Hungary, Damascus, Syria, 2006.
Many Hungarian scientists, including
Zoltán Bay,
Victor Szebehely (practical solution to the three-body problem; Newton the two-body problem),
Mária Telkes
Mária Telkes (December 12, 1900 – December 2, 1995) was a Hungarian-American Biophysics, biophysicist, engineer, and inventor who worked on solar energy technologies.
She moved to the United States in 1925 to work as a Biophysics, biophysicis ...
,
Imre Izsak,
Louis W. Parker, Erdős, von Neumann,
Leó Szilárd,
Eugene Wigner
Eugene Paul Wigner (, ; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of th ...
,
Theodore von Kármán
Theodore von Kármán ( , May 11, 1881May 6, 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics. He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing ...
and
Edward Teller
Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...
,
emigrated
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the United States and made valuable contributions there. (Some Hungarian scientists went to Germany instead: engineer/scientist István Szabó (1906–1980), for example.
(Some went to Soviet Union:
Robert Bartini). István Juhász, inventor of one of the earliest electro-mechanical computers,
Gamma-Juhász, stayed at home and was ostracized) An influential cause of scientist emigration was the 1920
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...
after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, by which Hungary, diminished by the treaty, became unable to support large-scale, costly scientific research. At least fifteen (15–20) Hungarian or Hungarian-born scientists received the Nobel Prize:
von Lenárd,
Bárány,
Zsigmondy,
von Szent-Györgyi,
de Hevesy,
von Békésy,
Wigner,
Gábor,
Polányi,
Oláh,
Harsányi,
Herskó and in 2023:
Katalin Karikó
Katalin "Kati" Karikó (, ; born 17 January 1955) is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA)-mediated mechanisms, particularly in vitro-Transcription (biology), transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein repla ...
and
Ferenc Krausz
Ferenc Krausz (born 17 May 1962) is a Hungaro-Austrian physicist working in Attosecond physics, attosecond science. He is a director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and a professor of experimental physics at the Ludwig Maximilian U ...
. Most of them had emigrated, mostly because of persecution by communist and/or fascist regimes. A significant group of Hungarian dissident scientists of Jewish descent who settled in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in the first half of the 20th century were called ''
The Martians''.
Béla Gáspár patented the first one-strip fullcolor film:
Gasparcolor. Names in psychology are
János Selye founder of
Stress-theory and
Csikszentmihalyi founder of
Flow- theory.
Tamás Roska is co-inventor of CNN (
cellular neural network).
Some internationally well-known figures of today include: mathematician
László Lovász
László Lovász (; born March 9, 1948) is a Hungarian mathematician and professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, best known for his work in combinatorics, for which he was awarded the 2021 Abel Prize jointly with Avi Wigderson. He ...
, physicist
Albert-László Barabási
Albert-László Barabási (born March 30, 1967) is a Romanian-born Hungarian-American physicist, renowned for his pioneering discoveries in network science and network medicine.
He is a distinguished university professor and Robert Gray Profe ...
, physicist
Ferenc Krausz
Ferenc Krausz (born 17 May 1962) is a Hungaro-Austrian physicist working in Attosecond physics, attosecond science. He is a director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and a professor of experimental physics at the Ludwig Maximilian U ...
, chemist
Julius Rebek, chemist
Árpád Furka, biochemist
Árpád Pusztai
Árpád János Pusztai (8 September 1930 – 17 December 2021) was a Hungarian-born British biochemist and nutritionist who spent 36 years at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was a world expert on plant lectins, authoring ...
and the highly controversial former NASA-physicist
Ferenc Miskolczi, who denies the green-house effect. According to Science Watch: In Hadron research Hungary has most citations per paper in the world. In 2011 neuroscientists
György Buzsáki,
Tamás Freund and
Peter Somogyi were awarded with The Brain Prize ("Danish Nobel Prize" in neurology)" for "brain circuits involved in memory".
Péter Horváth, in Szeged, is a biophysicist, explaining minimal changes in a cell.
After the fall of the communist dictatorship (1989), a new scientific prize, the János Bolyai Creative Award (''Bolyai János alkotói díj''), was established (1997), politically unbiased and of the highest international standard.
Tibor Gánti got full recognition first after his death for his
Chemoton-theory which explains how life started.
Events with Awards since 2000
Technology
Early milestones in technology and infrastructure (1700–1918)
The first
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
s of
continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
was built in Újbánya – Köngisberg, Kingdom of Hungary (Today
Nová Baňa
Nová Baňa (; ) is a town in the west of central Slovakia and the largest town of the Žarnovica District, located in the Banská Bystrica Region.
Etymology
The original name of Nová Baňa was Štiavnica - derived from the still existing spring ...
Slovakia) in 1722. These were similar to the Newcomen engines, they served on pumping water from mines.
Railways

The first Hungarian steam-locomotive railway line was opened on 15 July 1846, between Pest and Vác. By 1910, the total length of the rail networks of the Hungarian Kingdom had reached ; the Hungarian network linked more than 1,490 settlements. This has ranked Hungarian railways as the sixth-most dense in the world (ahead of countries as Germany or France).
Locomotive engine and railway vehicle manufacturers before World War One (engines and wagons, bridge and iron structures) were the
MÁVAG
MÁVAG (''Magyar Királyi Állami Vas-, Acél- és Gépgyárak''; ''Hungarian Royal State Iron, Steel and Machine Factories'') was the largest Hungarian rail vehicle producer. MÁVAG company was the second largest industrial enterprise after the ...
company in Budapest (steam engines and wagons) and the
Ganz company in Budapest (steam engines, wagons, the production of
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...
s and electric trams started from 1894). and the
RÁBA Company in
Győr
Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
.
The Ganz Works identified the significance of induction motors and synchronous motors commissioned Kálmán Kandó (1869–1931) to develop it. In 1894,
Kálmán Kandó
Kálmán Kandó de Egerfarmos et Sztregova (''egerfarmosi és sztregovai Kandó Kálmán''; July 10, 1869 – January 13, 1931) was a Hungary, Hungarian engineer, the inventor of phase converter and a pioneer in the development of AC electric rai ...
developed high-voltage three-phase AC motors and generators for electric locomotives. The first-ever electric rail vehicle manufactured by Ganz Works was a 6 HP pit locomotive with direct current traction system. The first Ganz made asynchronous rail vehicles (altogether 2 pieces) were supplied in 1898 to
Évian-les-Bains
Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian (, , or ), is a Communes of France, commune in Eastern France, by the border with Switzerland. It is located in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
A high-m ...
(Switzerland), with a , asynchronous-traction system. The Ganz Works won the tender of electrification of railway of Valtellina Railways in Italy in 1897. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a main line, rather than just a short stretch. The Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz works. The electrical system was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. The voltage was significantly higher than used earlier, and it required new designs for electric motors and switching devices.
In 1918, Kandó invented and developed the
rotary phase converter
A rotary phase converter, abbreviated RPC, is an electrical machine that converts power from one polyphase system to another, converting through rotary motion. Typically, single-phase electric power is used to produce three-phase electric power ...
, enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high voltage national networks.
File:AEGV gőzmotorkocsi.JPG, The first steam railcar built by Ganz and de Dion-Bouton
File:Máv Class 601 1914.jpg, The four-cylinder 2,950 hp (2,200 kW) MÁV Class 601 was the strongest steam locomotive of pre WW1 Europe.
File:Ganz engine Valtellina.jpg, Ganz AC electric locomotive prototype (1901 Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...
, Italy)
File:RA 361 Ganz Valtellina.jpg, Electric locomotive RA 361 (later FS Class E.360) by Ganz for the Valtellina line, 1904
File:V50.jpg, The world's first locomotive with a phase converter was Kandó's V50 locomotive (only for demonstration and testing purposes)
File:MÁV armoured train.jpg, MÁV armoured train during the WW I
Electrified railway lines
* Budapest (See:
BHÉV):
Ráckeve
Ráckeve ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српски Ковин, Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are mainly Hungarians, Magyars, with a minority of Serbs.
The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and ...
line (1887),
Szentendre
Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...
line (1888),
Gödöllő
Gödöllő, officially the City of Gödöllő, is a city in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can b ...
line (1888),
Csepel line (1912)
Electrified tramways
The first electric tramway was built in Budapest in 1887, which was the first tramway in Austria-Hungary. By the turn of the 20th century, 22 Hungarian cities had electrified tramway lines in Kingdom of Hungary.
Date of electrification of tramway lines in the Kingdom of Hungary:
* Hungary:
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
(1887); Pressburg/Pozsony/
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
(1895); Szabadka/
Subotica
Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...
,
Szombathely
}
Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...
,
Miskolc
Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...
(1897); Temesvár/
Timișoara
Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
(1899);
Sopron
Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
History
Ancient times-13th century
In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely.
When ...
(1900); Szatmárnémeti/
Satu Mare
Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...
(1900);
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza (, ) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in the Northern Great ...
(1905); Nagyszeben/
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
(1905); Nagyvárad/
Oradea
Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
(1906);
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
(1908);
Debrecen
Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...
(1911); Újvidék/
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
(1911); Kassa/
Košice
Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...
(1913);
Pécs
Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...
(1913)
* Croatia:
Fiume
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...
(1899);
Pula
Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...
(1904);
Opatija
Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...
–
Lovran
Lovran (, ) is a village and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. It is situated in eastern Istria, on the western coast of the Kvarner Bay. Its name derives from Laurel (''Laurus nobilis''), as shown in the coat of arms.
Popul ...
(1908);
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
(1910);
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
(1910).
Underground
The
Budapest metro
The Budapest Metro (, ) is the rapid transit system in the Hungary, Hungarian capital Budapest. Opened in 1896, it is the world's second oldest electrified underground railway after the City and South London Railway of 1890, now part of the Lon ...
Line 1 (originally the "Franz Joseph Underground Electric Railway Company") is the second oldest underground railway in the world (the first being the London Underground's Metropolitan Line), and the first on the European mainland. It was built from 1894 to 1896 and opened in Budapest on 2 May 1896. Since 2002, the M1 line was listed as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
The M1 line became an
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines.
The IEEE ...
Milestone due to the radically new innovations in its era: "Among the railway's innovative elements were bidirectional tram cars; electric lighting in the subway stations and tram cars; and an overhead wire structure instead of a third-rail system for power."
Automotive industry
The spread of the Industrial Revolution in Hungary, along with the technological changes brought about by progress, made it clear by the end of the 19th century that the end of horse-drawn transport was approaching. Around 1818,
Farkas Bolyai and Péter Bodor presented their steam carriage in Marosvásárhely, in 1819, József Horti-Horváth showcased the flywheel omnibus,
Ányos Jedlik
Ányos István Jedlik (1800 – 1895) was a Hungarian inventor, engineer, physicist, and Benedictine priest. He was also a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He is considered by Hungarians and Slovaks to b ...
stirred the interest with his electric-powered vehicle model and carriage. Developments continued in the latter half of the century: in 1876, György Wessely received a patent for a self-propelled steam carriage, and Ferenc Preiner also demonstrated a steam-powered carriage. By 1890,
Ferenc Korda had created the first battery-operated electric car in Hungary.
János Csonka
János Csonka (22 January 1852 in Szeged – 27 October 1939 in Budapest) was a Hungarian engineer, the co-inventor of the carburetor for the stationary engine with Donát Bánki, patented on 13 February 1893.
Life
Csonka, self-educated in ...
had a significant impact on further development in the industrial sector of petrol engines; in addition to inventing the carburetor, he designed a petrol engine driven mail collection car for the Hungarian Post. The vehicle was manufactured by the Ganz company and was put into circulation in November 1900.
---
File:Magomobil phoenix car -1906.jpg, Magomobil phoenix car -1906
1911 Phoenix.jpg, A Magomobil Phoenix advertisement in 1911
File:Raba cars.jpg, Rába (automobile)
File:MARTA 35-45 HP Dublu-Phaeton karosszériás.jpg, MARTA 35-45 HP Dublu-Phaeton
File:Magomobil phönix auto -1910.jpg, Magomobil phönix auto -1910
File:1914 mag teherauto.jpg, A Magomobil truck in 1914
File:Marta autobus.jpg, Marta bus in Arad in 1909
File:Ganz autobus from 1914.jpg, Photograph of a Ganz bus in 1914
File:MÁG Bus 1913.png, Magomobil bus in Budapest in 1913
File:Titan petrol engine tractor in 1913 manufactured by the Magyar Motor és Gépgyár.png, "Titan" petrol engine tractor in 1913. (Produced by the Magyar Motor és Gépgyár)
Prior to World War I, the Kingdom of Hungary had four car manufacturer companies; Hungarian car production started in 1900. Automotive factories in the Kingdom of Hungary manufactured motorcycles, cars, taxicabs, trucks and buses. These were: the
Ganz company in Budapest,
RÁBA Automobile in
Győr
Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
, MÁG (later
Magomobil) in Budapest, and MARTA (
Hungarian Automobile Joint-stock Company Arad) in
Arad.
Aeronautical industry

The first Hungarian hydrogen-filled experimental balloons were built by István Szabik and József Domin in 1784.
The first Hungarian-designed and produced airplane to be powered by a Hungarian
aero engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbin ...
was flown in 1909 at Rákosmező. The International Air-race was organized in Budapest, Rákosmező in June 1910. The earliest Hungarian
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...
powered airplane was built in 1913. Between 1913 and 1918, the Hungarian aircraft industry began developing. The three mist significant were
UFAG Hungarian Aircraft Factory (1912), Hungarian General Aircraft Factory (1916) and the Hungarian Lloyd Aircraft engine factory (at
Aszód (1916), and Marta in Arad (1914). During the WW I, fighter planes, bombers and reconnaissance planes were produced in these factories. The most important aero engine factories of the period were
Weiss Manfred Works,
Ganz Works
The Ganz Machinery Works Holding is a Hungary, Hungarian holding company. Its products are related to rail transport, power generation, and water supply, among other industries.
The original Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ...
, and Hungarian Automobile Joint-stock Company Arad.
During the interwar and WWII periods, Hungarian designs continued to be developed and flown, however for the most part German types were modified and/or manufactured under license. Examples include those developed or manufactured by
Weiss Manfred and the
RMI (Repülo Muszaki Intézet, or Aviation Technical Institute).
Electrical industry and electronics
File:Jedlik motor.jpg, Jedlik motor 1827
File:DBZ trafo.jpg, The ZBD Transformer of GANZ Works, 1885
File:Turbinaszerelés.jpg, construction of a ''Ganz'' water turbo generator
A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a turbine (water, steam, or gas) for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also u ...
(1886)
File:PSM V56 D0433 Direct connected electric railway generator.png, PSM V56 D0433 direct connected electric railway
Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), electric multiple units ( passenger cars with their own ...
generator (1899)
File:Blathy in a Ganz turbogenerator.jpg, Ottó Bláthy
Ottó Titusz Bláthy (11 August 1860 – 26 September 1939) was a Hungarian electrical engineer. During his career he became the co-inventor of the modern electric transformer, the voltage regulator, the AC watt-hour meter, the turbo genera ...
in the armature of a turbo generator
A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a turbine (water, steam, or gas) for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also u ...
(1904)
File:ZEMP244.jpg, Ganz 21.000 kW Transformer
In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
(1911, weight: 38t)
File:36700 LE gőzturbina.jpg, 36700 hp steam turbine under construction in the Láng Machine Factory, 1913
File:Salgótarjáni Kőszénbánya Rt.jpg, Láng turbogenerators in the Salgótarján Colliery Company, 1915
File:Gorskii 04414u.jpg, Ganz Alternator
An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
s in a hydroelectric station on the Murghab River.
File:Generator-20071117.jpg, Ganz Generator in Zwevegem, West Flanders
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
, Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
File:A Ganz Gyár csarnoka.jpg, A generator assembly hall of the ''Ganz Works'' (1922)
Power plants, generators and transformers
In 1878, the Ganz company's general manager András Mechwart (1853–1942) founded the Department of Electrical Engineering headed by
Károly Zipernowsky (1860–1939). Engineers
Miksa Déri (1854–1938) and
Ottó Bláthy
Ottó Titusz Bláthy (11 August 1860 – 26 September 1939) was a Hungarian electrical engineer. During his career he became the co-inventor of the modern electric transformer, the voltage regulator, the AC watt-hour meter, the turbo genera ...
(1860–1939) also worked at the department producing direct-current machines and arc lamps.
In autumn 1884,
Károly Zipernowsky,
Ottó Bláthy
Ottó Titusz Bláthy (11 August 1860 – 26 September 1939) was a Hungarian electrical engineer. During his career he became the co-inventor of the modern electric transformer, the voltage regulator, the AC watt-hour meter, the turbo genera ...
and
Miksa Déri (ZBD), three engineers associated with the Ganz factory, had determined that open-core devices were impracticable, as they were incapable of reliably regulating voltage. In their joint 1885 patent applications for novel transformers (later called ZBD transformers), they described two designs with closed magnetic circuits where copper windings were either a) wound around iron wire ring core or b) surrounded by iron wire core.
The two designs were the first application of the two basic transformer constructions in common use to this day, which can as a class all be termed as either core form or shell form (or alternatively, core type or shell type), as in a) or b), respectively (see images).
[Knowlton, p. 562] The Ganz factory had also in the autumn of 1884 made delivery of the world's first five high-efficiency AC transformers, the first of these units having been shipped on September 16, 1884.
This first unit had been manufactured to the following specifications: 1,400 W, 40 Hz, 120:72 V, 11.6:19.4 A, ratio 1.67:1, one-phase, shell form.
In both designs, the magnetic flux linking the primary and secondary windings traveled almost entirely within the confines of the iron core, with no intentional path through air (see
Toroidal cores below). The new transformers were 3.4 times more efficient than the open-core bipolar devices of Gaulard and Gibbs.

The ZBD patents included two other major interrelated innovations: one concerning the use of parallel connected, instead of series connected, utilization loads, the other concerning the ability to have high turns ratio transformers such that the supply network voltage could be much higher (initially 1,400 to 2,000 V) than the voltage of utilization loads (100 V initially preferred).
When employed in parallel connected electric distribution systems, closed-core transformers finally made it technically and economically feasible to provide electric power for lighting in homes, businesses and public spaces.
Bláthy had suggested the use of closed cores, Zipernowsky had suggested the use of
parallel shunt connections, and Déri had performed the experiments;
The other essential milestone was the introduction of 'voltage source, voltage intensive' (VSVI) systems' by the invention of constant voltage generators in 1885. Ottó Bláthy also invented the first AC
electricity meter
file:Hydro quebec meter.JPG, North American domestic analog signal, analog (Galileo Ferraris, Ferraris disk) electricity meter.
file:Transparent Electricity Meter found in Israel.JPG, Electricity meter with transparent plastic case (Israel)
fil ...
.
[ Student paper read on January 24, 1896 at the Students' Meeting.] Transformers today are designed on the principles discovered by the three engineers. They also popularized the word 'transformer' to describe a device for altering the emf of an electric current,
although the term had already been in use by 1882. In 1886, the ZBD engineers designed, and the Ganz factory supplied electrical equipment for, the world's first
power station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
that used AC generators to power a parallel connected common electrical network, the steam-powered Rome-Cerchi power plant.
The reliability of the AC technology received impetus after the Ganz Works electrified a large European metropolis:
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in 1886.
Turbines and Turbogenerators
The first turbo-generators were
water turbines
A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work.
Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...
which propelled electric generators. The first Hungarian water turbine was designed by the engineers of the Ganz Works in 1866, the mass production with dynamo generators started in 1883. The manufacturing of steam turbo generators started in the Ganz Works in 1903.
In 1905, the
Láng Machine Factory company also started the production of steam turbines for alternators.
Light bulbs, radio tubes and X-ray
Tungsram is a Hungarian manufacturer of light bulbs and vacuum tubes since 1896.
On 13 December 1904, Hungarian Sándor Just and Croatian Franjo Hanaman were granted a Hungarian patent (No. 34541) for the world's first tungsten filament lamp. The tungsten filament lasted longer and gave brighter light than the traditional carbon filament. Tungsten filament lamps were first marketed by the Hungarian company Tungsram in 1904. This type is often called Tungsram-bulbs in many European countries. Their experiments also showed that the luminosity of bulbs filled with an inert gas was higher than in vacuum. The tungsten filament outlasted all other types (especially the former carbon filaments). The British Tungsram Radio Works was a subsidiary of the Hungarian Tungsram in pre-WW2 days.
Despite the long experimentation with vacuum tubes at Tungsram company, the mass production of radio tubes begun during WW1, and the production of
X-ray tubes
An X-ray tube is a vacuum tube that converts electrical input power into X-rays. The availability of this controllable source of X-rays created the field of radiography, the imaging of partly opaque objects with penetrating radiation. In contras ...
started also during the WW1 in Tungsram Company.
signal generators, oscilloscopes and pulse generators
The signal generators, oscilloscopes and pulse generators manufactured by Orion's instrumentation class have done a good job for the domestic industry as well as for export.
Home appliances
The
Orion Electronics was founded in 1913. Its main profiles were the production of electrical switches, sockets, wires, incandescent lamps, electric fans, electric kettles, and various household electronics.
Industrial Refrigerators
In 1894, Hungarian inventor and industrialist István Röck started to manufacture an industrial ammonia refrigerator which was powered by electric compressors (together with the Esslingen Machine Works). At the 1896 Millennium Exhibition, Röck and the Esslingen Machine Works presented a 6-tonne capacity artificial ice producing plant. Until nationalisation after the Second World War, large-scale refrigerator production in Hungary was in the hands of Röck and
Ganz Works
The Ganz Machinery Works Holding is a Hungary, Hungarian holding company. Its products are related to rail transport, power generation, and water supply, among other industries.
The original Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ...
. In 1906, the first Hungarian cold store (with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes, the largest in Europe) opened in Tóth Kálmán Street, Budapest.
Telecommunication
The first telegraph station on Hungarian territory was opened in December 1847 in Pressburg/ Pozsony /
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
/. In 1848, – during the Hungarian Revolution – another telegraph centre was built in
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
to connect the most important governmental centres. The first telegraph connection between Vienna and Pest – Buda (later Budapest) was constructed in 1850.
In 1884, 2,406 telegraph post offices operated in the Kingdom of Hungary. By 1914 the number of telegraph offices reached 3,000 in post offices, and a further 2,400 were installed in the railway stations of the Kingdom of Hungary.
[Dániel Szabó, Zoltán Fónagy, István Szathmári, Tünde Császtvay: Kettős kötődés : Az Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia (1867–1918]
/ref>
The first Hungarian telephone exchange
A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...
was opened in Budapest (May 1, 1881). All telephone exchanges of the cities and towns in the Kingdom of Hungary were linked in 1893.
By 1914, more than 2,000 settlements had telephone exchange in the Kingdom of Hungary.
The Telefon Hírmondó
The Telefon Hírmondó (also Telefonhírmondó, generally translated as "Telephone Herald") was a "telephone newspaper" located in Budapest, Hungary, which, beginning in 1893, provided news and entertainment to subscribers over telephone lines. It ...
(Telephone Herald) service was established in 1893. Two decades before the introduction of radio broadcasting, residents of Budapest could listen to news, cabaret, music and opera at home and in public spaces daily. It operated over a special type of telephone exchange system and its own separate network. The technology was later licensed in Italy and the United States. (see: telephone newspaper Telephone Newspapers, introduced in the 1890s, transmitted news and entertainment to subscribers over telephone lines. They were the first example of electronic broadcasting, although only a few were established, most commonly in European cities. T ...
).
The first Hungarian telephone factory (Factory for Telephone Apparatuses) was founded by János Neuhold in Budapest in 1879, which produced telephones microphones, telegraphs, and telephone exchanges.
In 1884, the Tungsram company also started to produce microphones, telephone apparatuses, telephone switchboards and cables.
The Ericsson
(), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
company also established a factory for telephones and switchboards in Budapest in 1911.
Navigation and shipbuilding
File:The assembly of a SM U-31 submarine in the Ganz-Danubius company.jpg, The back of submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
during assembly (24 April 1916)
File:SM U29 Ganz-Danubius.jpg, submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...
, built by Ganz-Danubius
File:Novaral.jpg, The battle-damaged after a victorious naval battle
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river.
The armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be broadly d ...
File:Szent Istvan.jpg, Austro-Hungarian built dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
class battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
at Pula
Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...
(military dock)
File:The construction of SMS Szent Istvan.webm, construction of SMS Szent István battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
in the Ganz Danubius shipyard in Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
(filmed 1912)
The first Hungarian steamship was built by Antal Bernhard in 1817, called S.S. ''Carolina''. It was also the first steamship in Habsburg-ruled states. The daily passenger traffic between the two sides of the Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
by the ''Carolina'' started in 1820. The regular cargo and passenger transports between Pest and Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
began in 1831. However, it was Count István Széchenyi
Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...
(with the help of Austrian ship's company Erste Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft (DDSG) ), who established the Óbuda Shipyard on the Hungarian Hajógyári Island in 1835, which was the first industrial scale steamship building company in the Habsburg Empire. The most important seaport for the Hungarian part of the k.u.k. was the special territory of Fiume (Rijeka) (today part of Croatia), where the Hungarian shipping companies, such as the Adria, operated. The largest Hungarian shipbuilding company was the Ganz-Danubius. In 1911, The Ganz Company merged with the Danubius shipbuilding company, which largest shipbuilding company in Hungary. Since 1911, the unified company adopted the "Ganz – Danubius" brand name.
As Ganz Danubius, the company became involved in shipbuilding before, and during, World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Ganz was responsible for building the dreadnought ''Szent István'', supplied the machinery for the cruiser ''Novara''.
Diesel-electric military submarines:
The Ganz-Danubius company started to build U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s at its shipyard in Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, for final assembly at Fiume
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...
. Several U-boats of the U-XXIX class, U-XXX class, U-XXXI class and U-XXXII class were completed, and a number of other types were laid down, remaining incomplete at the war's end. The company built some ocean liners
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
too.
In 1915, the Whitehead Torpedo Works established a submarine subsidiary, the Ungarische Unterseebotsbau AG (UBAG), , in Fiume and Linz. SM U-XX, SM U-XXI, SM U-XXII and SM U-XXIII Type diesel-electric submarines were produced by the UBAG Corporation in Fiume.
See also
* Economy of Hungary
The economy of Hungary is a developing, high-income mixed economy that is the 53rd-largest economy in the world (out of 188 countries measured by IMF) with $265.037 billion annual output, and ranks 41st in the world in terms of GDP per capita ...
* Telecommunications in Hungary
* Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...
* Education in Hungary
The educational system in Hungary is predominantly public, run by the Ministry of Human Resources. Preschool kindergarten education is compulsory and provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance ...
* Hungarian mathematics
* Hungarian Space Office
* List of Hungarian Nobel laureates
* Open access in Hungary to scholarly communication
* Science and technology in Europe
Europe's achievements in science and technology have been significant and research and development efforts form an integral part of the European economy. Europe has been the home of some of the most prominent researchers in various scientific di ...
* European Research Area
The European Research Area (ERA) is a system of scientific research programs integrating the scientific resources of the European Union (EU). Since its inception in 2000, the structure has been concentrated on European cooperation in the fields of ...
* European Institute of Innovation and Technology
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established in 2008 intended to strengthen Europe's ability to innovate. (HQ Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
)
References
External links
National Research, Development and Innovation Office website (English)
Hungarian Academy of Sciences website (English)
Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA)
Hungary's Top Start-ups
{{Portal bar, Hungary, Science, Technology, Energy
Hungarian inventions Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
* Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary
* Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
History of science and technology by country