The most important Polish invention of the 20th century

November 11 is Poland's Independence Day. The Polish Patent Office, established on December 13, 1918, has published several inventions that made important contributions to mankind in the 20th century.

Józef Kosacki - Handheld mine detector

• This is the world's first handheld electromagnetic detector, which can actually be used to detect landmines. It was invented by Joseph Kosaki in 1941. During World War II, Joseph decided to give up the patent and saved thousands of lives with this invention. The drawings of the technology were handed over to the British government and sent to all Allied forces, and they were used after the war until 1990.

Hilary Koprowski – Polio vaccine

• Hilary Koprowski was born in Warsaw in 1916 and arrived in the United States during World War II. As a virologist and immunologist, he created the polio vaccine in 1948 with two American colleagues. In order to test its effectiveness, he tested the first dose on himself. Thanks to Koprowski's efforts, 9 million doses of the vaccine were delivered to Poland, controlling a pandemic. Like Joseph's invention, Hilary did not apply for a patent for this invention, but put it into mass production in the name of saving human health.

Henryk Magnuski - Pioneer in Handheld Communications

• Polish inventor Henryk was born in Warsaw in 1909. He went to the United States for training shortly before the outbreak of World War II and worked there for a long time. While working for Galvin Manufacturing Company (later renamed Motorola), he participated in a radio communication project and developed the first portable radio. By the time he retired, he had about 30 patents, all in the field of communications, which have had a significant impact on our daily lives today.

Józef Hofmann – Car wipers and height-adjustable stool

• Joseph was first and foremost a first-rate pianist, but his interest in everyday life led him to create about 70 inventions. He is best known for his car windshield wipers and height-adjustable stools. He claimed that the inspiration for car windshield wipers came from the movement of a metronome. Ford bought his technology and put it into production at the factory. Hoffman began to give concerts at the age of 11, and the need to step on the piano pedals led to the creation of an adjustable-height stool. Among the 70 patents Joseph invented in his lifetime, there are many interesting inventions, such as a car telescope, a spring bumper, a pneumatic shock absorber, a GPS prototype, or a narrow-key piano designed to improve piano playing and music recording, a method of reducing the resistance of the keys when playing, or a pedal extender, etc.

Jan Czochralski – Modern electronics and railways

• Jan Chochralski was born in Kicinia in 1885. In 1916, while working in Germany, he discovered a method for making single crystals, specifically semiconductors, which are transistors used in most electronic devices, such as mobile phones, computers, cameras, tablets, etc. The scientific community calls this method the Chochralski process. Another invention was an alloy for sliding bearing housings, called Metal B, which was soft enough to lubricate the axles of wheels but hard enough to last, and the technology was patented in 1926 and immediately bought by the German Railways to increase transportation speeds.