ontinue to promote. Perhaps, looking at the evolution of the technology used during the Space Race and the Cold War between the two most powerful forces of our history will help us put into a new perspective why the time of the Cold War played such an important role in the development of a new era of technology in today's new millennium. The cold War and the resulting Space Race led both the Soviet Union and the United States to improve old technologies and develop new ones, which we will explore. Some importance will be related to earlier development of technology to help us relate to the relation between previous and future technological achievement.
             Going back in time to the early day's where mankind used the simplest form of calculating machine, the wooden counting frame, or abacus, with moving beads strung on wires which represent units, tens, hundreds and so on. From a very simple invention satisfying man's conviction to do better, the abacus dramatically encouraged the growth of trade wherever it was adopted, for it was well suited to any commercial calculation. Still used in the Soviet Union and in the Far East in the 20th century, the abacus was finally replaced worldwide by the cheap electronic calculator. (The Inventions, pg.10) In 1945, the world's first fully electronic computer was completed at the University of Pennsylvania. It was called ENIAC-Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. It occupied 1,500 sq. ft of floor space and weighted over 30 tons. Its 18,000 thermionic valves consumed 150 kW of electric power. ENIAC was capable of 5,000 additions a second. (The Inventions, pg.258) ENIAC marked a stage in man's technological evolution. In 1948, the transistor was invented. The transistor replaced thermionic valves in such way that it manipulated electrons in the same method, but the transistor was many times smaller, needed less power and was cheaper and more reliable. Mankind ability t...