125 years agoThe Electrical Age

1901-12-12

Transatlantic Radio

Marconi received in Newfoundland a radio signal sent from England.

Art style · Edwardian postcard

World population

1.65Bpeople

Primary energy power

1.4×10¹²W

London → New York message

0.71 seconds

Civilization metrics

Each sparkline shows the documented history of a metric on a logarithmic time axis. The dot marks the selected moment.

Kardashev index

0.615

Based on primary energy power · Type I = 1

World population

1.65Bpeople

1/5 of today

Total human primary energy power

1.4×10¹²W

1/14 of today

Compute per dollar

—

No reliable data yet · data begins 1945

Fastest delivery time for a message from London to New York

0.71 seconds

24 times slower than today

Fastest speed reached by humans

207km/h

1/193 of today

Near this moment

The eight closest milestones. Select a title to jump there.

1886-01-29Energy
Karl Benz patented a three-wheeled car powered by an internal combustion engine. Source
1890Computing
The US Census processed its data with Hollerith's tabulating machines. Source
1895-11-08Humanity
Röntgen discovered X-rays, letting doctors see inside the human body for the first time. Source
1901-12-12Computing
Marconi received in Newfoundland a radio signal sent from England. Source
1903-12-17Energy
The Wright brothers achieved the first powered, controlled, crewed flight. Source
1905Humanity
Einstein proposed special relativity and mass–energy equivalence. Source
1913Energy
Ford adopted the moving assembly line, turning the car into a mass-market product. Source
1913-09-09Energy
The Haber process went into production at BASF's Oppau plant, making large-scale nitrogen fertilizer possible. Source

Capabilities

Acquired35 / 126 items

Recently acquired

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Scenes across eras

Choose an era to explore its scenes.

The Electrical Age

4 scenes · Select a scene to visit that moment

Generators, power grids, electric light and the telephone spread, and energy and information can travel instantly along wires.

Playable workshops

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15 moments in history to explore by hand.

Diamonds on the timeline mark playable scenes. Select a date to travel there, or enter a workshop directly.

Every timeline entry cites its source. Metrics interpolate logarithmically between sourced data points. Forecasts include institutional and community views, and attributed site scenarios; years are not guaranteed realization dates. Illustrations are AI-generated in each era's style.

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