Security Through the Ages

Security Through the Ages

By CSO Contributor

April 15, 2005 — CSO — Pre-2000 B.C. Cords or ropes made of rush and fiber are used to secure doors closed.

2000 B.C. The first mechanical locks made of wood and organic materialssuch as earth and clayare used in ancient Egypt.

715 B.C. The first all-wooden locks are created sometime between 722 B.C. and 705 B.C.

880 The first all-metal locks appear between 870 and 900. The locks are Roman-manufactured and are based on Egyptian design principles. The locks are in various shapes with elaborate keys, some in the shape of birds or flowers.

1070 The Normans, England's first knights, build the world's first castles, commonly known as Motte and Bailey Castles.

1150 The earliest examples of stone castles are built in France. They are little more than a tower with a few windows and one door, typically elevated so that the stairs can be lifted inside during an attack.

1800s This century sees much advancement in lock making. In 1861, an American named Linus Yale Jr. invents the compact cylinder pin-tumbler lock, which uses Egyptian design principles. In this lock, the key turns a cylinder that rotates an attached arm that shifts the cylinder and causes linear motion of a bolt. Today, the cylinder lock is the most common lock design.

1870s The first patents on barbed wire are filed in the United States.

1881 Alexander Graham Bell invents the first crude metal detector.

1906 Lewis Nixon invents the first sonar-type listening device to detect icebergs.

1930s Radar, which stands for radio detection and ranging, is used by the United States and Great Britain during WWII to detect enemy aircraft. In 1930, engineers from the U.S. Naval Research Lab perform measurements of a radio antenna and, more or less by luck, independently discover radar. Their radio link happened to stretch across an aircraft landing strip, and the signal quality changed significantly when an aircraft crossed the beam. A German by the name of Heinrich Hertz first calculated that an electric current swinging rapidly back and forth in a conducting wire would radiate electromagnetic waves into the surrounding space.Today we call such waves "radio waves," also known as the beginnings of modern radar technology.

1960s As early as 1965, press reports in the United States suggest that police officials begin using surveillance cameras in public places. In 1969, police cameras are installed in the New York City Municipal Building near City Hall.

Metorex Security Products develops first industrial metal detectors. These detectors were used extensively for mining and other industrial applications and are the predecessors to the technology used during the 1970s in airport metal detectors.

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