If you could travel back in time to 1800, what are the 10 fancy 21st century technologies that you would like to show off to those people?
Antibiotics would take some time. But start with a modern microscope with the necessary dyes and a book on microbiology.Sound and vision recording.Radio.Computing. (All three of which can be demonstrated by my smartphone.)The internal combustion engine.A model steam engine.Flight. (I may need some help with the last three.)Rocketry. (Definitely not something I’m knocking up in my flat.)Refrigeration.Ah yes! Which would require I take a small portable generator so the last thing is Alternating Current electricity.
If I traveled back in time to the 1800s, how could I convince the people of that time that I was from the future?
If I traveled back in time to the 1800s, how could I convince the people of that time that I was from the future?If you were able to control exactly when and where you were going back to, you could look up major news that would quickly become common knowledge that occurred on that date.If not, then you could take a sample of modern technology that is stand-alone, needing neither power source nor infrastructure. A cell phone could work, though not as a phone but as a still and video camera. Either would be astounding, especially if OP meant the turn of the 19th Century rather than just generally any time in the 19th Century. The camera obscura was a well-known novelty but the problem of fixing the ephemeral images was only a matter for a few isolated experimenters. A small, glassy tile that generates not only light but images and shows recorded images would be amazing.For the more belligerent, a semi-automatic handgun would serve the same purpose. Early in the 19th Century, the workmanship alone would impress, but repeating fire then meant one of the early revolvers that required hand-loading each chamber of the cylinder. Firing a few rounds - preferably at a substantial target would be amazing, not just for the quick fire capabilities, but also for the relatively smokeless discharge.But if OP intends to maroon their time traveler with only the clothes on their backs and the knowledge already in their heads…. I’d point to the clothes on my back. Fine fabrics were not unknown in the early 19th Century, but unless it was silk, most daily wear fabrics were very course in comparison to even our cheapest T-shirts and underwear. This probably wouldn’t be definitive but pointing to the machined stitching even on your slightly worn linens would be indicative.
If you could travel back in time, what century would you travel to and why?
I'd like to go back to the Hellestenic Era of the third and second centuries B.C. and go to the famous Museon ("-on" is the right ending in Greek) and Library of Alexandria, meet famous historians, mathematicians, philosophers and scientists who had acess to knowledge which has long since been lost. It would be interesting to find out what they knew--what they got right, what they got wrong, and what they knew that we don't know.
If I traveled back in time to the 1800s and told them about the future, would they believe me?
Would you believe if I tell you now that time travel is possible . Mind you, time travel is a science fact not science fiction. The only thing that lacks in it is engineering not physics. Science and technology both are quite different to each other. It will depend on the people that are speaking to. If you tell the theoretical physicists of those time that a patent clerk in 1905 would contradict THE newton and produce papers that would change the way we look at time. My opinion is that they wont. Because einstein didn't produce it with proof. But the moment you prove it to them that mercury's elliptical orbit changes orientation slightly due to the change in the curvature of space-time which makes it clear that time is flexible ,they may.You tell them "Hey bro, you know neutrinos travel faster than light ". And before you know you will be kicked out from the university or wherever you are stating the fact . But the moment you say " We performed an experiment and found that neutrinos travel faster than light " People may give you a second thought . Because people do not accept things until you show them proof. Specially when you are telling them something that will happen in the future But the moment you produce the scientific facts and experiments with the results it becomes more concrete to the human mind. Again it all depend on the person that you are speaking to. My opinion will be you get to travel back talk to Thomas young, John Dalton.Just because Copernicus ,Aristotle went through a time where change was not accepted we must not believe that 1800 century people will have the same perception.
Suppose I have the opportunity to travel back in time and plan to start a new life in the year 1800. Into what form should I transform my wealth in order to be as rich as possible in the 19th century?
Transform your wealth in British pound Sterling.[1]Once you get to 19th century, use your GBP to buy gold.Gold price in the year 1800 was around GBP 4 per ounce. Gold price in today’s dollar is $1300 per ounce.You will undo the inflation of 3 centuries and will have a butt load of gold.If you decide to come back to 21st century, bring gold with you instead of pounds.Once you arrive in 21st century, sell the gold an convert it to US Dollar.[2]Let us say you start with US$100.Convert it to GBP = 70.80.Buy gold in 1800 at 4.25 GBP per ounces = 16.65 ounces of gold.Come back to 21st century.Sell gold in USD at 1333 per ounce = US $22194.Yes, that is an increase of almost 222 fold.You took advantage of two things:Undid the inflation.Took advantage of USD appreciating against GBP over 300 years.Footnotes[1] Image on leftovercurrency.com[2] Image on leftovercurrency.com
Could an average modern man survived in the 19th century?
WHERE and WHEN matters a great deal as does Mr. Jablynski’s astute point that who the time traveler is and their skill set, i.e. see Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” where he’s a 19th century blacksmith/machinist when they really could make their tools and materials to Judith Tarr’s “Household Gods” where a 20th Century California lawyer finds her survival skill is knowing the basics of modern California cuisine/cooking styles while working in a small tavern or L. Sprague de Camp’s American historian/archaeologist specializing in the Late Roman Empire when he arrives in that era but to make a living starts distilling wine to brandy (Prohibition-era experience), a newspaper, and a heliograph-based messenging service. A 21st century business man in a major European or American city could do just fine with an advanced knowledge of accounting, finance, interest, marketing, management, trade, distribution, etc.. A mediocre but trained entertainer might do fine (say an unemployed opera singer or violinist) but a comedian, rapper, mime, etc. would find work hard or dangerous. A journalist could do fine, a software engineer or smart phone dealer would be a poor fit. In Daryl Brock’s “If I never get back” a journalist with college baseball experience and an understanding of ballpark concessions ends up on the first professional baseball team and does fine while knowing his skills wouldn’t be competitive within another 10–20 years of pro baseball.An average man would be so disoriented and dislocated by time travel and an unfamiliar environment they had to pay quick attention to (like a child but like few adults). A nonaverage man with a flexible mind, better than average knowledge of 19th century history, and a variety of work skills would likely do fine. Traveling further back would be much more challenging or quickly fatal.
What is the difference between the 19th century and the 21st century?
Everything is different. We have electricity now, and modern technology such as computers and cell phones. We have vehicles now that get us everywhere we need to go in a very short amount of time, whereas in the 19th century, horses and wagons were the only way to go, and that kind of travel was dangerous and time consuming. We have air travel now, a concept not yet created in the 19th century. Rural living has taken a backseat to a more urban setting. Clothing has completely changed!! It's not near as conservative as it was. I also think I should note how core values have changed since the 19th century. People worked very hard for everything they had. Now, it has become so much easier to have everything handed to you, even by the government. Things once considered highly scandalous and offensive are now the norm.