Short stories of human inventions
Archive for June, 2009
Invention of the Contact Lens
The invention of the contact lens dates back before 1877, when Adolf Fick, Eugene Kalt and August Muller made the first contact lens from glass. Leonardo da Vinci created sketches encapsulating the concept of a covering for the eye as early as 1508.In 1801, Thomas Young decided to work on a device to help correct his own vision. What Young did was to fit a water-filled glass tube with a microscopic lens. However, it would be a number of years before anyone developed a device that could fit onto the eye itself.So we come to that date, 1887. Fick, Kalt and Muller made the first known contacts from thick glass, which covered the entire eye. As one might imagine, such an object was not very comfortable to wear. However, they were able to correct some vision problems, but because of the comfort issues, patients could not keep the lenses in their eyes for more than a few hours.In the early part of the last century, scientists came to the rescue. In 1934, a new plastic called polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was created, which was to revolutionise the development of contact… More >>
Economic Recessions – Benefits and Causes
Recessions are often said to be caused by natural variations in the business climate referred to as the “business cycle” or the “economic cycles.” These are said to occur either for no known reason, or as a result of relatively rapid growth or stagnation due to technology, invention, emotional or perceptive climate, and other factories.
More concretely, though, recessions are often caused by rapid growth, followed by a rapid decline of that growth – such as in the housing market in 2008 (huge growth, irrational growth in many ways – a side effect of rapidity – for the preceding decade, followed by a stop of the growth), the dot-com bubble growing unexpectedly fast prior to 2001, etc. Rapid changes in economic climates of any sort often creates irrational behavior in the market, both in the sense of people expecting growth that isn’t coming, and in the sense of people making decisions simply based on previous trends.
Joseph Schumpter, a famous economist, theorized about business cycles, suggesting that in fact, there may be as many as 7 different business cycles which… More >>
America Needs a Privatized Innovation Plan For New Concepts in the 22nd Century
Many countries are busy pouring money into R and D programs and yet, the United States, undeniably the most innovative and entrepreneurial nation in the world over the last century appears to be slipping a little, but one has to ask why? After all, with the abundance of freedom, liberty, and free-market capitalism it would seem that innovation should be a given, and automatic. This however is not how things work, the innovative spirit must be pushed, celebrated, and a population must be dedicated to that cause.Thus, I’d like to put forth an idea which can be used locally in your area or any area to promote innovative new businesses for technology or green tech. Let’s call this plan “The XXII Century – Privatized Innovation Plan for America – Using a Competitive Franchising Business Model” and this is something that perhaps your city, town, or region might start to look at in January 2010. The mission would be something simple, and here is a sample you might use:Sample Mission Statement (you would need to modify this for your region):We must propel innovation in the US and take our… More >>
A List Of Inventions I’m Waiting For
June 17, 2009
by merlin
in General Topics
This is a personal list of inventions I am waiting to see produced. Make them real and you’ll have at least one customer.1. Air conditioned jacket. I noticed one hot day that the fan didn’t cool me nearly as well when I was shirt-less as when I wore a jacket or shirt and let the fan blow into it. This directed the cooling breeze all around my torso and arms (the air escapes out the bottom, collar and sleeves). A jacket with a small battery-operated fan would do the same thing. Wear a wet t-shirt underneath and the circulating air would make it downright chilly in there.2. A money sanitizer. Viruses and more are spread by the handling of bills. A simple machine, using either heat or a disinfecting agent, could make those bills safe to handle.3. Artificial foot soles. Hikers and backpackers get blisters from friction. Feet slide and move in shoes and get “hot spots” that become blisters. The solution? Insoles that are glued to the bottom of your feet. These might be made of felt or some other material. This product would need a solvent… More >>