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The Marvellous world of Invention and Innovation
By Marina Canapero
Introduction
Throughout history people have searched for ways to make life easier, to do things more efficiently, to travel further and faster, and to change the world in which they live. Each idea leads to a new idea as succeeding generations of scientists and engineers look for ways to build on the discoveries of their predecessors.
The inventor rarely works alone, conjuring ideas out of thin air. Often there is an obvious need for an invention. To pump out the water that flooded deep coal mines it was necessary to develop a powerful engine to do the job.
The invention of the printing press had a profound effect. Ideas could be communicated more readily, scientists and engineers could share their findings and learn from the work of others without having to write every copy out painstakingly by hand.
Some inventors seemed eccentric, if not crazy - what must a casual observer have thought of the Wright brothers who invested all the money they had made making bicycles into developing a flying machine?
Now we can only look back and see them as true pioneers, taking the first steps on an amazing journey of discovery. As for the future, what will be the next world-changing invention, and will we recognize it when it first appears? Whatever the answer, human beings will continue to invent things - it's in their nature.
The Bicycle
The first step toward the development of the bicycle was the invention of the celerifere or wooden horse probably in France in the 1790s. The celerifere was propelled by pushing the feet along the ground.
It had a fixed front wheel and couldn't be steered. The first machine with pedals was made in 1839, by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith. These were connected to the rear wheel by means of cranks.
The French velocipede, invented in the 1860s, had a pedal-driven front wheel that revolved once with each turn of the pedals. The speed of the machine depended on the size of the front wheel. The wheel of the pennyfarthing, introduced in 1870s, could be 1.5 m (5 ft) or more, while the back wheel was only a quarter that size.
In 1879 H.J. Lawson introduced the safety bicycle with a chain and sprocket driving the rear wheel and in 1885 J.K. Stanley's model, with wheels of equal size, became the basic model for the modern bicycle. Pneumatic tyres were introduced in the 1880s and two- and three-speed gears appeared In the 1890s.
Electricity
As early as 600 BC the Greeks were aware of the peculiar properties of amber, a yellow substance made of fossilized resin. When it is rubbed with a piece of fur or cloth, amber will attract small pieces of material such as feathers. Two thousand years later, in the 16th century, William Gilbert, who was a court physician to Oueen Elizabeth I, proved that many other substances are also 'electric'. Intrigued by Gilbert's ideas, Otto von Guericke in Germany made a device in 1665 that could generate sizable sparks of what came to be known as static electricity. In l747 Benjamin Franklin in America and William Watson in England independently concluded that all materials possess an electrical 'fluid'. Franklin defined the presence of electric fluid as positive and the lack of fluid as negative. In 1752 he carried out his famous kite experiment, in which he flew a kite using a silk thread with a key on the end during a thunderstorm. He was able to charge a device for storing electricity with the key.
The Lightbulb
During the 1840s many scientists and inventors were trying to develop a workable electric lamp. One of these experiments involved heating strips of carbon or high-resistance metals to a glowing white-hot temperature by passing an electric current through them, but the heated material soon burned away. In 1878, Sir Joseph Swan (1824-1914) in Britain and Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) in America, working independently, developed a successful carbon filament lamp. In 1865 a new and efficient pump had been invented that allowed the air to be pumped out of a vessel, creating a partial vaccum. When an electric current was passed through thin filaments of carbonized threads tightly sealed inside a glass bulb from which the air had been removed the threads did not burn. The voltage was steadily increased until the white heat reached a stable, bright glow. Edison managed to keep his bulbs glowing for 40 hours.
The Motorcar
The first mechanically-powered vehicle was invented by Nicolas Cugnot of France in 1769. It was a three-wheeled steam carriage made to pull cannons and travelled at 5 km/h.
On 3 July Karl Benz of Mannheim Germany, demonstrated his three-wheeled petrol-driven Motorwagen. Just one month later Gottleib Daimler produced his four-wheeled model in Cannstadt, 96 km away. Both cars travelled at around 16 km/h. Benz also produced a four-wheeled car in 1893. By the end of the 19th Century several hundred people has bought motor cars. In 1913 Henry Ford opened the first modern car assemby line and began to produce his Model T car in great numbers. This was a car that was made as simply as possible and that many could afford to buy. By 1927, fifteen million Model T Fords had rolled off the assemby lines of Ford's factories.
Bron: http://claweb.cla.unipd.it/home/mcanapero/inventions.htm
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