Induction Motors“Intelligent people tend to have less friends than the average person.” Nikola Tesla There are two types of electricity, Direct Current (AC) and Alternating Current (AC). Vastly simplifying, in DC electrical systems the current flows in one direction, like current in a stream. This makes designing certain appliances easier; the motor turns in the direction … Continue reading "Induction Motors"
DDT“We are accustomed to look for the gross and immediate effects and to ignore all else. Unless this appears promptly and in such obvious form that it cannot be ignored, we deny the existence of hazard. Even research men suffer from the handicap of inadequate methods of detecting the beginnings of injury. The lack of … Continue reading "DDT"
King Camp Gillette’s Razor Blade Business ModelGillette’s Razor Blade business model reinforces the blue ocean strategy concept of buyer utility. Specifically, when analyzed on the blue ocean strategy buyer utility map, Gillette’s disposable blades were convenient to purchase, use, and dispose of. Like many blue ocean offerings, disposable blades also broke the cost/value trade-off, offering higher value at lower cost than … Continue reading "King Camp Gillette’s Razor Blade Business Model"
Electron MicroscopeElectron microscopes enable scientists to see extremely small particles. In the 1920s, scientists discovered that electrons in a vacuum behave much like light except they can be manipulated with electric and magnetic fields. Since electrons curve around particles, these electron microscopes are vastly more powerful than traditional light-based microscopes. Ruska invented the electron microscope at … Continue reading "Electron Microscope"
Spinning JennySpinning Jenny’s are significantly more efficient spinning wheels, allowing wool to be produced at a much lower price. Each Jenny did the work of multiple spinners. The Jenny (slang for Engine in British English) was unwelcome in Hargreaves’ village because it caused yarn prices to decline. Chased by angry tradesmen, he fled from the spinning … Continue reading "Spinning Jenny"
InsuranceInsurance – paying to spread risk – is an ancient practice. Modern insurance, where businesses specifically focus on assuming the risk of loss for a third-party is a more modern practice. The Hamburger Feuerkasse (Hamburg Fire Office) opened in 1676. Fire insurance spread throughout Europe. Eventually, Lloyd’s of London popularized shipping insurance, where people willing … Continue reading "Insurance"
Nuclear WeaponsCaltech professor Robert Oppenheimer lead a team of researchers at Los Alamos to invent the atomic bomb. Along with some of the most noteworthy physicists in the world, he oversaw the development of the nuclear bomb. The Manhattan Project, like the code-breaking at Bletchley Park, was intensely secretive. Los Alamos, in New Mexico, was built … Continue reading "Nuclear Weapons"
Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)CRISPR is like a word processor for DNA. It allows easy and inexpensive gene editing. Edited genes are passed to future generations, making mutations permanent. Doudna and Charpentier Doudna and Charpentier worked on and invented the technology as a team. First, they worked on plants and, later, on animals. History becomes murkier with the involvement … Continue reading "Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)"
Pneumatic Tires1845 Robert Thomson The wheel is a seminal invention, widely regarded as one of the most important in human history. However, early wooden and stone wheels were far less useful than their modern air-filled rubber counterparts, the pneumatic tire. Despite their ubiquity today, it’s amazing that the pneumatic (air-filled) tire initially went all but unnoticed. … Continue reading "Pneumatic Tires"
Credit ReportingAccurate credit reporting vastly lowered the risk of lending and, with it, the cost of capital. Lewis Tappan Tappan was a strident Christian who did not believe in credit. His brother and he went bankrupt, twice. Tappan and brothers were busybodies, known to snoop and report on New York City gaming houses, brothels, and other … Continue reading "Credit Reporting"
Precision Guided Munitions“In the past, wars’ slaughter has been largely confined to armed combatants. Obviously the airman, riding so high above the earth that cities look like ant hills, cannot aim his deadly cargo at armed males. All below will be his impartial target.” Major Gen. James Fechet, US Army Air Corps, 1933 Precision Guided Munitions (PGM’s) … Continue reading "Precision Guided Munitions"
Computed Tomography (CT or CAT scan)Computed Tomography (CT or CAT scans for short) are 3-dimensional x-rays. Self-taught innovator Hounsfield, while on a camping trip, wondered if he could x-ray the contents of a box in 3D by moving the x-ray machine. That worked. Eventually, he implemented it in his own machine and used that to image a cow brain. Subsequently, … Continue reading "Computed Tomography (CT or CAT scan)"
Condensing Steam EngineThe Watt condensing steam engine is widely viewed as the primary machine responsible for the Industrial Revolution. It enabled the use of engines anywhere, not only next to coal mines. Whereas factories before the Watt engines needed to be near high-volume streams, to derive power for water wheels, the Watt engine operated at a low … Continue reading "Condensing Steam Engine"
Photography1816 Nicéphore Niépce The Niépce brothers were hell-bent on creating earth-shattering technology and they did so, twice. First, they created the internal combustion engine. Their native France was still adjusting its socioeconomic climate after the revolution so Claude went to England trying to commercialize the engine. During that time, Nicéphore invented photography. This brings us … Continue reading "Photography"
Highway (Limited Access Road)High-speed streets with minimal interruptions were a novel concept when first created. Highways, technically called limited access roads, have entry and exit ramps are few and located far between. Long Island, near New York, was home to the first highway in 1911. Americans continued to build highways, enacting the Federal Highway Act of 1921. Germans … Continue reading "Highway (Limited Access Road)"