Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)Relational databases simplify the storage and retrieval of related information. For example, rather than storing the state a person lives in a relational database might store a number to a single list of all states. Significantly, this reduces overall storage needs and makes indexing and searching significantly easier and subsequently faster. Edgar Codd, working at … Continue reading "Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)"
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) turns a tiny bit of DNA into a much larger amount which can subsequently be sequenced. In 1983, Mullis figured out a way to multiply the tiniest piece of DNA by orders of magnitude, making millions of copies. This is how the smallest bit of DNA, from bacteria, viruses, historical artifacts, … Continue reading "Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)"
SpreadsheetSpreadsheets simplify calculations and basic database work. Background During a lecture at Harvard Business School, in 1978, student Dan Bricklin watched his professor struggle to erase and rewrite cells in a blackboard-based ledger. Thinking about the newly popular Apple II computer Bricklin thought of a better way, a program that allowed users to enter and … Continue reading "Spreadsheet"
Industrial RobotThough understated at the time, few inventions have had as much impact as the industrial robot. Industrial robots were invented by George Devol. A prolific innovator, Devol patented the “Unimate” – a term he coined – in 1954 to name his robot. Robots have existed in science fiction for ages, often as machines in human … Continue reading "Industrial Robot"
RadarThe origin of Radar is secret. Even after commercialization, the inventors remained in the shadows, secret warriors who enabled the Allies to shoot down the Nazi Lufthansa with eerie precision. Consequently, it was as if the Allies could project through the clouds exactly where the planes were. Of course, that would be impossible… Specifically, Watt … Continue reading "Radar"
Cable TelevisionCable television brings television channels to customers without antennas. Later versions bring more channels than analog antennas provided. Walson owned a small company, Service Electric, located in a mountainous region in Pennsylvania. Frustrated that buyers of his televisions could not receive a signal he climbed a mountain and installed an antenna at the top. Eventually, … Continue reading "Cable Television"
NylonNylon is a popular low-cost high-strength silk alternative. It vastly lowered the cost of producing silk-like fabric. Carothers started undergraduate school, at Tarkio College in Missouri, as an English major but switched to chemistry due to an influential professor. He excelled, working as an instructor during his undergraduate years. He went on to earn a … Continue reading "Nylon"
Metric SystemThe metric system standardized weights and measures enabling trade and improving communication. Before the metric system, every country and also countless regions, used different forms of measurement. This vastly complicated international trade. Metric The metric system derives from the natural world and uses a decimal counting system for simplicity. Length derives from the meter, a … Continue reading "Metric System"
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"
Gyroscopic Navigation (Autopilot)Gyroscopic navigation enables planes and ships to stay on a straight course without human intervention. Long before GPS, airplane pilots used compasses and waypoints to navigate. Natural landmarks or even giant arrows guided planes when to turn and in which direction. Of course, between waypoints, it was necessary to fly straight or the pilot would … Continue reading "Gyroscopic Navigation (Autopilot)"
Grocery Store Chain / Mass RetailerThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) showed that relying on massive scale could push down prices while running a company profitably. Relying on low prices A&P expanded rapidly. Early A&P stores were full-service. Shoppers, who typically arrived on foot to the neighborhood stores, would tell grocers what they wanted, and the grocers would … Continue reading "Grocery Store Chain / Mass Retailer"
PagerEnhanced productivity and reduced risk for high-risk decisions (most early users were physicians and technicians). Pagers predated mobile phones, unlimited email Blackberry’s, and smartphones as an always-connected solution. Early pagers merely sent a phone number for the recipient to call. Pagers enhanced productivity and reduced risk for high-risk decisions. Most early users were physicians and … Continue reading "Pager"
SteamboatThe steamboat opened trade routes within the US and Europe, but especially the early US. The cost of travel throughout the US dramatically decreased while safety and quality increased. The steamboat also allowed upstream river navigation, impossible without paddling, opening vast areas of land to development. Early Efforts De Jouffroy allegedly had a predecessor steamboat … Continue reading "Steamboat"
Sit-Flat Paper BagsSure, sit-flat paper bags are not the condensing steam engine, the telegraph, pneumatic tools, or the dynamo generator but they represent something new: a woman entrepreneur. After realizing the hassle of bags that would not stand Margaret Knight set out to create a machine for a bag with a flat bottom. She worked with three … Continue reading "Sit-Flat Paper Bags"
Autonomous Vehicles (Self-Driving Cars)DARPA, the US government agency that invented the internet (among other things) created a contest to build a self-driving car. The first DARPA Grand Challenge, in 2004, was a 150 mile (240 km. route). The robot-car that drove the furthest before breaking down, built by Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), lasted 11.78km. Undeterred, DARPA tried again. Subsequently, … Continue reading "Autonomous Vehicles (Self-Driving Cars)"
