Portland Cement1843 Joseph AspdinWilliam AspdinWilliam Beverley Portland cement is modern cement. It’s admittedly dull — unless being used on dilapidated ships by mobsters for shoes — but extremely useful with more mainstream uses. Portland cement is used to make buildings, stadiums, stairs, sidewalks, foundations, and shares the unfortunate honor of being the enabler of brutalist architecture. … Continue reading "Portland Cement"
EmailRay Tomlinson would likely have lived in anonymity but for Shiva Ayyadurai, the man who claimed to invent email as a 14-year-old child. Ayyadurai is certainly bright, a Fulbright scholar who holds four degrees from MIT. He ran against Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the 2018 Senate race, attracting 91,710 votes. Ayyadurai’s claim as the inventor … Continue reading "Email"
Container ShippingBefore container shipping, trucks were manually unloaded by longshoremen, loaded onto ships, and the process repeated at the destination. This added enormous cost, slowed shipping times and increased the risk of breakage. Inspired by WWII standardization, McLean designed containers that fit directly on ships. His standardized containers and ships enable faster and less expensive loading … Continue reading "Container Shipping"
Modern AdvertisingBefore Albert Lasker advertisements tended to be crude, raising awareness or reinforcing a brand name. Many ads were not much more than offers to purchase something, with no overarching idea. Lasker used the emerging science of psychology and budding technology of radio to radically change advertising. Background Born in Germany, Lasker moved to the US … Continue reading "Modern Advertising"
VideoconferencingVideoconferencing is well over 50 years old. Today, it is fast and virtually free over the Internet. However, aside from extremely formal or informal events, videoconferencing has largely failed to catch on. Background AT&T introduced videoconference at the 1964 World’s Fair. People in New York waited in line to walk into a booth and spend … Continue reading "Videoconferencing"
Blockchain Explained? Hype or Hope?Blockchain is like the gluten diet a few years back; everybody’s into it but nobody’s quite sure why and few people really need it though to those who do it’s important. I’ll analyze it through the only metric that really matters, value. But before doing that, we need to understand what the it actually is. … Continue reading "Blockchain Explained? Hype or Hope?"
Automation Armageddon: a Legitimate Worry?Right now, we have 122 major innovations that involve some type of automation. Click here to see the list. Putting it mildly, many of them were not met with enthusiasm. For example, Frenchman Barthélemy Thimonnier invented the sewing machine only to see his factory burnt down by worried tailors. The “American Manufacturing Method” using standardized … Continue reading "Automation Armageddon: a Legitimate Worry?"
Battery (Voltaic Pile)This was the first reliable and predictable source of electricity, a battery that generated its own power. It led to many future innovations. Most notable is the telegraph, that relied on voltaic piles as a power source. During the Civil War, wagons filled with giant batteries deployed to the front lines and powered telegraphs. Volta’s … Continue reading "Battery (Voltaic Pile)"
PsychoanalysisPsychoanalysis is a process of working with highly trained professionals. Through discussions, doctors uncover and heal often forgotten events or disturbances. Freud was a neurologist who noticed that patients under hypnosis talked about disturbing events, oftentimes from their childhood. He theorized that speaking about these events would allow a person to confront, heal, and work … Continue reading "Psychoanalysis"
Transistor RadioDeveloped in 1947 but commercialized in 1954, transistor radios are small. Battery-operated portable radios that fit in a pocket. They rely on transistors rather than vacuum tubes. There were several attempts to build radios with transistors but none were optimal until 1954. Eventually, a Texas Instruments team invented the Regency TR-1, the first radio miniaturized … Continue reading "Transistor Radio"
Credit CardMerchants have always issued credit in one form or another directly to customers. But the idea that a bank would issue credit to purchase anything then, eventually, collect from their customer is newer. In 1946, after WWII, John C. Biggins invented the first universal credit card, called “Charg-It.” However, the card only worked at participating … Continue reading "Credit Card"
Offshore Oil DrillOffshore Drilling Units allow drilling for oil underwater. History Early patents describe over-water drilling wells that never worked. Thomas Rowland filed an 1869 patent for a “submarine drilling apparatus.” There are limited records showing submerged oil wells in 1891, in Grand Lake in Ohio. However, it wasn’t until 1894 that offshore exploration started in earnest. … Continue reading "Offshore Oil Drill"
FM RadioHistory In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the “three-electrode Audion” cathode ray tube. However, by his own admission, saw no use for it in radio. During his time at Columbia, Armstrong worked with Audion tubes and realized they could recycle a radio signal, amplifying it by sending it repeatedly through the tube. Further, by reversing … Continue reading "FM Radio"
Binary TheoryIn 1935 theoretical mathematician Alan Turing proposed a machine that would use a series of on and off switches that could represent or compute anything. Turing joined the war effort to build mechanical computers that decrypted Enigma messages. Eventually, he helped with electronic computers. His theories underpin all modern computers. Subsequently, Turing envisaged reasonably sentient … Continue reading "Binary Theory"
Three Phase PowerOne extra wire allows transmission of triple the amount of electricity via three-phase power. With three wires rather than two, electrical operators can transmit triple the electricity. “Polyphase” is another term for three-phase power. Three phase power usually transmits enormous amounts of electricity. These are the large transmission lines on tall polls. Electricity is converted … Continue reading "Three Phase Power"
Is there a source of Newcomen engine models for sale anymore? I have a future event/opportunity to explain and educate students about early steam. There used to be working tabletop models from the UK available for about $250 US, perhaps 8 to 12 years ago.
I’d suggest trying the Trevithick Society of England – they may know where to find something like that. http://www.trevithicksociety.info/