VirtualizationVirtualization enables the separation of an operating system and the physical device, the chips that it runs on. An imperfect but close enough metaphor is auto rental. Rather than purchasing a car, that may be too big for many tasks and too small for others, a user can rent just the right size car or … Continue reading "Virtualization"
Consumer Shared Computer Network (CompuServe)CompuServe is the first computer network targeted towards ordinary people though it did not start out that way. Background Jeff Wilkins sold burglar alarms. His father-in-law ran a small insurance company and needed to buy a computer. However, the DEC model he wanted had far more computing power than his father required. Wilkins realized he … Continue reading "Consumer Shared Computer Network (CompuServe)"
CanningLike refrigeration, invented a year earlier, this is another way to preserve food. All the sudden items available only for a certain portion of the year could be reliably preserved for far longer. This lowered the cost and increased the availability of food. Appert is a Frenchman who perfected caning. Napoleon needed a consistent way … Continue reading "Canning"
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)Liquid-Crystal Displays (LCD’s) enable flat-screens with relatively low-power usage. In 1888, Friedrich Reinitzer discovered liquid crystals in Germany. However, there was no use and the technology lay dormant for about 80 years. In 1968, RCA’s George Hailmeir presented the first working LCD display. However, it only worked at 80°C (176°F) leaving it impractical for anything … Continue reading "Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)"
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"
Aluminum Reduction1886 Charles Martin HallPaul Héroult Aluminum is the most common material in the earth. Despite the abundance of aluminum, it tends to be spread out in tiny flakes impossible to collect by hand. Aluminum reduction vastly lowered the price of extracting aluminum. Before aluminum reduction, aluminum was extremely expensive. People would sift through earth searching … Continue reading "Aluminum Reduction"
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)"
Flash MemoryFlash memory stores and retrieves information more reliably and faster than hard drives. It works similar to RAM but is slower and far less expensive. It is fast, cheap, reliable, and virtually shock-proof. Fuio Masuoka was a Toshiba employee. He developed a better type of solid-state memory and filed a patent in 1981. His new … Continue reading "Flash Memory"
Venture Capital“There have been many fine scientists desperately trying to become poor businessmen.” Georges Doriot Venture Capital pools resources and spreads risk and reward across multiple companies. This simplifies early-stage investing and makes early-stage investing more convenient for both investors and entrepreneurs. Background General Georges Doriot is the “father of venture capital.” In 1946, he created … Continue reading "Venture Capital"
RocketsIn 1914, Goddard patented the first rocket and, in 1926, Goddard fired the first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard predicted rockets would one day enable space flight, a prediction widely ridiculed as science fiction. Eventually, in 1929, Oberth fired his modern liquid-fueled rocket. Oberth eventually taught Wernher von Braun, who perfect modern rocketry. In time, both Oberth … Continue reading "Rockets"
Transatlantic CablesTransatlantic cables shrunk the world, vastly increasing the speed and lowering the cost of intercontinental communications. The first cable functioned only a few weeks. Transmissions, in Morse Code, were especially slow. Field, as a young businessman, joined a paper company that failed six months later. Despite his status as a young employee, with no responsibility … Continue reading "Transatlantic Cables"
Marine ChronometerThis device, an accurate clock that works on ships, allows sailors to much more accurately navigate. Before this innovation, sailors had to guess, and it was common for ships to miss their destination on a journey by hundreds of miles. This device reduced the risk and cost of long journeys by ship, lowering the cost … Continue reading "Marine Chronometer"
PacemakerPacemakers use electrical impulses to keep hearts beating regularly. In 1926 Australian anesthesiologist Dr. Mark Lidwill inserted a needle into the heart of a newborn and used an electric pulse to control the baby’s heart, saving its life. Lidwill’s cardiac pacemaker has saved countless lives since. Like Banting and Best, the inventors of insulin, Lidwill … Continue reading "Pacemaker"
Circular Saw1813 Tabitha Babbit In 1777, Samuel Miller patented the first circular saw. However, the wind-powered saw did not have enough power to be of practical use. In 1813, Tabitha Babbit, a Shaker, invented the circular. Her insight was that sawing back and forth wasted half the motion of a saw. In response, she created a … Continue reading "Circular Saw"
SecuritizationSecuritization enables income streams of pooled loans, reducing overall risk to lenders. This spreads the risk of both prepayments and defaults, lowering the cost of credit. Background Denmark created pooled mortgages, called covered bonds, in 1850. Switzerland followed in 1930. In 1970 US government pseudo-agency Ginnie Mae (GNMA) created the first securitized pool of home … Continue reading "Securitization"
