Intrauterine Device (IUD)Intrauterine Devices (IUD’s) are long-lasting passive birth control for women. Once inserted they work anywhere from ten years to life. IUD’s are the most common birth-control method in the world. Background IUD’s were first developed in 1909 by Richard Richter of Waldenburg, Germany. Ernst Gräfenberg also supported the devices. He is the doctor the “G-Spot” … Continue reading "Intrauterine Device (IUD)"
Rechargeable Battery1859 Frenchman Gaston Planté invented the lead-acid rechargeable battery. In the early years, his battery lacked commercial value. Planté’s battery stored electricity and recharged easily but tended to release the electric in enormous bursts that, at the time, offered limited utility value. Before the Planté battery was the Voltaic Pile and later derivatives. These were … Continue reading "Rechargeable Battery"
RadioEarly radio transmitted Morse code over the air, not sound. Transmitting Morse Code was much less expensive than wired lines. In the mid 1880’s Heinrich Hertz published the results of experiments proving an ability to transmit electromagnetic waves, later known as radio waves. His work was purely scientific. Both Tesla, in the US, and Marconi, … Continue reading "Radio"
Management ConsultingIn 1886, Arthur D. Little, of MIT, founded the first management consulting company. Despite a 2002 bankruptcy, it still exists today. Little consulting tended to focus more on technology than management or strategy. Booz started his firm in 1914, focused on management. In 1933, Bower, a Harvard lawyer and MBA, went to work for McKinsey’s … Continue reading "Management Consulting"
Modern ArtBackground Towards the late 1800s, two new technologies radically changed the world of painting. The first photography. Images were primitive, expensive, and slow at first. However, by the late 1800s photography would eventually produce entirely realistic images in less time and at less cost than any painter could. Painting as a functional exercise, to preserve … Continue reading "Modern Art"
Superstore, v2 (Walmart)In 1962, the median lifespan of a US man was 67 years old. Arkansas, with 1.79 million residents, had the 33rd lowest GDP in the United States, $3.8 billion. That year, Sam Walton, at age 44, opened a new type of store in his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, naming it Walmart. Walton’s strategy was to … Continue reading "Superstore, v2 (Walmart)"
High Fidelity Sound Recording & PlaybackBackground German engineer Eduard Schüller created and patented the Magnetophon, a high-fidelity audio recording and playback machine. Working for German company AEG, he patented the invention in December 1933. AEG was a leading electrical company that had evolved from the Deutsche Edison Gesellschaft, the German Edison Company. Schüller perfected an earlier tape-recording device invented by … Continue reading "High Fidelity Sound Recording & Playback"
LASERLASER’s allow light to be intensely focused. There are many uses, from reading digital media at low power to cutting at higher powers. Countless applications rely on LASER technology. In 1957, Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes, of Bell Labs, worked on an infrared LASER, called an “optical MASER.” They patented the invention in 1958. In … Continue reading "LASER"
Electric MotorMore inspirational to future innovators than practical, the Faraday motor shows that electricity can do the same function as a steam engine, but without the smoke. Faraday’s DC motors, like modern DC motors, had limited functionality. But his innovation served as the first step towards electrification. Faraday has three major innovations, the electrical motor, generator … Continue reading "Electric Motor"
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)Programmable Logic Controller’s (PLC’s) are small single-purpose computers. They control machines and are common in cars. You probably own more PLC’s than any other type of computer. Today, a single-car has a myriad of PLC’s, usually networked together. PLC’s replace hard-coded wiring, automating tasks. PLC’s often read input from analog sensors. Responding to temperature, sensing … Continue reading "Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)"
TobaccoWalter Raleigh popularized tobacco, grown in the America’s, in England. He set sail in South America searching for El Dorado, the mythical city of gold. Raleigh never found the golden city but he did find tobacco, bringing it back to England. He committed a crime and was pardoned but, on a second journey in search … Continue reading "Tobacco"
Privatized SpacePrivate space companies launch rockets that propel satellites (and eventually, people) into space without government funds or bureaucracy. Leaving government out of space removes political influence, simplifies space commercialization, and reduces costs. Elon Musk Elon Musk has a fondness for starting businesses that do the impossible. At first, there was PayPal. At that time, … Continue reading "Privatized Space"
Pneumatic Hammer (Jackhammer)1871 As the US and Europe quickly built ever-larger cities and railroads they needed equipment to manipulate the earth at a large scale. The jackhammer is one of these innovations. The jackhammer vastly lowered the cost of blasting rocks and coal. Before the jackhammer men used hammers to blast away at rocks, breaking big rocks … Continue reading "Pneumatic Hammer (Jackhammer)"
Mass Market Microcomputer with DisplayThe Apple II is the first real mass-market microcomputer. It did anything it was programmed to do, and people programmed it to do all sorts of things. Spreadsheets, invented on the Apple II, drove enormous sales to the business market. The computer also featured several word processors and a sizable game library. Jobs & Woz … Continue reading "Mass Market Microcomputer with Display"
Ballpoint PenBallpoint pens are modern pens, where ink a tube coats a ball at the end which writes. Unlike fountain pens they are inexpensive and require no skill beyond the ability to write. Loud, an American Harvard-educated lawyer, invented and patented the ballpoint pen but failed to commercialize the pen. Other versions were released but none … Continue reading "Ballpoint Pen"
