Gadgets and Inventions

Neil Morris

Description

Have you ever wondered what went wrong when inventions, structures and technology failed spectacularly? This series provides exciting, cross-curricular, high interest reads into ideas and projects from around the world that did not work as planned.

Informations

• Publié par: Capstone Global Library
• Date de parution: 15 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781406255355
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 25 Mo

Extrait

From Fail to Win! Learning from Bad Ideas

GADGETS and INVENTIONS

Neil Morris

Raintree is an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales having its registered office at 7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB – Registered company number: 6695582

Text © Capstone Global Library Limited 2011 First published in hardback in 2011 The moral rights of the proprietor have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS (www.cla.co.uk). Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission should be addressed to the publisher.

Edited by Andrew Farrow and  Vaarunika Dharmapala Designed by Richard Parker Picture research by Mica Brancic Originated by Capstone Global Library Ltd Printed and bound in China by South China  Printing Company Ltd

ISBN 978 1 406 21765 0 (hardback) 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Morris, Neil. From fail to win : learning from bad ideas. Gadgets and inventions. 600dc22 A full catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce photographs: Alamy p.13(© Photos 12); Corbis pp.15(© Bettmann),17(Sygma/© Eric Robert),19 bottom(© Reuters/Eriko Sugita), 25(epa/Jacek Bednarczyk),42(© Morton Beebe); Edison National Historic Site p.16; Getty Images pp.5(George Eastman House/W. K. L. Dickson), 8(Keystone/Alan Band/Hulton Archive/Photoshot), 10(WireImage/Alex Henry Moore),11(Hulton Archive),21,23(Popperfoto/Rolls Press),29(AFP/ Caio Leal),31(Hulton Archive/M.J. Rivise Patent Collection),33 main(Science & Society Picture Library),37(Hulton Archive/Fox Photos),38 (AFP/Toshifumi Kitamura),43(Science & Society Picture Library); Honda news p.19 top; iStockphoto p.44(© Vitaly Shabalyn); Library of Congress p.7; NASA pp.47,48,49; Rex Features pp.39,45(Daily Mail/Bill Orchard); Science Photo Library pp.26, 40(Geoff Tompkinson); Shutterstock p.33 inset (© stocknadia); TopFoto p.34.

Cover photograph of a robot playing the organ, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, 1985, reproduced with permission of Rex Features (Edwin Karmiol).

We would like to thank Chris Oxlade for his invaluable help in the preparation of this book.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publisher.

Disclaimer All the Internet addresses (URLs) given in this book were valid at the time of going to press. However, due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have changed or ceased to exist since publication. While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher.

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Lessons leàrne................................................................................ 4 Conçrete furniture........................................................................... 6 Piçturephone ................................................................................... 8 Smell-O-Vision .............................................................................. 10 Tàlking toy ..................................................................................... 14 Househol root ............................................................................ 18 Pàper çlothing................................................................................ 22 Vote reçorer.................................................................................. 26 Shàving eviçe ............................................................................... 30 Telemoilosçope............................................................................ 34 Internet frige ................................................................................ 38 Vieoisç........................................................................................ 42 Hule Spàçe Telesçope ............................................................... 46 Timeline ........................................................................................ 50 Glossàry.......................................................................................... 52 Fin out more................................................................................ 54 Inex .............................................................................................. 56

Any wors àppeàring in the text in ol,like this, àre explàine in the glossàry

Lessons learned

Throughout history suççessful inventors hàve çreàte things thàt never existe efore. Some were huge ojeçts or systems, others were smàll eviçes or gàgets. Iniviuàls hà the çouràge àn enterpriseto follow their reàms. Sometimes one evelopment le to ànother. This hàs espeçiàlly een the çàse sinçe the Industrial Revolutionof the 18th àn 19th çenturies.

Not àll these inventions suççeee. Some fàile to work properly eçàuse of à làçk of teçhniçàl knowlege on the pàrt of the inventor. Others worke ut were unsuççessful eçàuse there wàs simply no emàn for them àt the time. Short-term fàilure çàn, however, sometimes leà to long-term suççess, espeçiàlly when prolems àre ientifie àn overçome. This meàns thàt làter inventors çàn leàrn à greàt eàl from eàrlier poor or fàile ieàs.

World’s greatest inventor? Thomàs Eison mày e the greàtest inventor who ever live. He wàs grànte 1,093patentsin the Unite Stàtes, à fàr greàter numer thàn àny other inventor. In 1876 Eison uilt àn inustriàl reseàrçh làoràtory àt Menlo Pàrk, New Jersey, USA. There he àn his àssistànts egàn the work thàt le to his greàtest àçhievements: • a telephone transmitter that improved the invention of Alexàner Gràhàm Bell (1877) • thephonograph(àlso çàlle à gràmophone) (1877) • a long-lasting electric light bulb that could be used in the home (1879). Eison àlwàys worke hàr. One of his est-known sàyings wàs, “Genius is one per çent inspiràtion àn ninety-nine per çent perspiràtion.” Despite his enormous suççess ràte, Eison hà his isàppointments, too. Three of his fàile inventions àppeàr in this ook.

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