Great Inventions

When we think of great inventions, we often think that is relegated to a time in the past around the industrial revolution when our modern mechanical world was coming into being. But don't overlook the recent revolutions. They will shape our future in ways similar to the way the cotton gin started that revolution.

Inventor Tip:

Registering your idea early could be vital to keeping your rights. Sometimes it's a race to the patent office, as was the case with the telephone with two patents being filed the very same day. Do you even know the name of the OTHER guy?

The Chevy Volt

Nearly 80% of us drive less than 40 miles a day, that means that unlike the Toyota Prius, the Volt could get drivers off gas altogether. The Chevy Volt is a sedan with an electric motor whose battery hums along for 40 miles of range on a single charge. The small gas engine only kicks in to recharge the battery while you’re driving. This could be the first fully electric car that regular people can rely on.

The Large Hadron Collider

The world’s largest particle accelerator, this mammoth machine will send protons in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light and then smash them together six thousand times a second while trying to answer questions as why mass exists and whether the universe has extra dimensions.

The Global Seed Vault

A keeper of seeds for over half of the developing countries who are at risk from natural disasters, it sits on the far-northern Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The vault can hold up to 4.5 million samples, kept dry at about 6° F or –18 C. Should it lose its power, the Arctic climate should keep the seeds viable for thousands of years so the native seeds can be replanted in case of an agricultural disaster.

The Bionic Hand

Created by Touch Bionics, the world’s first commercially available bionic hand took many hands and many years to develop. It is multi-articulating, meaning each finger has its own motor. Usually artificial hands are hook-like and limited to simple open and close gestures, but the iLimb has more subtle capabilities like a credit-card grip for grasping narrow objects. It also has a power hold for coffee mugs and large things. The research on the hand began in the United Kingdom’s national health system in the 1950’s and now hundreds of people around the world are using it. Touch Bionics next project is a prosthetic wrist, fingers and a full bionic arm.

The Tesla Roadster

The base model of the 2010 Tesla Roadster produces 248 horsepower and the sport model, 288 horsepower. This compact convertible, two-seat sports car runs on electricity. Both the Base and the sport model have a one speed transmission strong enough to handle the instantaneous torque created by the electric motor. The Roadster is the first electric car with enough muscle to make a fossil out of the notion of fossil fuel dependency.