Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal glasses in the 1700s. He was nearsighted and had also become farsighted in his middle age. Tired of switching between two pairs of glasses, Franklin cut the lenses of each pair of glasses horizontally, making a single pair of glasses that focused at both near regions (the bottom half of the lenses) and far regions (the top half of the lenses). This new type of glasses let people read and see far away; they are still in use today.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
BIFOCAL GLASSES
Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal glasses in the 1700s. He was nearsighted and had also become farsighted in his middle age. Tired of switching between two pairs of glasses, Franklin cut the lenses of each pair of glasses horizontally, making a single pair of glasses that focused at both near regions (the bottom half of the lenses) and far regions (the top half of the lenses). This new type of glasses let people read and see far away; they are still in use today.
The Battery
A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Each battery has two electrodes, an anode (the positive end) and a cathode (the negative end). An electrical pathway runs between these two electrodes (since there is a voltage/potential difference between them), going through a chemical called an electrolyte (which can be either liquid or solid). This unit consisting of two electrodes is called a cell (often called a voltaic cell). Batteries are used to power many devices and are also used make the spark that starts a gasoline engine.
The first battery-like discovery occurred in 1786, when Count Luigi Galvani (an Italian anatomist, 1737-1798) found that when the muscles of a dead frog were touched by two pieces of different metals, the muscle tissue twitched.
Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (Feb. 18, 1745- March 5, 1827) was an Italian physicist who realized that the twitching was caused by an electrical current that was created by chemicals. Volta invented the chemical battery (also called the voltaic pile) in 1800. His first voltaic piles were made from zinc and silver plates (separated by a cloth) put in a salt water bath. (This is similar to the unpleasant phenomenon that happens when people with metal tooth fillings bite into aluminum foil -- a small electrical current flows from one metal to the other metal, flowing through the acidic saliva and giving the biter an unpleasant sensation.) Volta soon improved the pile, using zinc and copper in a weak sulfuric acid bath. Volta's invention provided the first generator of continuous electrical current.
In 1820, the French physicist André-Marie Ampère discovered many of the laws governing the relationship between electricity and magnetism, along with how a battery works. Ampere discovered that electricity moves through conductors, and that electrical charges flow from one electrode to the other. Ampere invented the astatic needle, which detected electrical currents.
Storage batteries are batteries that can be recharged (they are also called secondary batteries or accumulators). In 1859, the French physicist Gaston Plante (1834-1889) invented a battery made from two lead plates joined by a wire and immersed in a sulfuric acid electrolyte; this was the first storage battery. It was large and hard to move because of the liquid electrolyte.
The dry cell is a an improved voltaic cell with a cylindrical zinc shell (the zinc acts as both the cathode and the container) that is lined with a porous material (not a liquid) saturated with ammonium chloride (the electrolyte). A carbon rod (the anode) is in the center of the cylinder, surrounded by graphite. This type of battery decays when not in use. The dry cell battery was developed in the 1870s by Georges Leclanche of France, who used an electrolyte in the form of a paste.
Edison batteries (also called alkaline batteries) are an improved type of storage battery developed by Thomas Edison. These batteries have an alkaline electrolyte, instead of an acid. Its electrodes are plates of iron and nickelic oxide immersed in a caustic potash electrolyte (this is a base, and not acidic).
BASKETBALL
The game of basketball was invented by James Naismith (1861-1939). Naismith was a Canadian physical education instructor who invented the game in 1891 so that his students could participate in sports during the winter. In his original game, which he developed while at the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association), Naismith used a soccer ball which was thrown into peach baskets (with the basket bottoms intact). The first public basketball game was in Springfield, MA, USA, on March 11, 1892. Basketball was first played at the Olympics in Berlin Germany in 1936 (America won the gold medal, and Naismith was there).
BALLPOINT PEN
The first non-leaking ballpoint pen was invented in 1935 by the Hungarian brothers Lazlo and Georg Biro. Lazlo was a chemist and Georg was a newspaper editor.
A ballpoint marker had been invented much earlier (in 1888 by John Loud, an American leather tanner, who used the device for marking leather) but Loud's marker leaked, making it impractical for everyday use. A new type of ink had to be developed; this is what the Biro brothers did. The brothers patented their invention and then opened the first ballpoint manufacturing plant in Argentina, South America.
MY FAV SCIENTIST : Sir Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton was born in 1642 in a manor house in Lincolnshire, England. His father had died two months before his birth. When Isaac was three his mother remarried, and Isaac remained with his grandmother. He was not interested in the family farm, so he was sent to Cambridge University to study.
Isaac was born just a short time after the death of Galileo, one of the greatest scientists of all time. Galileo had proved that the planets revolve around the sun, not the earth as people thought at the time. Isaac Newton was very interested in the discoveries of Galileo and others. Isaac thought the universe worked like a machine and that a few simple laws governed it. Like Galileo, he realized that mathematics was the way to explain and prove those laws. Isaac Newton was one of the world’s great scientists because he took his ideas, and the ideas of earlier scientists, and combined them into a unified picture of how the universe works.
Isaac Newton explained the workings of the universe through mathematics. He formulated laws of motion and gravitation. These laws are math formulas that explain how objects move when a force acts on them. Isaac published his most famous book, Principia, in 1687 while he was a mathematics professor at Trinity College, Cambridge. In the Principia, Isaac explained three basic laws that govern the way objects move. He then described his idea, or theory, about gravity. Gravity is the force that causes things to fall down. If a pencil falls off a desk, it will land on the floor, not the ceiling. In his book Isaac also used his laws to show that the planets revolve around the suns in orbits that are oval, not round.
Isaac Newton used three laws to explain the way objects move. They are often call Newton’s Laws. The First Law states that an object that is not being pushed or pulled by some force will stay still, or will keep moving in a straight line at a steady speed. It is easy to understand that a bike will not move unless something pushes or pulls it. It is harder to understand that an object will continue to move without help. Think of the bike again. If someone is riding a bike and jumps off before the bike is stopped what happens? The bike continues on until it falls over. The tendency of an object to remain still, or keep moving in a straight line at a steady speed is called inertia.
The Second Law explains how a force acts on an object. An object accelerates in the direction the force is moving it. If someone gets on a bike and pushes the pedals forward the bike will begin to move. If someone gives the bike a push from behind, the bike will speed up. If the rider pushes back on the pedals the bike will slow down. If the rider turns the handlebars, the bike will change direction.
The Third Law states that if an object is pushed or pulled, it will push or pull equally in the opposite direction. If someone lifts a heavy box, they use force to push it up. The box is heavy because it is producing an equal force downward on the lifter’s arms. The weight is transferred through the lifter’s legs to the floor. The floor presses upward with an equal force. If the floor pushed back with less force, the person lifting the box would fall through the floor. If it pushed back with more force the lifter would fly into the air.
When most people think of Isaac Newton, they think of him sitting under an apple tree observing an apple fall to the ground. When he saw the apple fall, Newton began to think about a specific kind of motion—gravity. Newton understood that gravity was the force of attraction between two objects. He also understood that an object with more matter –mass- exerted the greater force, or pulled smaller object toward it. That meant that the large mass of the earth pulled objects toward it. That is why the apple fell down instead of up, and why people don’t float in the air.
Isaac Newton thought about gravity and the apple. He thought that maybe gravity was not just limited to the earth and the objects on it. What if gravity extended to the moon and beyond? Isaac calculated the force needed to keep the moon moving around the earth. Then he compared it with the force the made the apple fall downward. After allowing for the fact that the moon is much farther from the earth, and has a much greater mass, he discovered that the forces were the same. The moon in held in an orbit around earth by the pull of earth’s gravity.
Isaac Newton’s calculations changed the way people understood the universe. No one had been able to explain why the planets stayed in their orbits. What held them up? Less that 50 years before Isaac Newton was born it was thought that the planets were held in place by an invisible shield. Isaac proved that they were held in place by the sun’s gravity. He also showed that the force of gravity was affected by distance and by mass. He was not the first to understand that the orbit of a planet was not circular, but more elongated, like an oval. What he did was to explain how it worked.
Newton's Three Laws and Rockets
Details on Issac Newton's Three Laws as appiled to rocketry.
Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton was an English scientist (1642 - 1727) who invented the reflecting telescope in 1668.
Sir Isaac Newton
Newton always considered himself a natural philosopher, and the central strand of his scientific development consisted of his speculations on the nature of physical reality, speculations that led him away from the reigning mechanical philosophy and to a major modification of it that asserted the existence of forces acting at a distance.
Isaac Newton
Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727), mathematician and physicist, one of the foremost scientific intellects of all time.
On Ye Shoulders of Giants
His contribution to establishing science and the scientific method as providing the best description of the material world, and the awe in which he was held by his contemporaries, were neatly encapsulated early in the eighteenth century by the poet Alexander Pope, with his famous couplet Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
GOLF RELATED : Golf Ball Launcher - Golf Just Got Fun For Everyone!
The Golf Ball Launcher is an all-new concept, making golf accessible to everyone! Some of you have stopped playing golf because of mobility difficulties or lack of time to practice your game. Some of you have never played golf because of a physical handicap or because the game never appealed to you. But now EVERYONE can enjoy the great outdoors and the camaraderie of golf with the amazing new Golf Ball Launcher! Ideal for people with mobility difficulties. Great for people who stopped playing due to age related issues. Fun for everyone, including youngsters. No time for practice? Now you can still enjoy the game.
The COMPUTER RELATED : Zeomi ZTab Keyboard - Increases Productivity by 40%!

The new ZTab keyboard features a large Tab Bar which is located right next to the numbers keys. It's ideal for fast data entry because you can now tab between fields quickly and easily with your right thumb. You never have to lift your right hand from the keyboard to use the mouse or tab with your left hand. Applications such as Databases, Spreadsheets, Timeslips* , Avon Online and Ordering*, Quick Books*, and adBlocks* will be enhanced by the use of a ZTab keyboard.
DONT WORRY FOR A HAIR LOSS : Hair-follicle fertiliser
The market for treating such conditions is worth some $10 billion a year, with even robots being utilised to transplant hair. However, no truly effective solution exists.
Now, George Cotsarelis at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues say they can stimulate the formation of new hair follicles.
They use an abrasive wheel to rub away skin from the scalp, causing a new layer of young cells to grow as replacements.
Treating these young cells with drugs that inhibit epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) on their surface causes some of the nascent cells to form into hair follicles.
The team says it has tested the idea successfully in mice and on human skin grafted onto mice and have set up a company called Follica to commercialise the idea.
ITS INTERESTING : Brain signal decoder
Interfacing with the brain to control devices such as wheelchairs, robots and prosthetic devices has great potential. Monkeys have shown impressive ability to control robot limbs using brain implants, but must "rewire" their brains through training to do it.
It would make things easier to use the signals naturally used for hand-eye coordination. But nobody has been able to figure out how the part of the brain responsible for hand-eye coordination, the primary motor cortex, does its job. Even recording the activity of this brain region has proved difficult.
Now, John Donoghue and colleagues at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, have designed a new implant to make the task easier. They have also created software that turns these brain signals into code that controls an external device.
The team tested the device on the brains of monkeys as they watched objects move in front of them. In this way, the researchers built up a database of signals that could be used to work out a decoding strategy.
The result is a brain implant that can translate the hand trajectory signals produced by the brain and use them to control an external device.
HELPFUL FOR GRANNIES : Exoskeleton for grannies

Finding ways to assist and care for the growing elderly population in many developed countries is a growing problem. One challenge is to work out how to improve the strength and utility of ageing limbs.
Yoshiyuki Sankai at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo, has developed an exoskeleton for a single arm that can do just that.
The device consists of a tabard worn over the shoulders with a motorised exoskeleton for one arm attached. The exoskeleton senses the angle, torque and nerve impulses in the arm and then assists the user to move his or her shoulder and elbow joints accordingly.
INVENTION IN MEDICAL FIELD : Force-feedback CPR coach

A person suffering cardiac arrest is at risk of death as their blood is no longer circulating. Some studies have shown that patients' survival rates can increase by a factor of 3 when high-quality CPR is administered. But the quality of CPR is important.
Getting the depth of chest compressions right is one measure of quality. And a new gadget from Philips helps first aiders get it right, by giving physical feedback to let them know when the right depth has been reached. For an adult, that is around 4 centimetres, and for a child around 2.5cm.
The CPR coach is a pad placed over the patient's chest that contains accelerometers to monitor compression depth. When the correct depth has been reached, the device vibrates to warn the rescuer to stop. This can be combined with audio coaching, in the form of rhythmic beeps for a rescuer to follow.
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You can download latest version of Quick time player along with itunes

The QuickTime family of digital media creation, delivery and playback software lets you deliver live or pre-recorded video and audio to an audience of any size. When combined with QuickTime Player and QuickTime Pro, these applications work together to provide the industry’s first end-to-end, standards-based digital media delivery system.
QuickTime 7 is Apple's cutting-edge digital media software for both Mac and Windows-based computers delivers unparalleled quality for creating, playing and streaming audio and video content over the Internet. Besides playing MPEG-4 and MP3 content, it supports timecode tracks as well as MIDI standards such as the Roland Sound Canvas and GS format extensions. It also supports key standards for web streaming, including HTTP, RTP and RTSP. Plus, it supports every major file format for images, including JPEG, BMP, PICT, PNG and GIF. QuickTime 7 features an ultra efficient new H.264 video codec delivering stunning quality at remarkably low data rates from 3G to iChat AV to HD.
New features in QuickTime 7 Player for Windows:
- H.264 video playback. Watch movies created with this state-of-the-art, standards-based codec, which delivers exceptional-quality video.
- Surround sound. With QuickTime 7, your PC, and surround speakers, you can enjoy the full effect of your surround sound game or movie.
- New and improved playback controls. Easily change settings including jog shuttle, playback speed, bass, treble, and balance.
- Zero-configuration streaming. QuickTime automatically determines your optimal Internet connection speed and reconnects dropped connections.
- Live resize. Playback continues smoothly as you change the size of the QuickTime Player window
New features in QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows:
- Create H.264 video. Create incredible-looking video for any use, from 3G for mobile devices to HD.
- Create surround audio. Create a rich multimedia experience by adding multichannel audio to your movie.
- Floating controls. Easily access functions like pause, play, fast-forward, and rewind while watching full-screen movies.
- Background exporting. Export your movie in the background and continue with your next playback or editing task.
- Improved movie authoring. The all-new Movie Properties facilitates simple and efficient movie authoring.
- Automate with VB Script. Automate your QuickTime workflow with native VB Script support in QuickTime 7. Developers can also use VB Script to access the new QuickTime Active X control for creating custom multimedia applications.
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Friday, August 15, 2008
What On Earth An Electromagnetic Globe

What on earth! This space structure has been implemented by astronauts in an attempt to cool the polar caps of the earth, and to reduce global warning. OK, well that is fiction -- but this little global ornament with an electromagnetic mechanism inbuilt looks pretty damn cool! Especially with the blue LED's which illuminate the Earth during times of darkness! Not a ground breaking invention, but something we think looks cool and would sit well on anyone's desk.
AGAIN RELATED TO COMPUTER : Corona Matic Waffle Maker Makes Keyboard Waffles

This invention is still in its prototype stage yet aims to utilise defunct products and apply a different purpose to them. The Corona-Matic Waffle Maker makes waffles in the shape of computer keyboards. The gadget transforms an old style of writing equipment into a kitchen appliance which can cook up a few tasty treats.
The inventor of the Corono-Matic is Chris Dimino, which was a group project at the School of Visual Arts. The task set for the students was to modify an exiting useless product into something which could be used nowadays, revolutionising the product and its use. The invention is yet to enter the mainstream market, but we think it will only be a matter of time, and also expect some other wild transformations from the young inventor also.
RELATED TO COMPUTER : Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard Additions

Kinesis Corporation(R), the leading innovator of ergonomic computer keyboards and related devices, today announced two new accessories for the award winning Freestyle(TM) Convertible Keyboard family which includes the Freestyle Solo(TM) keyboard. The new Freestyle V3(TM) and Ascent Multi-tent(TM) accessories, along with the previously-released Incline and VIP accessories, enable the Solo keyboard to improve the comfort and productivity of nearly any computer user. The easy-on/easy-off Freestyle accessories provide a virtual "Swiss army knife" of ergonomic features and configurations.
The Freestyle Solo keyboard is available in both Macintosh and PC versions.
According to Kinesis President and CEO Will Hargreaves, PhD, "Our vision for the Freestyle keyboard has been a modular design to address the majority of user needs ranging from the mainstream to the specialized." Hargreaves added, "With the addition of the simple to use and inexpensive Freestyle V3 three-angle tenting accessory, and the versatile Ascent Multi-tent accessory, we have met our objectives for this product family." Both home and corporate computer users can benefit tremendously from this highly adaptable keyboard solution.
The heart of the Freestyle lineup is the Solo keyboard. A traditional but compact key layout minimizes adaptation and eases mousing movements, but that's where traditional keyboard design ends.
The Solo consists of two keying modules connected together by the flexible Pivot Tether(TM), which allows infinite adjustment of the front opening angle (splay). Removing the Pivot Tether allows the two modules to completely separate up to eight inches. A variety of optional, interchangeable accessories, including the V3 and Ascent kits, provide features never before available from a single keyboard.
The V3 accessory clips easily to the base of the Solo Keyboard and allows quick and reproducible slope settings of 5, 10 and 15 degrees without the use of tools. The V3 can be used with or without the Pivot Tether. In addition, optional palm supports provide further flexibility. The result is a highly stable typing platform.
The Ascent Multi-tent (TM) accessory for the first time enables both vertical and variable keyboard tenting as well as adjustable separation of the keying modules. Tenting angles may be independently set for each keying module in 10 degree increments ranging from 20 to 90 degrees. The sturdy, steel multi-tent modules attach with screws to the underside of the Solo keying modules. A linking plate is provided which can be attached without tools to hold the keying modules at the desired separation distance. The Ascent is intended for users who require more acute tenting angles, such as those with limited rotation of wrists, and those who just prefer a more aggressive tenting angle.
Ergonomic professionals attending the National Ergonomics Conference awarded The PC Freestyle model the "Attendees Choice Award" (Dec. 2006) as one of the products most likely to increase productivity and profitability while improving workplace health and safety. The Macintosh Freestyle model was released in June of 2008.
Suggested retail price for the Freestyle V3 and Accent Multi-tent accessory is $24.95 and $199.00, respectively (Solo Keyboard $99.00).
RELATED TO WATER : Luminous Stretchy Rings Around Your Glass

It is common for people to take a drink of water with them to their bedroom at night. This is more familiar to light sleepers who wake with a thirst, so this little invention may be of greater use to you, than heavy sleepers. So, the invention is effectively a set of luminous, glow in the dark elastic bands, which have been defined as a 'new gadget'.
Also, the seller refuses to accept that they are rubber bands, calling them 'stretchy rings'. Uh, yeah - the expression six and 2 three's springs to mind, pardon the pun. Although not revolutionary as the seller likes us to believe, they can prove useful to those who take a glass up to their darkened room and potentially reduce spillages.
Easily attachable, just slip the ring around the glass and there you have it. The 'stretchy rings' are available now at $6 (£2.99) for a set of four bands, sorry, rings.
WOW SEE THIS : Sea Pollution Fought By Robotic Buoy

Osaka University have engineered a sophisticated new robotic buoy which aims to minimise sea pollution. The robot aims to reduce oil spillages aboard oil tankers. The prototype, termed SOTAB (Spilled Oil Tracking Autonomous Buoy), is a 110Kg GPS-enabled robot which measures 2.7m in length and 27cm in diameter. The concept allows the robot to be dropped into the sea automatically when an oil spillage occurs. Unfortunately the robotic buoys will not be instilled for a further three years, as it will take that duration of time to develop them from the labs into productive use.
Naomi Kato, professor of Submersible Robotic Engineering in the department of Naval Architecture, developed the system and has described it as able to "conduct education and research on underwater robotics, biomechanics on aquatic animals and its application to engineering, computational hydrodynamics of viscous flow fields.
In layman's terms this essentially translates into the fact that the buoy can monitor the oil flow by day or night via four highly sensitive cameras designed to pick up on black shadows caused by oil leaks. The robot will stay submerged at 10metres, and during the night its lights will be turned on to offer 24 hour monitoring.
The buoy will record speed of the current, water temperature, wind direction and velocity which will be computed and humans will be informed of the extent of the leak and which direction and how fast the leak is spreading. Sounds like a great idea, and will definitely be put into good use in three years time. It's just a shame it has taken so long for such a product to be engineered.
NEWLY INVENTED : Up Up And Away With A Glenn Martin Jetpack

The jetpack has always been a much sought after invention, which as of yet no one has managed to invent a safe, secure and economical version of. In my younger days, I used to envisage a world where people would use jetpack and take to the skies, reducing the need for transportation on the roads. It is disappointing that no jetpack has managed to enter the mainstream market.
Inventor, Glenn Martin, is the latest to have a go at developing a safe jetpack product. It is not exactly a jetpack, since there are no jets involved at all. This jetpack is powered by two gasoline fuelled 200 horsepower fans, which make the jetpack incredibly loud.
The lack of flaming jets is why Martin believes his jetpack is the safest yet, also due to the fact that the jetpack comes with an in-built parachute for added security and will be standard on each version of the jetpack.
The thrill of this flight will cost you $250,000, so obviously will be out of most people's price range. Fore those who can afford it, enjoy the thrill of flight, just watch out for low flying aeroplanes.
INVENTION : Maple Phone Developed By Yoon And Lee

Transforming a popular product into a wooden version is a bizarre development, but the cell phone has just undergone such treatment. The Maple Phone has been developed by two Koreans, Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee as they prove that phones do not need to follow the same trend of plastic products. The wooden phone exhibits a touch sensitive keypad and also a camera. For the touchpad to work correctly, we believe that some different materials are used, as this would be impossible based on wood alone. The phone is great from an environmental perspective, since wood is a natural source and completely renewable. Perhaps this will pave the way for future wooden products, for example wooden MP3 players, wooden laptops, wooden televisions etc.
The wooden phone does not look particularly appealing, and will no doubt be heavier than the traditional plastic. At the moment, it looks like a block of wood with some numbers and stickers placed on the front. Nevertheless it would be great to get our hands on one and compare it with a more conventional plastic cell phone.