Do we still have old school inventors?

[ws23rt]

I was looking at the pyramid of tires in my back yard again today.  It is there still because the last time I asked about them at my local landfill they said $5 ea without rims was my cost to toss. The value of old tires is still to low to even make them a desirable material for free.

This got me thinking about a list of things that need to be invented. That was 30 years ago. One of those things from then comes to mind--- a practical way to spin up the wheels of airliners to reduce the rubber lost when they land.
This is just an example of the little things all around us that still cry out for creative thinking.

Whenever I hear about low rain fall (currently Calif.) It makes me wonder why solving the issues with using sea water are still on the back burner? (I'm thinking of scale and energy source). --I get the physics of it and it would take a large effort.-- I also see this as being something that has a long term potential value for everyone and any one that gets involved.

The worst possible scenario (of course) would be the gov. gets their/our money in on it.  We also need to be wary about turning (naturally) arid dry ground a bit green.  But the hazards can be addressed.

Has anyone seen a current list of inventions needed?  Their may be a few youngsters that could use a fruitful path to take.

[JB400]

  I'm sure we could easily get CA the water it needs, if it wasn't for the environmentalists.  Take the Romans for example.  They rerouted lakes and rivers through mountains to get water to their towns.  We use pipelines for oil out of Canada, we could certainly use them for water as well.

  Necessity is the mother of invention, but regulations are the Grim Reaper.  

  Considering the current state of the world population, I think we're actually at a point in time to where we don't need anymore technological breakthroughs.  Maybe in alternative fuel and space exploration, but that's it.

[Steve P.]

A pipeline from Canada has been brought up many times. Only it falls on deaf ears.. 

Desalinating is a great way to make potable water from sea water, but it take a monster amount of power to do it. We have a desal. plant here in Pinellis County, Florida. The cost to build it and run it are enormous. Then comes the issue of the salt or brine that has to go someplace. Here it goes back out to sea, but it has to be widely separated as the salt content at the pipe end will kill sea life.. I read somewhere not too long ago, they are working on a plan to build another desal plant somewhere in California and pump the salt into the desert. I have no idea what issues that may bring. 

[ws23rt]

The problem with discharge of the waste from desalinization is a typical issue.  With a move of any real scale so goes up the scale of the effects.

A floating desal plant that uses solar power for example could discharge into one of the vast dead zones of the ocean. But with what ever best idea will come a down side of some sort. In a case like this let's suppose the dead zone came to life. Some will see that as bad because it is not "natural".

The installation of a wind farm by the nature of taking power from the wind will reduce the wind force that was natural in that place.  The change downwind will be actual.  Is that something of concern?

Is not the issue we always come back to---what happens when we do stuff?  Is what happens bad or is as natural as whale poop which is neither--It is just is what it is. 

[draftingmonkey]

I was looking at the pyramid of tires in my back yard again today.  It is there still because the last time I asked about them at my local landfill they said $5 ea without rims was my cost to toss. The value of old tires is still to low to even make them a desirable material for free.

Ideas for old tires https://www.google.com/search?q=recycling+old+tires&biw=1902&bih=920&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQsARqFQoTCPSc0vbMi8YCFVAVkgod-9oD-g&dpr=1

I read somewhere not too long ago, they are working on a plan to build another desal plant somewhere in California and pump the salt into the desert.

The new desalination plant is located in Carlsbad (North San Diego County). It is being built adjacent to an existing power plant and the discharge water will be mixed with the power plants cooling system discharge water to be returned to the ocean via the power plants discharge outlet http://carlsbaddesal.com/.

[RallyeMike]

There is another desal plant that in CA that was built the last time there was a drought. It was never used and mothballed. Now they are planning on refitting it and firing it up.

None of this crap is needed if they'd stop trying to terraform a desert.

[stripedelete]

We've got plenty of water in the Midwest.   Come on home.  (and bring your economy with you.)

Problem solved.

[polywideblock]

 "I was looking at the pyramid of tires in my back yard again today. brickwall  It is there still because the last time I asked about them at my local landfill they said $5 ea without rims was my cost to toss. The value of old tires is still to low to even make them a desirable material for free."

    why aren't there more sites converting old tyres into diesel , steel and  carbon  black

                                
                     http://www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/waste/article/turning-tyres-into-diesel-fuel-344305648

[draftingmonkey]

There is another desal plant that in CA that was built the last time there was a drought. It was never used and mothballed. Now they are planning on refitting it and firing it up.

Santa Barbara http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/system/sources/desalination.asp

[Mike DC]

        

None of this crap is needed if they'd stop trying to terraform a desert.

Desalinizing water . . .  it's kinda like fossil fuels.  We can't always invent our way out of economic problems & hard limits to resources.  

How do we invent a way to create clean fresh water that is price-competitive with finding clean fresh water just lying around, almost ready to drink as it is?  




With the fossil fuel example, how do we manufacture something and give it the stored energy of fossil fuels?  We don't just need to manufacture a battery, we would need to manufacture the battery and also charge it up.  With fossil fuels the batteries are lying around, already charged up.  All we have to do pull them out of the ground, purify them a little, and use them.  

If fossil fuels weren't naturally occurring we would have given someone a Nobel Prize for inventing them.  Now that we're running into a little bit of greater expense, everyone bitches about them and expects the world's inventors to whip up something better.  This one isn't an invention problem, it's just an economic one.  We already have the awesome invention.  There are just a few financial limits on it imposed by the planet. 

Same thing applies to water IMO.  The world has plenty of fresh water.   We just can't have everything we want, wherever & whenever we want it, all the time, as much as we want, for practically no cost.    

[LaOtto70Charger]

Just of how stupid we have become.  People moving from all over to a California desert.  So much of the Colorado is diverted there to get LA and farms water it barely makes it the gulf.  Yet Detroit, surrounded by fresh water, is being abandoned to the point where they are having the water shut off because those remaining don't have jobs to pay the water bill.

As for the inventions see the topic on Fiat and GM merger.  You can have a great idea but try getting it to market where the capital costs are huge.  I remember reading about a wind farm that was planned for Minnesota or the Dakotas.  I forget the area but the place had constant wind perfect for a large wind farm.  Not many people so large invest was needed to get the correct power lines put in to get the power to the grid of bigger cities.  Banks would not approve the funding of the power farm because the power lines were not in place.  They also would not approve funding of the power lines because the power farm was not there.  So no progress. 

Plus if you do have an revolutionary idea that  works against the current money making technologies for a huge corporation you will probably be a target.

[ws23rt]

Their is little question about the financial disincentive to invent something new or even improve upon what's already here.
Someone will always want to take an idea and make money for themselves because that's what they are good at. The ones that come up with them are a different sort and for them just solving a problem is a reward. Sadly even credit for a new idea is often stolen.

I saw a clever idea recently about a CVT. (constant velocity transmission) that is entirely gear connected as opposed to sliding surfaces or "cone drive".  As a teen me and a buddy talked about the potential value of this.  

The CVT is a great way to use the power from an internal combustion engine by tapping the power band where it is most efficient.

However I do see electric motors as being a better answer for that problem (they are the variable and the motor in one).

I'm with Steve P about the future of driving becoming primarily electric. We just need batteries that are up to the task. Feeding the batteries to me is a very separate topic and requires further innovations in that area --to be stolen by others of course

[polywideblock]

the hydrogen fuel cell is a better alternative to the whole better battery thing    

        they can make the hydrogen from sea water and the by-product from combustion is water  seems a win win  situation

[ws23rt]

I also like the idea of using hydrogen as a fuel. It like any form of energy has a set of risky issues with containment.

BTW speaking of running a car on water. What ever happened to the carb's that did just that?  They should have been able to not only break apart the water molecule (at great energy expense) but allow them to regroup into water again with a net gain of moving the car down the road. --- Does the term perpetual motion come to mind?

My personal favorite potential power source is fusion. If that can be controlled and contained on a scale that would work in a car (a power pack?) we could have cars that never need to be refueled. (by never perhaps something like thousands of years would work).When the car is done (in the ways that happen to cars) the power source could be recovered and used in another new car.  This is the same power as the sun and could accurately be called solar power. :Nana:

[Steve P.]

My answer to powering electric cars is primitive, but I think good. Just as we stop at a gas station on a trip, we could stop in a battery bank and trade out our battery pack for a freshly charged pack. This would mean using a common battery size and connection and someone to keep control of the charging and quick R&R of said battery pack. For instance, a side panel that opens from the pass side of any car and the battery pack is slid out like a drawer and a charged battery slid in. Pronged connector that won't need any wrenches and would make a solid connection and all batteries charger by a mass of solar panels..

Gauges in the car should be able to tell you how many miles you have left on the battery for the type of driving you are doing (or where you are driving). Of course mountains are going to be a huge factor, but we are talking electric motors that have nothing but torque, so electrics will probably be more efficient than gas or diesel anyway..

The cars could then be lighter as chargers would be at home rather than on board.. Chargers in parking lots at work would fix those who live a long ways from home and a home charger working off solar would give you the ride to work and common shopping.

The biggest argument I have heard against electric cars is the distance you CAN'T GO.. I believe BATTERY BANKS would fix that issue.

The battery banks could own the batteries or you could rent them from a company and they would be the ones in charge of replacing them.. 

I like hydrogen fueled cars also, but the electric power it takes to break out the hydrogen is still fairly huge.. But again, if we are using solar to charge batteries or to break out the hydrogen and then pump it to an on board tank I can see it working just the same as electric banks.. The question then is what is cheaper and more dependable and safer to drive. Where hydro only emits potable water as an exhaust, an electric motor emits nothing. Doesn't need combustion at all. I believe it would be less efficient. But I don't have proof of that. Only what I have read.

There is a company that is making solar paint. Park your car in the sun and charge your batteries.. Paint your roof and house with it and charge your batteries.. 

Another company is making a very thin foil like film that collects solar rays. It can be laid over most anything. Is see through, but looks like the film you add to your car windows to block out the sun, but can be laid over a car/truck/camper/house roof and collect solar power.

The future will bring much. I just hope I am around to see what I've been reading on..

[Mike DC]

  
I agree that changing out the battery packs at a gas station is the only practical way to refuel battery packs quickly.  



But I'm firmly convinced that the better solution is smaller battery packs, with small internal combustion engines (just along for the ride) to keep the battery charged.  It solves all the range problems of electric cars, it solves 2/3rds of the problems of a huge heavy/large battery pack, and it vastly reduces the need for infrastructure changes in general.  The auxiliary IC engines could stay on gasoline.  Or they could switch to liquid hydrogen or something else.

We could even use solar/wind/etc to get electric power, then turn that into raw hydrogen, and then burn the hydrogen in the vehicle IC engines to turn it back into electricity for the car.  But no matter what, I think IC engines & combustible liquids are the best storage method for vehicles of any decent size.  



The big battery breakthrough is 100 years behind schedule despite TONS of research on it. The auto industry didn't get seriously into battery tech until recently.  But other industries have never stopped trying to build a better battery since we were riding horses.  Sometimes we just can't invent everything we want.  

[ECS]

My answer to powering electric cars is primitive, but I think good. ......we could stop in a battery bank and trade out our battery pack for a freshly charged pack. This would mean using a common battery size......

There would have to be MANY new inventions to take place before that "answer" would be feasible.  Providing a concise "common battery" is much more difficult than incorporating a swappable Battery Pack.  My Company supplies an Electric car Company with their under hood schematic decals and their Batteries are nothing like the conventional self contained (square) ones that are used today.  It's one thing for a "common battery" to supply a short burst of electricity to engage a solenoid, compared to supplying all facets of power to operate the vehicle.  The Batteries used in the today's Electric Cars encompass a large part of the vehicle's structure.  The "battery" provides engineered rigidity that is built into the design of the car. Until technology can condense their power source into a size that is 20 times smaller than what is currently being offered and not integrated into the design of the vehicle, the concept of a simple Battery swap is impossible.

http://www.plugincars.com/understanding-plug-vehicle-types.html

http://blog.archpaper.com/2014/03/is-that-musk-in-the-air-electric-car-space-guru-has-plans-for-texas/#.VX4Ez2BzXw4

[ECS]

Has anyone seen a current list of inventions needed?  Their may be a few youngsters that could use a fruitful path to take.

Inventions are easy to verbalize and/or identify.  It's developing and constructing them into a tangible reality that is difficult.

[ws23rt]

Has anyone seen a current list of inventions needed?  Their may be a few youngsters that could use a fruitful path to take.

Inventions are easy to verbalize and/or identify.  It's developing and constructing them into a tangible reality that is difficult.

This is a part of my thinking/motivation  when I started the thread.

It is true that an inventor (as an individual) has a hard road to proper recognition and or compensation. It always has been that way because of those that see an opportunity to take credit and spend the rewards.

If one is working for a company and invents something of value for the company while in their employ. That company owns that invention. If the inventor gets anything for their effort (including recognition) it's up to that company what they get.

The existing lack of incentives for creativity are a real road block.

BTW I believe just getting due credit for an idea would be a big plus.

In the end what is of value for anyone of us having been here?  (Reproducing aside).  Some acquire wealth as a life filling accomplishment.   When we are old and reflecting on the journey is it the pile of money we can't spend or the accomplishments we made that give us that last bit of satisfaction?

[el dub]

 

In the end what is of value for anyone of us having been here?  (Reproducing aside).  Some acquire wealth as a life filling accomplishment.   When we are old and reflecting on the journey is it the pile of money we can't spend or the accomplishments we made that give us that last bit of satisfaction?

That's kind of funny ws23. There is no answere to that. If it wasn't for reproduction, we wouldn't be here. You reproduce, have kids, make money, raise kids, die, leave money to kids to make their path easier than yours

back to the game. go warriors.

[ws23rt]

In the end what is of value for anyone of us having been here?  (Reproducing aside).  Some acquire wealth as a life filling accomplishment.   When we are old and reflecting on the journey is it the pile of money we can't spend or the accomplishments we made that give us that last bit of satisfaction?

That's kind of funny ws23. There is no answere to that. If it wasn't for reproduction, we wouldn't be here. You reproduce, have kids, make money, raise kids, die, leave money to kids to make their path easier than yours

back to the game. go warriors.

   We do grow, nest, and reproduce. The making an easier path for the kids is not a guarantee it's just a new one.

[Steve P.]

I agree and by no means was I trying to make it sound easy, but when you have so many fighting against something or a direction, you will not find the needed key very easily.. I see things in a different way than most.. When I was a kid in science class we were asked do invent something. I didn't know how to do it, but told my teacher I wanted to invent a pair of glasses that would read a book for me.. He thought that was funny and asked me how I came up with that. I told him I was watching Star Trek with my grandfather and he told me that one day they would invent a real 2-way phone like they used on the show.. Carry it anywhere and talk to anyone just like being on the phone, but without the chord.. Somehow I just don't think figuring out how to make an interchangeable battery that can drive a car a few hundred miles is out of reach!! I do believe the CELL PHONE came from STAR TREK!!!   

And let's not forget, we once set a goal of going to the MOON!!!!! 

[polywideblock]

don't they plan on going back by 2018 

[ECS]

I agree......I do believe......

I know the day will come when Battery Technology will come up with a solution.  It certainly will not be done by me. (lol)  Let me clarify by saying that until they develop a technology to condense their current battery size while increasing and maintaining the power, it appears to be almost "impossible" to come up with one the similar to what is being used for starting our gas powered vehicles. 

One thing I hope that can be invented is a Primer that leaves no dust or residue particles as it is being dry sanded. (lol)  That would be a revolutionary product for the Automotive Repair Industry!

On a separate note, has anyone involved with this thread "invented" any products/designs or went through the Patent Process?

[ECS]

In the end what is of value for anyone of us having been here?.......Some acquire wealth as a life filling accomplishment.

The greatest "wealth" is living to make sure we reserve a place in Heaven! 

[sunfire69]

Just to throw it out there..I don't think batteries are the way to go....I've always wondered about using capacitors ....in essence it's just a battery that only holds it's charge for a short time...as in hours or just a few days...it can be recharged in just a few minuets, in about as much time as it takes to put 20 gal of gas in a car ...you can control the discharge rate with a resistive circuit...just like we do now in most of our electronics....it would just have to be a really big one or a series of smaller ones....at this point in time I think the problem is we don't have the right materials to build one big enough that will hold a big enough charge to run a car.... the concept is simple and used everyday....where the inventor comes in is how do we make it big enough and safe enough to put in a car.....just sayn....

[Mike DC]

  
The common viewpoint is, "Battery-fueled cars will become practical as soon as battery tech catches up to gasoline."

This is like saying, "Space exploration will advance quickly as soon as we get faster-than-light propulsion sorted out."  


We're not talking about some little detail that hasn't gotten enough attention yet.  This is the THE central issue that shapes the whole effort.  People have been researching it for generations.  We can't just assume a solution is right around the corner.  In fact there may never be a very practical solution for it.

[ws23rt]

 
The common viewpoint is, "Battery-fueled cars will become practical as soon as battery tech catches up to gasoline."

This is like saying, "Space exploration will advance quickly as soon as we get faster-than-light propulsion sorted out."  


We're not talking about some little detail that hasn't gotten enough attention yet.  This is the THE central issue that shapes the whole effort.  People have been researching it for generations.  We can't just assume a solution is right around the corner.  In fact there may never be a very practical solution for it.

I'm with you on this.  Batteries have been steadily improved over many years and the improvements have been diminishing with the effort. This tells me a fundamental change in the idea of electrical storage is needed. Capacitors IMO are just another kind of battery with similar diminishing improvements. Also since capacitors can discharge all at once there is that added hazard.

Using liquid hydrogen would meet the issue half way by running IC engines in a clean way but vast changes in infrastructure (manufacturing, transport, etc.) as well as answering the safety question about carrying the fuel in the car need to be considered.

We will continue to seek the holy grail but in the mean time life goes on. The fuels we are using are IMO being recycled back into the environment as naturally as worms turn over the soil. We are as natural as worms and who is to say that what we are doing is bad or good.

I've said and wondered before. Why is what we do in this world considered bad?  Volcanos burp and the continental plates push up and turn over the soil as we speak. Do we fear those changes?  Further on that do we think we can stop those things if someone convinced us we would die unless we did?

What we do is just a spit in the ocean as far as the world in concerned.

I don't like to live in a messy place and most don't. I don't like to offend someone next to me with a mess I made so I don't.

As we increase in number we naturally affect each other more and more. There is a natural balance for that sort of thing and a natural solution.

[XH29N0G]

You have a point that the Earth is essentially a closed system so using fuel just sends carbon back to some place where it will eventually be recycled and also that good/bad may not necessarily apply.  Change also may not be bad for some, but I think the issue that many (incl me) are concerned with is the unknown and also that change may make some things harder and more difficult for numbers of people.  I am not so much concerned for myself, but for my kids and their kids (should they have them).  My worries are about the consequences for food, water, and disease.  Something like climate change and population change might just have an impact.  I figure they will find some sort of fuel, and some sort of way to make their car go faster - in fact that seems like the main thing on my son's (and daughter's) mind.  My mom pulled me aside last Sunday to say I had really started something.

[kiwitrev]

I agree and by no means was I trying to make it sound easy, but when you have so many fighting against something or a direction, you will not find the needed key very easily.. I see things in a different way than most.. When I was a kid in science class we were asked do invent something. I didn't know how to do it, but told my teacher I wanted to invent a pair of glasses that would read a book for me.. He thought that was funny and asked me how I came up with that. I told him I was watching Star Trek with my grandfather and he told me that one day they would invent a real 2-way phone like they used on the show.. Carry it anywhere and talk to anyone just like being on the phone, but without the chord.. Somehow I just don't think figuring out how to make an interchangeable battery that can drive a car a few hundred miles is out of reach!! I do believe the CELL PHONE came from STAR TREK!!!   

And let's not forget, we once set a goal of going to the MOON!!!!! 

FYI this has been done "exchangeable batteries to power a car" Tesla model S in california (i have been driving all electric Tesla for over two years) http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/battery-swap-pilot-program

[kiwitrev]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VH4JloWFEI

tesla has electric cars done the model S can go anywhere in the US that a gas car can upto 300 mile range on the freeway and superchargers charge in less than an hour for free. i speak from experience i drive one. and SUPER quick

[Chad L. Magee]

Yes, old school inventors exist, but they are not as common as they used to be.  Remember that science and math are not things that interest the majority of people as they are too engrossed in the latest fad (or gossip or drugs) to care about moving society forward in a positive direction with an invention.  If they do invent something, the first thing that they think of is "How much money can I personally make from it?", not "What can this do for society?".  Nikola Tesla was a prolific inventor and he was in it for the good of humanity.  Unfortunately, some people took advantage of his work (and made their money that way), which he detested.  He (and Albert Einstein) were my heroes when I was growing up.  I have been an inventor since a little kid, it just comes naturally to me.  One of my nephews was like this also, but he got into drugs and that part of him is now gone. ...

As for energy production: The "hot" thermofusion process is good, but there is potential for better.  There has been a great advancement in this area, as it was done under Bose-Einstein condensation conditions with the first net gain of energy in 2014.  Basically, a 50/50 mixture of deuterium and tritium was sealed in a gold cavity and cooled to a billionth of a degree above absolute zero.  It was then hit with a cooled laser beam to induce a nuclear reaction, converting the two gases into a unstable form of helium.  This isotope quickly changed into regular helium and energy (from a converted neutron mass).  This process could be developed on a larger scale, but it will likely take twenty years or more just to work out all of the bugs to be commercially utilized.  

My personal favorite method for energy generation is annihilation (matter + anti-matter) processes.  It can be done and in our lifetimes if the right people work on it.  Unfortunately, it will not be a cheap process to develop (and contain) the required anti-matter forms.  Before someone says that this is just Star-Trek stuff, let me remind them that positrons (anti-matter electrons) are used in medical diagnostics right now.  When an electron and a positron collide, two 511 KeV X-rays are formed.  It is these X-rays (developed inside the patients body) that can be used to do the scanning.  The key to being able to make anti-matter in large quantities is to solve Einstein's great puzzle (a real, working theory of everything equation).  So far, the researchers are still struggling with the pieces just as Einstein did sixty years ago.  I have a few of the pieces put together differently than what others have done, but I am not ready to share them yet as is.  All I will say is that it explains a lot of things that are not in the textbooks...

[ws23rt]

When I was a kid my hero was Thomas Edison. that admiration faded some when I found out how much of what he got credit for came from others.

Nikola Tesla was another great thinker and was indeed not given due credit for much of what he did.

As far as personal inventions?  At around age 9 or so I took one of my sisters roller skates and nailed in to a piece of two by four. (she later forgave me). It took hours to be able to stand on it down a slope. I called it a roller skate board.

Many things have been "invented" many times.  Improving on something takes the same kind of creative thinking and marketing is another talent altogether.

[Mike DC]

 

Yes, old school inventors exist, but they are not as common as they used to be.  Remember that science and math are not things that interest the majority of people as they are too engrossed in the latest fad (or gossip or drugs) to care about moving society forward in a positive direction with an invention.  If they do invent something, the first thing that they think of is "How much money can I personally make from it?", not "What can this do for society?".  Nikola Tesla was a prolific inventor and he was in it for the good of humanity.  Unfortunately, some people took advantage of his work (and made their money that way), which he detested.  He (and Albert Einstein

Inventors would be idiotic not to be commercially motivated in this day & age.  Literally 99% of the population in the USA is struggling to hold onto their standard of living. 

Engineering-wise, we are mostly past the days of easy discoveries coming from small operations.  Money supply is one of the more important tools in the toolbox now. 

[Chad L. Magee]

Yes, old school inventors exist, but they are not as common as they used to be.  Remember that science and math are not things that interest the majority of people as they are too engrossed in the latest fad (or gossip or drugs) to care about moving society forward in a positive direction with an invention.  If they do invent something, the first thing that they think of is "How much money can I personally make from it?", not "What can this do for society?".  Nikola Tesla was a prolific inventor and he was in it for the good of humanity.  Unfortunately, some people took advantage of his work (and made their money that way), which he detested.  He (and Albert Einstein

Inventors would be idiotic not to be commercially motivated in this day & age.  Literally 99% of the population in the USA is struggling to hold onto their standard of living.  

Engineering-wise, we are mostly past the days of easy discoveries coming from small operations.  Money supply is one of the more important tools in the toolbox now.  

But, not everyone is motivated by money though.  If an inventor already has the money he/she needs, they may not be working on stuff to make money on.  They may have a goal of helping humanity in mind instead (I think that is a better overall goal).  You may judge them because they do not have the same mindset as you to make money, but they do have a purpose to what they do.  (If you want an example of one of these inventions: http://ghanahealthnest.com/2015/04/24/a-new-low-cost-x-ray-machine-for-developing-countries/  Many of these machines are going to be given to developing countries free of charge to help them deal with medical diagnosis.)  The other twist to this is that an inventor can be just interested in pursuing an advancement of technology to see it progress.  Yes, this does happen.  It could come from someone who is frustrated with something and modifies it to make it work the way that they see fit.  I know someone who does this to computers all the time.  Not all inventions come up as intended though.  Some of those "inventions" end up looking like part of an episode of the Red/Green Show....

[XH29N0G]

Talking about inventions....I happened to get a call from someone a few weeks ago asking me to look up a patent application on something that was an advance in concepts, but basically cobbled together a whole bunch of existing technologies (some invented during the manhattan project) to make something new.  My guess is that if he is successful he could end up very wealthy.  (The catch is many of the ideas have been in the ether for the last 10 years or so...)  So what do I think?  I hope he is successful.  It will be a pain in the butt if the one I am trying to get commissioned (different design - similar principle) ends up having to pay royalties or whatever they are called, but my guess is that will still be OK.   

[Mike DC]

  

But, not everyone is motivated by money though.  If an inventor already has the money he/she needs, they may not be working on stuff to make money on.

Yes, but my point is, even just "having the money he/she needs" is arguably less than 1% of the US population now.  It's only natural that it would be rarer compared to several decades ago. 

[Steve P.]

I think someone should invent grass that dogs and cats cannot stand the smell of and humans can't smell at all.

Another good invention would be to figure out a way to use trees as batteries. They certainly collect enough sunlight!!

Need more power, plant another tree!!! 

[ws23rt]

I think someone should invent grass that dogs and cats cannot stand the smell of and humans can't smell at all.

Another good invention would be to figure out a way to use trees as batteries. They certainly collect enough sunlight!!

Need more power, plant another tree!!!  

By this I presume you mean tapping into a tree and saying--hey mister tree would you mind giving up some of that energy you are getting with your leaves for your growth and give it to me for my battery charger?--- I truly am not making fun of the idea.  It is out of the box and I am the last one to dismiss it.

The trees as well as all plant and animal life have given there all to convert sunlight into what we are now using for the bulk of our power.

A large part of my work is in the papermaking industry. I see some of the inside of how it works and aside from the wood fiber in paper there is much left from a tree that is burned for power and steam for the process. This is all renewable and we don't have to wait for it to be turned into oil or coal. Some of the discharge from the process is C02 and the trees love it. (It is their oxygen).

Tree farms are a big source of this material and tree planting follows logging where that happens. A very perhaps real problem is growing and harvesting this commodity without losing it to forest fires. ---A rather (IMO) wasteful and abrupt way to return CO2 back to the baby trees. Forest fires can be caused by us or not. The fuel for the fire can be caused by us or not.

The cycling of the nutrients that feed all life don't necessarily move in a smooth flow. Much like the weather doesn't give an even temp. and wind flow.

[XH29N0G]

I know someone who a few years back was using bacteria to set up biological batteries. Kind of neat stuff, but I don't know what the limits are for amounts of energy that could be obtained.  This thread also sparked an old memory of a different kind of inventor I used to know.  He made all sorts of things - many ended up useful for the military - and were quickly classified.  He was a bit of a wild intellect (made all sorts of stuff in his garage) - but ended up with pretty high clearance.  He was extremely creative and looked at the world differently than most.  I think creativity is essential to both finding the problem and the solutions.  I sometimes wish I could do that too, but spend all of my creative energy on my car...

[sunfire69]

Here's one....don't make them different just make them last longer
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/02/technology/make-battery-last-longer-batteriser/index.html?iid=ob_homepage_money_pool&iid=obnetwork

[Chad L. Magee]

Ten years ago while in grad school, I had to do an Original Research Proposal as part of my degree requirement.  This is a make it or break it point in grad school for many students.  At the time, you had to come up with a new idea for research, do a literature review of the materials, write a 25-30 page proposal, submit it to your research committee, give a presentation on the proposal and then defend your ideas.  You do not get to actually do hands-on research with the project, just conceptual ideas upon it.  The ORP process was a measure for how you would potentially do out on your own.  Nowdays, the ORP is based solely on your PhD research project alone, not on your unique ideas.  My proposal was on creating a lightweight, recyclable, solar powered plastic battery using only two main parts.  (Basically, you would never need to plug it into a wall charger ever.  This idea came out of frustration when I ran out of AAA batteries while using a hand held radio.)  I won't tell you what materials that I was using for this idea though, but they do exist.  Needless to say, I passed the ORP and went on to finish my PhD there.  One of the professors commented that it was the most original idea that he had ever heard of in the thirty years he was reviewing ORPs.  About three years later, I was searching the scientific literature and a research group at MIT was reporting on building a similar device (abet with more parts and different materials).  Because I used it in the ORP at a university during my education, I cannot patent it for my financial gain, as all of the profits would go to the school involved....

[ws23rt]

I know in my heart and more importantly in my instinct that there are more things to be invented than have been invented.

The thinking that we have arrived is an age old and stifling way of looking at progress. That we have arrived cheers accomplishment but does nothing to further progress.

IMO the best way forward for us is to nurture those that think on their own and ask questions.

When someone asks a question. (especially the young unspoiled mind). It is far better to say ---I don't know then to try to  impress them with something we actually know little about.

The new ones in this world really need a path of value for their journey as we did.

BTW I'm no longer one of those young unspoiled minds. Mine is and has been affected by 64 years of living in the time I am in.

The best we can do for the future for our kids and their kids is to show them where we came up short (so they don't have to live a ground hog day ) and give them something to reach for --a future--as a life path.

[Chad L. Magee]

I know in my heart and more importantly in my instinct that there are more things to be invented than have been invented.

The thinking that we have arrived is an age old and stifling way of looking at progress. That we have arrived cheers accomplishment but does nothing to further progress.

IMO the best way forward for us is to nurture those that think on their own and ask questions.

When someone asks a question. (especially the young unspoiled mind). It is far better to say ---I don't know then to try to  impress them with something we actually know little about.

The new ones in this world really need a path of value for their journey as we did.

BTW I'm no longer one of those young unspoiled minds. Mine is and has been affected by 64 years of living in the time I am in.

The best we can do for the future for our kids and their kids is to show them where we came up short (so they don't have to live a ground hog day ) and give them something to reach for --a future--as a life path.

This is the reason why I got into teaching college students.  So many of them go through high school having never fully experienced science, let alone chemistry, because they were afraid to because they think it will be hard to do.  Most likely their relatives told them that "chemistry/physics was the hardest class I ever had and I hated it".  So, naturally they think it will be the same for them.  We need to get students excited about science & mathematics at an early age before they get turned off by their relatives.  I am not saying that we should all become scientists, as that would not end well.  But, it may turn around the downward slump that we are facing on the world stage when it comes to scientific learning.  You never know who could become the next Albert Einstein or Nikola Tesla.  But, we may lose their talents to something else unless we allow them the chance to experience what science & mathematics has to offer.

Another thing that is important is the need to foster the skill of creativity.  For some, this is like pulling teeth to get them to think of something new.  However, I do see college students who are creative and imaginative, yet do not have an outlet to put their skills to work.  By showing them that the STEM fields are where you can set those free, it can become like a playground in their mind.  I have had business students who did not think much of chemistry initially become very excited when I showed them that they could use it in their field of study.  They had just thought that it would be something that they learn in a textbook and have no real application in their lives.  Wrong!  After taking one of my classes, they totally changed two of their projects around to encompass what they learned about chemistry.  The key is that the material must be taught to them in a way that engages their interests, not just read to them out of a dusty old book.