Invention Help

Author: admin

  • Who Invented The Microscope

    The question of who invented the microscope is a matter of historical debate. There isn’t 100% certainty on the microscope invention, because it was not that well documented during its time, but we know for certainty that it occured around the turn of the 17th century.

    Furhermore, we are certain that that the first type of microscope invented was the most common one: the optical microscope (which contains a lens that greatly magnifies objects).

    A few names regularly crop up of potential inventors who invented the microscope. There is a Dutch spectacle maker named Hans Janssen who, together with his son, was said to have originated the concept of the microscope back in 1590. Another name is Hans Lippershey who is credited with inventing the telescope (which is designed to make objects in the far distance much easier to see), and some people suggest he had a role to play in microscopics as well. But the link is not that strong.

    Perhaps the most famous person who invented the microscope, or should we say holds the claim to the invention, is none other than the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. Galileo is said to be a major force behind the scientific revolution, and is sometimes referred to as the father of observational science and astronomy. In 1609 Galileo invented what he termed the ‘little eye’, which was an apparatus that made use of convex and concave lenses to view objects unseeable by the human eye. A friend of Galileo’s, a German named Giovanni Faber, termed this the ‘compound microscope’ and the name ‘microscope’ has stuck since then.

    But it did not simply end then, as it took a while for the microscope to become part of scientific enquiry, research and culture. There were many more people who invented improvements to the microscope, amongst them Cornelius Drebbel, who used double lenses that were concave, Anton van Leeuwenhoek attunes the apparatus for use on biological organisms, and Ernst Abbe in the mid 1860s drastically improved the design of the microscope. Even today there are still improvements and modifications of the observational apparatus.

  • Trademark Attorney

    A trademark attorney is a qualified legal practitioner that specializes in dealing with all aspects of trademarking, from performing a trademark search to applying for a new trademark, to modifying or deregistering a trademark.

    Trademarks are unique, usually commercial names, slogans, words or signs that distinctively identify a commercial product or service. If you wish to be able to market a product or service with the legal protection that a third-party will not copy, use or even misuse your name (without legal consequences), then it is vital that you find a trademark attorney.

    In many Commonwealth countries, the trademark attorney profession is highly specialized and regulated by a trademark body. For instance, in countries like Australia and England, trademark attorneys are regarded as part of a distinct legal profession in their own right, and they need to have a distinct qualification, over and above a general law degree, in order to practice. In the United States, while there are an increasing amount of trade mark attorney firms, the profession is more open to general law practitioners, and any qualified lawyer is able to work for individuals and corporations in dealing with the United States Patent and Trademark office. However it is not recommended to use a general legal practitioner for trade mark cases, and one should always seek the advice of an experienced and well-versed trademark attorney.

    It is advisable finding a trademark attorney in your area, as the trademarking process is lengthy and time-consuming, and you will want to be in regular contact with your practitioner.

    How to find or verify a trademark attorney in your area or district

    In The United States

    Type ‘trademark attorney’ as well as your city, town or state into the following search box, and you will be provided with a selection of local trade mark lawyers in your area:

    In the United Kingdom

    It is best to verify a trademark attorney through the Institute of Trademark Attorneys, where you can do a search for a qualified practitioner in your county.

    In Australia

    You can contact or do a search at The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia.

    Internationally

    You can contact the International Trademark Association.

    Good luck (and a bit of hard work and effort too!).

  • Innovative Definition

    What is the definition of innovative? What does innovative mean, and how do you define it? Good question.

    There are several definitions or ways to understanding the word innovative and I will go through them below:

    The word ‘innovative’ is an adjective, which means that it describes something else (which is known as a noun). The adjective innovative can describe either a product, idea, service, gadget, widget or ‘thing’, it can describe a brand, company, research lab or university, or it can describe a person or group of people.

    But what is the definition of innovative?

    Innovative definition: Innovative: a quality that describes that something (a person, a service, an idea, etc) is original, unique, cutting-edge, advanced, creative, novel or inventive. It can describe how a service does something differently from other services in the market, how a product does something creatively or solves a problem or need in an original and novel way, or how a person has a new and fresh way of thinking that distinguishes him or her from other people in his or her industry, workplace or school

    Etymology of the word innovative:

    The word ‘innovative’ originates from the word ‘innovate’. Innovate derives from the Latin word innovatus, which is past participle of innovare. ‘Innovare’ means ‘to renew’ or ‘to change’. This explains how the words innovative came to mean what it does today. ‘To renew’ is another way of saying to make something new again. In other words to make it fresh or to breathe new life into something that had gone stale. It implies that there is a traditional and stale way of doing things, and what makes something innovative is how it makes doing that thing or process new again.

    A very simple example is the idea of an electric toothbrush. The toothbrush in various forms has been around since the 13th century in China. For over 700 years it has been used in a similar way. Then suddenly in 1954 a Swiss inventor decided to innovate on the toothbrush invention, and invented the first electric toothbrush. We can safely say that the electric toothbrush is an innovative way of using the toothbrush, because it makes the brushing of the teeth more rapid and effective. The idea to electrify it was incredibly innovative, and ‘renewed’ the way that we use the toothbrush.

    I hope that the innovative definition is more clear to you now. And I hope that you are now inspired to be innovative in whatever you do, and to innnovate or ‘renew’ things that have become stale!

  • Who Invented Peanut Butter

    Since the invention of peanut butter is actually completely natural, no-one can take credit or receive as the individual who invented peanut butter.

    However the invention of peanut butter has quite an interesting history, and some myths along the way too.

    One thing we can say for certain is that the people who invented peanut butter lived in the American tropics, simply because that’s where peanuts are natively found.

    Several hundred years ago, the native American Aztecs mixed and mashed peanuts and turned it into a paste. How or why they did this is unknown, but it was certainly a stroke of genius on their part!

    The modern equivalent of peanut butter is better known. The man who invented modern peanut butter was Marcellus Gilmore Edson who hailed from Canada. He filed a US patent application that was issued in 1884 (patent number #306727), which he entitled “Manufacture of Peanut-Candy”. You can view his detailed process and description for making peanut butter here. Simply put, Edson’s peanut butter invention was to mill roasted peanuts amidst a hot or heated surface in order to transform the peanuts into ‘fluid’ form. The result was not quite what we have today, but certainly laid the foundation for the peanut butter paste that we spread on our bread or biscuits. What is fascinating is how Edson described his process in such detail, which was available for all the public to see (and thus copy). Sometimes it is best to keep your recipes private!

    Next a well-known innovator enters the picture. His name is none other than JH Kellogg (recognize the name?). Kellogg also filed a patent application shortly after Edson, and received it in 1897 for a peanut butter invention, which used peanuts to produce a substance he entitled ‘nut butter’. It is starting to come together.

    Then, just 6 years later, in 1093 a man named Dr. Ambrose Straub filed a patent for a machine that made peanut butter. So we can credit Straub as the man who invented the peanut butter making machine.

    As a sidenote, there is a myth that does the rounds in the US that a man named George Washington Carver was the inventor of peanut butter. Well it turns out this myth is false. Carver invented ways and means to use peanuts, well over 300 in fact, but none of these related to peanut butter (amazingly). That’s because peanut butter was invented prior to his uses for peanuts!

     

  • When was the first car invented

    If you want to know when was the first car invented, I’ll have to take you back to the 17th century in China. A Belgian missionary named Ferdinand Verbiest invented what is regarded as the first car.

    He designed the car specially for the use of the Emperor of China.

    Verbiest was living in China as a missionary, but he was evidently quite a brilliant inventor as well.

    The first car measured roughly 65 cm long, and because it was so small, it could only carry one person, who was as a result both the passenger and the driver!

    The first car was invented to make use of steam technology, where the jet of steam hit a mechanism that used the steam’s force to turn the front wheels of the car. So the first car was also the first environmentally friendly vehicle as well.

    Verbiest tested his invention in the Imperial Palace in Beijing. So we can say that the first car test drive was another achievement of Verbiest. He was able to maneuver the vehicle using a a stick from the wheels to the driver’s seat, that allowed him to turn the wheels of the car towards the left or right.

    The test drive was a big success, and onlookers cheered and praised the inventor. Even the Emperor was very impressed, and awarded the inventor with honors.

    Unfortunately, the first car to be invented was never considered more than a toy, and the people of the age could not envision the possibility of using it for mass transport. So Verbiest’s invention never made it beyond that first prototype.