100 Amazing Inventions
21. What is LASIK? Why is LASIK a popular form of eye surgery?
LASIK:
Humans have tried many ways to correct problems of vision, whether it is by using spectacles or contact lenses. But, neither of these offers a permanent solution. This is possible only with laser eye surgery.
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| LASIK Machine |
Lasers are amazing light beams that are powerful enough to zoom miles into the sky , or cut through lumps of metal . The first human vision correction using laser surgery was done in 1988. In 1990, two European doctors, the Greek eye doctor Pillakaris and the Italian eye doctor Burrato developed what would be called LASIK eye surgery.
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| LASIK Machine |
This procedure reshapes the cornea to enable light entering the eye to be properly focused onto the retina for clearer vision. In most cases, laser eye surgery is pain-free and completed within 15 minutes.
22. What is electronic paper?
E-Paper or Electronic Paper:
Electronic Paper goes by many names. These include e-paper, sometimes spelled as e paper, electronic ink, and also E Ink. All of these names describe a technology that mimics the appearance of ordinary ink on paper.
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| E-Paper |
To put it simply, electronic paper is a portable, reusable storage and display medium that looks like paper, but can be repeatedly written on by electronic means, thousands or millions of times. A single sheet of electronic paper can hold lots of information. The Predecessor to electronic paper, the Gyricon, was invented in 1974 in the labs of the Xerox Research Centre.
Many innovations and improvements followed, and electronic paper is now used for applications such as eBooks, electronic newspapers, portable signs, and foldable displays.
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| Past and Present way of reading |
The advantage of electronic paper is that the information is still there even when the power is off, so it doesn't use too much electricity, and it is environment friendly too.
23. Why are digital cameras an exiting invention?
DIGITAL CAMERA:
In 1973, Steven Sasson, a young engineer, went to work for Eastman Kodak. Two years later, he invented digital photography, and made the first digital camera.
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| Digital Camera |
Digital cameras capture and record images using digital technology. Digital cameras look very much like ordinary cameras that use films, but they work in a completely different way. When you press the button to take a photograph with a digital camera, an aperture opens at the front of the camera, and light streams in through the lens. But there is no film in a digital camera. Instead, there is a piece of electronic equipment that captures the incoming light rays, and turns them into electrical signals. All digital cameras have a built-in computer, and all of them record images electronically.
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| Digital Camera |
A digital camera has many advantages . It gives us instant photographs, allows us to edit our pictures, and makes it easier for us to share photographs.
24. Why are 3D computer graphics fascinating?
3D COMPUTER GRAPHICS:
Computer graphics means drawing pictures on a computer screen . This technology was first created as a visualization tool for scientists in research centers such as Bell Labs and Boeing in the 1950s.
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| 3D Wired Face Graphics |
Normally, a page on the screen of a computer monitor has only two dimensions - height and width. However, some of the games that you play now on a computer have images that are in 3 dimensions or 3D.
These three dimensions are height, width and depth. 3D graphics techniques and their application are fundamental to the entertainment, games, and computer-aided design industries. It is a continuing area of research in scientific visualization as well.
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| Polygon Vector 3D Graphics |
Furthermore, 3D graphics are now a part of almost every personal computer.
25. Why is the history of the super computer interesting?
SUPERCOMPUTER:
It was Seymour Cray who developed the first transistorized supercomputer for the Control Data Corporation by 1950s.
So, what exactly is a supercomputer? A supercomputer is a computer with great speed and memory, which can do jobs faster than any other computer of its generation. Fifty years ago, the smallest computer in the world was a gargantuan machine that filled a room. When transistors and integrated circuits were developed, computers could pack the same power into microchips as big as your fingernail.
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| Super Computer |
So, what if you build a room sized computer today and fill it full of these same chips? What you get is a supercomputer - a computer that's millions of times faster than a PC, and capable of solving the world's most complex scientific problems.
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| Super Computer |
Supercomputers are perfect for tackling big scientific problems, from uncovering the origins of the Universe, to the understanding the earthquakes, and predicting the weather as well as for medical research.