Substituting of Mechanical Systems with Electromagnetic Systems is one of the 40 Inventive Principles of Problem Solving.
Why do I want to fit Principles into SCAMPER approaches? In a recent post (check it here first) I explore how SCAMPER can embrace the 40 Principles of Inventive Problem Solving. The goal is to wrap the complexity of the Principles in the approachability of SCAMPER. Substitute defined in Applied Imagination Under the category of…
Better denim through chemistry Levi Strauss has announced that it will soon use lasers to give its jeans that lived in look that makes jeans look so good. Denim makers the world over currently use potassium permanganate to distress jeans. This acts like bleach but has a shorter effective life, making it easier to control.…
The problem As I described in an earlier post, some elementary students in Ontario were suspended for incomplete immunization records. This series of posts is an effort to come up with ideas using each of the 40 Principles. Remember the cardinal rule: there are no stupid ideas, only ideas that may serve to inspire the…
There’s a starman waiting in the sky SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy with the now-famous payload of Starman (a mannequin in a SpaceX-designed spacesuit) in Elon Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster. Test flights usually are sent up with payloads of negligible value like concrete or steel blocks, since there is the high likelihood of the…
Electric fuel pump New Zealand’s company Rocket Lab has an Electron rocket that uses a similar layout to SpaceX’s Falcon rocket. Both have a nine engine first stage and a single engine second stage. Both use liquid oxygen and RP-1, a refined form of kerosene. The most notable difference is scale – the Falcon is…
One motor per wheel The notion of having one motor per wheel in an electric vehicle like a Tesla has been mooted and debated. The consensus seems to be that the pros (electronic authority over torque vectoring – no mechanical bits required, eliminating the weight of a differential) are outweighed by the cons (additional cost…
In this TEDx talk, Michael Rubenstein, a research scientist, introduces the “motion microscope,” a video-processing tool that amplifies changes in motion and colour. This technique makes subtle motions visible such as the change of colour of a person’s skin as blood is pumped by the heart. Using a high speed camera, the technique can even…