• Question: what is you favourite thing ever invented?

    Asked by Esme_1xx to Andrew, Angela, Eleanor, Emma, Withdrawn on 5 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by _eviehxrrison_, Henry the giraffe, Crazy Bunny, Aky, Olivia N, Fin.
    • Photo: Andrew Pidgeon

      Andrew Pidgeon answered on 5 Mar 2016:

      My favourite thing ever invented is the semi-conductor. I don’t expect you to know fully what this is but it basically has transformed electronics making phones smarter, computer processors faster and has revolutionised our World.

      I would encourage you to have a quick read through the link below and see where it takes you.

      http://uk.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?file=eletronics/how-did-semiconductors-change-our-lives&id=infozone

    • Photo: Emma Bradley

      Emma Bradley answered on 8 Mar 2016:

      I’m a big fan of chocolate, but I can’t really argue that it changed the world, so what I think has been my favourite was the invention of reinforced concrete and modern steel (note, reinforced concrete doesn’t work without modern steel!). We use this everywhere in my industry, and in the past 150 years it has really changed the face of the planet. Just think; 150 years ago there were no tall buildings like the Shard or the Burj Khalifa, there were no massive suspension bridges like the Golden Gate bridge, and there was certainly no Sydney opera house.

      All of this has only been possible due to improvements in modern materials. If I had been working as a Structural engineer 150 years ago, I would be limited to whatever I can make out of bricks, mortar, wood, rubble, earth and maybe cast iron. We still use all these things too, but reinforced concrete and steel have really given us scope to make amazing things that we all take for granted today.

Comments