Sunday 29 June 2014

Some New Inventions By Engineers In A History


  • 2014 - Aeroboat

    Propelled by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine that powered Britain's Spitfires to victory in World War II: the yacht designers, Claydon Reeves, also based the boat’s design on the ‘sleek lines’ of the famous fighter planes. It can ‘fly’ like a jet across water at 109mph. The boat costs £3 million.



  • 2012-2013 - Synthetic meat

    The meat is grown from stem cells, marking the first step for a possible revolution in meat production. However, taste tests (2013) and costs currently limit the project.

  • 2012-2013 - Electric vehicle stations

    As of December 2012, there were around 50,000 non-residential slow charging points and about 2,000 fast chargers deployed in the U.S., Europe, Japan and China. As of March 2013, the United States had 5,678 public charging stations across the country with 16,256 public charging points. As of November 2012, about 15,000 charging stations had been installed in Europe

    The world's top-selling highway-capable all-electric cars are the Nissan Leaf, with global sales of over 71,000 units by mid July 2013.

  • 2012 - Sound barrier broken by body

    Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks the sound barrier without the use of a vehicle, diving 24.23 miles and reaching a speed of 843.598 mph.


  • The design for the McLaren MP4-12C supercar marks the first car fully designed and built by the company in over a decade. Car launched 2011.



  • 2007 - Stem cells

    James Thomson and Shinya Yamanaka convert human skin into stem cells, previously the cells had to be harvested from human embryos.


  • 2007 - Skysails

    SkySails is piloted on cargo ships.  A 160 metre square kite, controlled by computers, its makers believe it could cut the fuel costs of cargo ships by 10 to 35 per cent.


  • 2006 - Turbosteamer

    BMW develops prototype turbosteamer technology.  It converts 80 per cent of exhaust heat into power.


  • 2006 - Cosmoplane test flight

    Russia’s Institute of Applied Mechanics developed a new aircraft: it takes off and lands like an ordinary plane, but it behaves like a spacecraft for the rest of the flight. The aerospace craft is expected to fly at heights between 100-200 kilometres and with speed as high as 30 thousand kilometres per hour. It takes the vehicle 20 minutes to fly from Moscow to Paris and 50 minutes to New York. The cosmoplane uses hypersonic engines fuelled by oxygen and hydrogen. Tests of plane’s 1:25 scale model by institute’s experts proved to be successful.


  • 2004 - Injection by soundwave

    SonoPrep is invented by bioengineer Robert Langer.  The device delivers medication by sound waves rather than injection.

  • 2003 - Hybrid electric vehicle

    The Renault Kangoo is produced.  It is the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which can be recharged from the mains, and does not require conventional fuel for short trips.


  • 2002 - Scramjet

    The HyShot supersonic ramjet (scramjet) makes its first successful flight at Mach 7.6, over seven times the speed of sound.  It is a jet engine powered by oxygen which is taken from the atmosphere as it flies, compressed and mixed with a small amount of hydrogen to produce an explosion.

  • 2002 - Hydrogen fuel car

    General Motors reveal the Hy-Wire, a revolutionary concept car powered by hydrogen fuel cells.  It is controlled electronically, removing the need for steering wheels, pedals and other traditional features of the automobile.

  • 2002 - Falkirk Wheel opens

    The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland. It connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal.

  • 2001 - Segway PT

    The two wheeled, self-balancing, electric vehicle is unveiled by inventor Dean Kamen.

  • 2000 - Blyth wind farm

    Blyth offshore wind farm, the first in the UK, opens off the Northumberland coast.  Its 2MW turbines are the largest offshore turbines in the world.




  • 1998 - Formula Student

    Formula Student is launched, one of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers most popular events.  Teams of students design and build a single-seater racing car, which then faces three days of endurance tests and scrutiny by professional engineers and industry experts.

  • 1997 - Thrust SSC

    Thrust SSC sets the land speed record, reaching 763.044 mph. It is the first car to officially break the sound barrier, it is jet-propelled. Designed by Richard Noble and driven by Andy Green.



  • 1997 - Kyoto Protocol

    55 nations agree to binding obligations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, aviation and shipping are excluded. The USA refuses to sign.

  • 1997 - Hybrid automobile

    The Toyota Prius is the first mass-produced hybrid automobile.  It goes on sale in Japan in 1997, and is introduced worldwide in 2001.

  • 1997 - Deep Blue

    IBM's super computer beats Russian world chess grandmaster, Garry Kasparov. Marking the first defeat of a human by a machine in chess.



  • 1995 - M-theory

    A new universal theory of everything is proposed by Edward Witten, uniting attempts to reconcile gravity with quantum physics (string theories). Witten's theory is championed by Stephen Hawkin, but remains incomplete.

  • 1995 - GPS

    Conceived by Roger Easton, GPS (Global Positioning System) measures time and location in all weathers using a network of satellites.

  • 1995 - Fermat's Last Theorem

    358 years after it is conceived, Pierre de Fermat theorem (or conjecture) is proved by Andrew Wiles. Famously Fermat placed it in the margin of a copy of Arithmetica but he claimed he had a proof that was too large to fit in the margin. It states that, no three positive integers a, b, and c can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than two.

  • 1994 - GM crops

    Genetically modified crops, supposedly more resistant to disease and faster growing, are introduced.


  • 1993 - Dyson vacuums founded

    Bagless vacuum cleaners are produced by James Dyson's new company. In 2005 they become the market leader in the USA. 





  • 1989-1990 - World Wide Web

    Tim Berners-Lee invents the web, a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via a web browser.

  • 1987 - World Solar Challenge

    The World Solar Challenge is founded.  It is a biannual solar-powered car race, run over 1877 miles from Darwin to Adelaide.  The first winner reaches a speed of 42mph.

  • 1984 - Thames Barrier opens

    The 520 metre barrier completes construction, aiming to prevent flooding from rising tides and storm surges.

  • 1984 - Macintosh launched

    Apple Computer launch the first commercially successful computer to use a mouse and graphical user interface.


  • 1983 - Maglev

    The world's first maglev (magnetically levitating) train begins operating in the UK as a shuttle between Birmingham airport and Birmingham International Railway Station, it is replaced a few years later.


  • 1981-1988 - Stealth aircraft

    The US F-117A Nighthawk is the first aircraft to use stealth capability.  It is produced by Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co. The maiden flight for the type was conducted in 1981, and it achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983. The F-117 was "acknowledged" and revealed to the world in November 1988.

  • 1981-1984 - 3D printing (additive manufacturing)

    In 1981, the first published account of a printed solid model was made by Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute. However, the man most often credited with inventing the 3D printer is Charles W. Hull, who first patented the term 'stereolithography' (defined as "system for generating three-dimensional objects by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the object to be formed") in 1984.

  • 1981 - Space shuttle

    Space Shuttle Columbia is launched, the first space shuttle flight.  It is also the first time that solid rocket fuels are used in a US manned launch.

  • 1981 - Solar One

    Solar One is completed.  The 126 acre pilot solar-thermal project produces 10MW using 1818 mirrors or heliostats.  The heliostats concentrate the suns rays on a collector tower, which transfers the energy to a substance which stores the heat for later use.

  • 1980 - Rubik cube

    The Hungarian architect Erno Rubik's cube goes on sale, the 3D twisting cube becomes the best selling toy of all time.




  • 1976 - Concorde

    The first Concorde jets carrying commercial passengers take off simultaneously from London to Bahrain and Paris to Rio de Janeiro.

  • 1975 - North Sea pipeline

    The North Sea pipeline is opened, bringing ashore 40,000 barrels of oil a day to the Grangemouth Refinery on the Firth of Forth, Scotland.

  • 1974 - Edinburgh Duck

    Professor Stephen Salter develops the Edinburgh Duck, a device which can stop 90% of wave motion; of that, 90% can be converted into electricity.

  • 1974 - Catalytic converter

    General Motors introduce the catalytic converter, a device to reduce the toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion engine.


  • 1973 - Airbag

    The first car to be sold to the general public with an airbag as a standard feature is the Oldsmobile Tornado.  It is available only on the passenger side.

  • 1972-1977 - MRI scanner

    Dr Raymond Damadian patents the world's first MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner), he undertakes the first full-body scan in 1977.


  • 1971 - Holography

    Dennis Gabor pioneers holography, a technique of recording and playing back images that can be viewed from a range of angles as if they existed in 3D space.

  • 1970 - Boeing 747

    A Boeing 747 jet arrives at Heathrow Airport in London after completing its maiden flight from New York.

  • 1970 - Apollo 13

    Apollo 13, carrying three US astronauts, splashes down safely after a five day rescue operation in space. The trouble is caused by an explosion on board the spacecraft during their journey to land on the Moon.

  • 1969-1976 - Supersonic commercial flight

    Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde, a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner or supersonic transport (SST) is first flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued commercial flights for 27 years.

    It is one of only two SSTs to have entered commercial service; the other was the Tupolev Tu-144. Concorde was jointly developed and produced by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty.



  • 1968 - Jet ski

    Clayton Jacobsen patents the jet ski.  Kawasaki buy the rights.

  • 1967-1969 - ATM/Cash point

    The world's first Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) is installed at the Rockville Centre, Long Island at a branch of Chemical Bank, 1969.  It was invented by Don Wetzel.

    Barclays Bank had introduced a simpler version two years previously at a branch in North London, but it used paper vouchers (rather than the magnetic strip technology used by the Chemical Bank's ATM).


  • 1964 - Tokaido Shinkansen

    The Tokaido Shinkansen opens. It is the first high speed train in the world, travelling between Tokyo and Shimonoseki at speeds of 130 mph.

  • 1964 - Mouse

    Dr Douglas Engelbart invents the computer mouse.


  • 1961 - UK carwash

    The first fully automated car wash in the UK opens by Stirling Moss on Brompton Road, London.



  • 1960 - Bubblewrap

    The Sealed Air Corporation is formed by US engineers, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes, in order to market their new invention, bubble wrap.






  • 1956-2001 - Artificial heart

    The artificial heart was patented in 1956 by Dr. Paul Winchell.

    In 1982 the first 'successful' artificial heart (the Jarvik-7) is designed by Robert Jarvik, it is received by Barney Clark: William DeVries performs the surgery. He lives for 112 days, although the heart was intended to last a lifetime it is the first occurrence of a patient living beyond surgery. Jarvik continued to improve the device for example, working on the Jarvik 2000, a thumb-sized heart pump.

    Various incarnations of the technology sought to replace transplant but it was not until 2001 that a major breakthrough occurred.

    In 2001 the AbioCor artificial heart is invented by AbioMed. It is fully implantable within a patient, due to a combination of advances in miniaturization, biosensors, plastics and energy transfer. The AbioCor runs on a rechargeable source of power. The internal battery is charged by a transcutaneous energy transmission (TET) system, meaning that no wires or tubes penetrate the skin and therefore there is less risk of infection


  • 1956-1959 - Hovercraft

    The modern hovercraft is invented by Christopher Cockerell. He produced his first hovercraft, SRN 1, in 1959.




  • 1954 - Nuclear power station

    The world's first nuclear power station opens at Obninsk, near Moscow. Britiain's first station opens in the same year, at Harwell.

  • 1953-1969 - Colour television

    The first successful colour television system is designed by the Radio Corporation of America.  Broadcasting begins on 17 December 1953. It was introduced in the UK on BBC Two for Wimbledon coverage on July 1, 1967. The launch of the BBC2 "full" colour service took place on December 2, 1967. Some British TV programs, however, had been produced in colour even before the introduction of colour television in 1967, for the purpose of sales to American, Canadian, and Filipino networks. BBC One and ITV started colour transmissions November 15, 1969.


  • 1953 - Airbag

    The first patent for the airbag is taken out by American naval engineer, John Hetrick.  It is perfected by American inventor, Allen K Breed, in 1968.


  • 1951 - Electricity from nuclear fission

    The first usable electricity from nuclear fission is produced at the National Reactor Station, Idaho.  Four years later, the neighbouring town of Arco is the first to be powered by nuclear energy.

  • 1950 - Microwave

    Percy Lebaron Spencer, from Massachusetts, patents the first microwave oven.

  • 1950 - External pacemaker

    Dr Mark Lidewell invents the pacemaker: a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contracting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart. See 1960 - Internal pacemaker.

  • 1950 - Cardiac pacemaker

    Canadian John Hopps invents the cardiac pacemaker, although the first model is too large to fit into the human body.





  • 1945 - Turing-Welchman Bombe

    Alan Turing develops the Turing-Welchman Bombe, an electromechanical machine capable of deciphering the German enigma codes, at Bletchley Park.

  • 1945 - James Clayton lecture

    First James Clayton lecture (Institution of Mechanical Engineers premier award of its typ) is authorised by Council. Frank Whittle presents ‘The early history of the Whittle gas turbine’ to a packed house. Read the papers.

  • 1944 - Calculator

    American Howard Aiken develops the first fully automatic, large scale calculator, known as the Harvard Mark I.  It has over 750,000 parts.

  • 1944 - PLUTO

    The Pipeline Under the Ocean (PLUTO) was designed to supply petrol from storage tanks in southern England to the advancing Allied armies in France in the months following D-Day. It was fully operational by June 14 1944.


  • 1942 - Nuclear chain reaction

    Enrico Fermi demonstrates the first self supporting nuclear chain reaction in a laboratory at the University of Chicago.



  • 1895 - First Lanchester automobile

    Frederick Lanchester and his brother construct a production model, one of the earliest petrol automobiles in England.

  • 1893 - Lawnmower

    James Sumner of Leyland, Lancashire, develops the first motor driven lawnmower.  It is powered by steam and weighs two tonnes.

  • 1893 - Hydroelectric dam

    The first dam designed specifically for generating hydroelectricity is built across the Colorado River.

  • 1893 - Ferris wheel

    George Washington Ferris builds the first Ferris wheel for the World Fair at Chicago.


  • 1886 - Four-wheeled motor vehicle

    The first four-wheeled motor vehicle is produced by Daimler, working with Wilhelm Maybach.

  • 1886 - Commercial dishwasher

    Josephine Cochrane invents and patents the first commercial dishwashing machine.  Apparently she was dissatisfied with the treatment her servants were subjecting her china to and disliked doing the washing up herself.


  • 1884 - Parson's Steam turbine

    Sir Charles Parsons invents the modern steam turbine, whose first model was connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kW of electricity. The invention made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionised marine transport and naval warfare, amongst other industries.


  • 1858 - The Great Eastern

    Isambard Kingdom Brunel's five funnelled steamship The Great Eastern is launched.

  • 1857 - Elevator

    The first mechanical elevator is installed at E V Haughwout and Company department store, Broadway, New York City.

  • 1857 - Blast furnace

    William Kelly invents the blast furnace for steel production.

  • 1856 - Bessemer steel process

    Bessemer's process for steel production is introduced. This is the first process commercially viable process for producing steel, leading to the replacement of iron and other metals with steel.

  • 1855 - Rayon

    George Audemars invents Rayon but is not able to manufacture it commercially.

  • 1854 - Halladay windmill

    Daniel Halladay patented the first commercially successful self-governing windmill.

  • 1854 - Bunsen burner

    Bunsen burners are first produced by German physicist and chemist Robert Bunsen.

  • 1852 - Burglar alarm

    American manufacturer Edwin Holmes develops the burglar alarm.

  • 1851 - Washing machine

    James King is awarded the first patent for a mechanical clothes washing device: a hand powered, rotating cylinder machine with a drum.


  • 1840 - Measuring machine

    Joseph Whitworth develops his measurement machine, previously accuracy was up to one sixteenth of an inch was a good workman. Whitworth’s measured up to one two-millionth of an inch: allowed him to produce standard measures and gauges. Uniformity was extended to the still famous Whitworth system of thread screw threads.


  • 1830 - Liverpool & Manchester Railway

    The Liverpool & Manchester Railway opens.  It is the first purpose built passenger railway in the world.

  • 1829 - Rainhill Trials

    The Rainhill Trials are held to determine whether steam locomotives could be capable of providing the motive power for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.  The contest is won by Rocket, Robert Stephenson’s locomotive based upon the design principles of George Stephenson.

  • 1827-1837 - Water Turbine

    The first water turbine is developed and produced by Benoît Fourneyron.


  • 1802-1804 - Pen-y-Darren steam locomotive

    Richard Trevithick builds a prototype steam locomotive at Pen-y-Darren, 1802. Selling the patent the next year. In 1804 a revised version successfully carried 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men for 9.75 miles in 4 hours and 5 minutes (at an average speed of approximately 2.4 mph). Making it the first steam locomotive to undertake practical work.

  • 1801 - Trevithick steam carriage

    Richard Trevithick builds the first steam-carriage designed for road travel.

  • 1800 - Battery

    Alessandro Volta invents the battery.

  • 1794 - Cotton gin

    Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, which automates the process of separation cotton seed from short-staple cotton fibre.

  • 1791 - Heated factories

    James Watt heats his factories through piped steam.  He patents this method in the same year.

  • 1787 - Steamboat

    American clock-maker John Fitch demonstrates the first steamboat.

  • 1779 - Spinning mule

    Samuel Crompton invents the spinning mule (or cotton mule), allowing for greater control over the weaving process.  It allows extremely fine yarn to be produced, allowing muslin to be made; previously this could only be made using hand-spun yarn from India.

  • 1778 - Water closet

    Joseph Bramah patents his water closet. The design was a success and production continued well into the 19th century. His original water closets are still working in Osbourne House, Queen Victoria's home on the Isle of Wight.

  • 1769 - Steam wagon

    Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrates a 'steam wagon', predecessor to the first automobile.

  • 1769 - Spinning frame

    Richard Arkwright invents a spinning frame (or water-frame) adapted to use water power. This made much cheaper manufacture possible, subsequently a great expansion of the cotton industry followed.

  • 1764 - Spinning Jenny

    James Hargreaves invents the Spinning Jenny (or multi-spool spinning frame).  This invention allows faster production of cotton products. 

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