Dr Richard Fairhurst, new book The New Age of Invention has just been published, has been interviewed. The following is what he tells us.
There have been golden ages of invention throughout history. In Ancient China, there (be) the four great inventions：gunpowder, papermaking, printing and the compass. They changed the world forever. And now we are in the great new age of technology, when most of the new great (invent) are techbased. For example, advances in virtual (real), wearable tech and the flexible battery mean we should soon be seeing further developments. addition, important advances (make) in medicine and environmental science thanks to increasing computer power. New inventions like 3D printers have been used to make replacement hearts and bone parts. What's more, it's possible (create) an intelligent walking house.
Most inventions start with (recognise) a problem that needs a solution.But what remains important is that we have an incredible desire (think) and create, and that's the real spirit of invention.
Someday, umbrellas may do more than just keep people dry. A researcher in the Netherlands has designed a simple sensor (传感器) that "listens" to rain. And that sensor can turn an umbrella into a rainmeasuring expert. Tools like this can let anyone gauge the weather. That can help scientists make sure that radar (雷达) systems that track storms are doing a good job.
"Rain radar is a beautiful way of seeing where rainfall(降雨量) is up in the air. But you never know where it hits the ground," says Rolf Hut. He designed the umbrella sensor.
Researchers want to know how much rain makes it to the planet's surface. Not all rain that falls from a cloud reaches the ground. And it can be difficult for radar to measure that rain, particularly in cities. A host of big buildings can change how air and rain move during a storm. "It also explains why a single, expensive sensor—the kind that might be found at an official weather station—won't give accurate citywide data, " says Hut. But by putting a lowcost rainmeasuring tool into people's hands, scientists can learn more about how much rainfall differs in these and other hardtomeasure places.
On the inside of the umbrella is a small, yellow disk. It is the rainfall sensor. The sensor is attached to a black Bluetooth headset that sends the collected data to a smartphone.
Hut came up with the idea to stick the same type of sensor on an umbrella when he was talking to kids about science. He showed them a photo of a policeman who was holding an umbrella and talking to a crowd in a microphone. Why not put the two together? He thought it could make a cool rainfall sensor.
When a storm came, Hut compared the umbrella's new "ear" for rain to official rainmeasuring equipment. And to his delight, he found the umbrella's measurements were "pretty good". His next step is to improve the umbrella sensor to make it more accurate.
Anything made of plastic or metal can be 3Dprinted nowadays—bicycles, toys, tools...even replacement body parts! But the latest trend in 3Dprinting may be food. Scientists and chefs are putting their heads together to create printed food.
Several 3Dprinters designed for food are now on the market. Anything that can be made into a soft wet mixture can be squeezed (挤压) from a tube in a 3Dprinter. Instead of ink, these printers can use fruit, vegetables, proteins, sweets, and more. This makes for lots of combinations that can be healthy, yummy, and even artistic.
Most 3Dprinters don't actually cook the food, at least not yet. Engineers at Columbia University's Creative Machines Lab invented an oven (烤箱) that cooks 3Dprinted pizza with laser beams (激光束). A special computer program controls the lasers, heating each part of the pizza to perfection. Unlike regular ovens, lasers can carefully cook each thin piece of 3Dprinted food.
In the future, food can be made with a 3Dprinter to meet our needs. For example, a hospital could design meals to meet patients' dietary needs. Vitamins, minerals, and even medicines can be mixed right in. A 3Dprinter can make food appealing. Foods that someone may not like might be more attractive after 3Dprinting. Maybe that food you dislike wouldn't seem so bad if it looked like a castle!
The idea of 3Dprinted food may seem very modern. In fact, NASA (美国国家航空航天局) has been researching the topic for more than ten years. On a long travel, it's important to have food that is easy to make and tastes good, and has the nutrients astronauts need to stay healthy. Printing food on demand may soon be into the space!
Since I introduced animals into my child psychotherapy (心理治疗) practice, my life as a doctor has been full of wonders. One Friday afternoon, Diane, a darkhaired fiveyearold girl, who had1said a word to anyone outside her home environment, came to me for professional help.
When Diane and her parents were2in the waiting room, my dog, Puppy, and I walked out to3them. I noticed immediately Diane sat with her head down, her eyes direct the floor in front of her, making no move to4.
Puppy, walking ahead of me, made a beeline for Diane. Because Diane's head was5, Puppy was just three feet from her when the girl finally6sight of him. Startled by the7sight, the girl's eyes became huge and then her mouth curved slowly into a smile. Puppy stopped8in front of Diane and laid his head in her lap. She began to silently pet Puppy's head, running her9softly over Puppy's ears and nose.
Then I gave Puppy a hand10to go back into the inner office. As Puppy walked away, I watched Diane's face fall and her eyes take on a11expression. I said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you wanted Puppy to stay. All you have to do for him to come back is say, ‘Puppy, come.'"
After struggling inside, Diane called in a soft12, "Puppy, come; please come." As Diane's parents watched in tears, I gave Puppy another signal and he ran over to the girl who13her chair and hugged Puppy tightly around the neck. Seeing this, I was14, for Diane had taken the first step in her journey toward being able to interact (互动) with the world outside her home and Puppy had15his magic again.
