Real Superheros

http://www.howstuffworks.com/invisibility-cloak.htm

Not just the stuff childish debates over which superpower would be cooler (flying would definitely win in my opinion).  The ability to turn invisible is now the cutting edge of scientific discovery.  Here's a brief description of how it works:

"For a far more advanced approach, consider investing in a cloak made from metamaterials, tiny structures smaller than the wavelength of light. If properly constructed, such a cloak would actually guide rays of visible light around an object -- much like a rock diverting water in a stream."

The applications here are endless.  Whether its elite super-spys infiltrating dangerous terrorist cells or fourteen year olds spying on the girl's locker-room, the invisibility cloak has your back.  Now all scientists need to do is build a superman cape that will allow you to fly.

Get Fit

For all of you who have seen this video:

www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D_iYBmAVuBns

Comes the newest "fitness" invention.  Introducing the Wii Pushup Bar:

http://www.inventionreaction.com/new-inventions/Wii-Fit-Push-Up-Bars

Not only is the demo video arguably more hilarious than the spoof video (posted first), it makes a laughable case for actually purchasing the product.  Despite the obvious faults with the product, I do approve of the direction that the Wii Fit has taken the video game industry.  Tricking kids into exercise while they play they're videogames is a step in the right direction to curb the childhood obesity trends in America.  Hopefully sometime in the future a product will be developed that is a more practical way to make kids want to exercise.  However, I've always thought that there is no substitute to playing outside...

Universal Gripper

Here's an awesome new innovation that my brother stumbleupon'd the other day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d4f8fEysf8

What's remarkable about this device is that it capable of picking up any object, regardless of shape or consistency.  Here's what they have to say about it:

"The gripper uses the same phenomenon that makes a vacuum--packed bag of ground coffee so firm; in fact, ground coffee worked very well in the device. But the researchers found a new use for this everyday phenomenon: They placed the elastic bag against a surface and then removed the air from the bag, solidifying the ground coffee inside and forming a tight grip. When air is returned to the bag, the grip relaxes."

Immediate applications of this device appear to be tradeshow gimmicks, sideshow attractions, or wacky Christmas presents.  But more long term applications of the Universal Gripper could be handling dangerous items or a variety of other uses where human contact may be limited and traditional handling methods are inefficient.  What a wacky world we live in.

Clean Air

... imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in - an interesting hole I find myself in - fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. Douglas Adams

Reference:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-09/scientists-capture-pristine-air-particles-untouched-industry-deep-rainforest 

It is a common misconception that as humans, we have inherited the Earth.  Unfortunately for us, this planet has been here long before us and will remain long after we are gone (provided we don't blow it up).  This article by popular science describes efforts undertaken by scientists to sample air of a quality that existed before the Industrial Revolution.  It's remarkable that we have to travel to one of the most remote rainforests on the planet and climb high above the canopy to even get a tiny sample of uncontaminated air.  Hopefully as a people we will endeavor to clean up the environment and help preserve this planet.  After all, we only have one!

Rechargeable Implanted Medical Device Batteries

Take a look at this old Duracell marketing campagin...

Consider this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo9qRRC3ke8

Now consider this:

Pacemaker batteries, no matter who makes them, don't last forever.  So when will the patient in the video above need to go back under the knife to get his battery replaced?  10 years from now? 15? A quick search on the web proves that the general consensus is that pacemaker batteries last anywhere from 5-10 years.  Personally, I would prefer that the open heart / chest pacemaker surgery just be a "one-and-done" type deal.

An exciting new development in bio-implantable devices are creative applications for piezoelectric materials that actually recharge battery dependent implants.  The key to this technology is that when piezoelectrics are subjected to mechanical stress, they become electrically polarized and generate electricity!  Simple right?  Not quite.  Unfortunately, piezoelectric materials are characterized as being hard, inflexible, and toxic to humans. Understandably they would not be considered bio-compatible with the human body.

However, significant strides have been made towards realizing this technology through a research group at Princeton (in collaboration with a couple other places I'm sure).  This group has developed novel nanosacle piezoelectrics on flexible, energy efficient, and bio-compatible platforms.  Essentially what they did was take these toxic piezoelectrics materials, make them REALLY small (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter) and imbed them into FDA-approved implantable plastics.

This technology opens up great possibilities for all kinds of implantable devices.  Imagine having a pacemaker right up in your heart whose battery is powered by the mechanical stretching of your lungs or maybe even hearing aids that are powered by eye movement.  The possibilities are endless!




Reference Papers:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=charge-batteries-with-movement-for-10-09-24
http://www.princeton.edu/~mcm/McAlpine_files/13.pdf

Pacemaker Information / Battery Life:
http://www.arrhythmia.org/pacemaker.html

First Post

This is my first post for this blog, I'm gonna write about all my insanely lucrative start-up ideas that I'll think up over the coming months.  Hope you enjoy reading them!