Quote:
Originally posted by Griff
Cutting edge
technology
velcro
Freeze dried food
Waldmar Jungner NiCad
Sir William Grove fuel cell
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OK, I typed whole lotta stuff on this, and my browser lost it. So here it is in brief. I did not say that NASA invented these things, they used and improved them. The government does not patent it's ideas, it's contractors do.
Technology: OK, they're shopping on E-Bay, most older parts are nolonger available, i.e. Titan rockets no longer being made, but NASA still uses them on occasion. Also, with a limited budget, it's cheaper to get parts online than thru the GAO.
Velcro: We all know about the sticky things in the woods that cling to your pants and legs, that's where the idea came from. But, NASA had them (I think it was 3M), make it better than the original Velcro. Also, they put it to the first practical use, and the public wanted that "stick stuff".
Freeze Dried Food: Most likely first dicovered by the Inuits, to their benefit. It had been around for awhile, but was not of good quality, think Sanka. NASA knew that freeze dried was the way to go, to compact storage and preservation, but it had to bee better tasting. NASA required better freeze dried food for it's astronauts to eat, leading to better freeze dried food on our store shelves, (if I can actually say that without gagging).
Ni-Cads: OK, this was new to me, i had no idea it was such an old idea. But, NASA needed re-chargeable batteries for the Sky-Lab and other satellites and systems that would go form light to dark. During day, the solar panels charged the batteries, at night the batteries supplied the power. Not until they were bettered/perfected by NASA did we have them in our homes, in cordless power tools, remote control cars, as regular replacement batteries able to be re-charged, etc.
Fuel Cell: NASA realized that batteries would not cut it forever. And agian, I was suprised that the fuel cell was discovered many years ago. But the Hydrogen Fuel Cell was not listed. Anyway, NASA uses them in the shuttles, and now we have them in Hybrid cars. This would not have happened if NASA had not invested the time and money into making these things smaller and safer. They will most likely be the power for our cars in the future.
Thanks Griff for the links, and not reaming me out for my references, but I did not claim that NASA invented them, only that they have come into more popular use because NASA improved or perfected the technologies, and that lead to them being more available, and now in our homes.
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