Latest news with #MartinCooper
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Things you didn't know were invented in Illinois
CHICAGO (WGN) — When it comes to groundbreaking inventions in the Land of the Lincoln, Illinois is no stranger to life-changing innovations. The Ferris Wheel, the Skyscraper, and even dentistry are just some of the state's key innovations. But do some exist that you may not know about? WGN-TV has compiled a short list of items that originated in Illinois: The inventor of the mobile phone, Chicago native Martin Cooper, made the first call on April 6, 1973. The Motorola researcher and executive is primarily regarded as the 'father of the cell phone' because he led the team behind the invention. According to following the belief that the cell phone should be portable and not solely operable in automobiles, Cooper and his team developed the DynaTAC (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) phone, which was 23 cm (9 inches) tall and weighed 1.1 kg (2.5 pounds). The phone is often referred to as a brick phone due to its resemblance. Users paid $3,500 for the phone, equivalent to more than $25,000 in today's dollars, based on inflation. The delicious 'Golden Child' of Hostess was invented on April 6, 1930, at Continental Baking Company in western suburban Schiller Park. According to the Hostess, baker James Alexander Dewar was behind the idea of sponge cakes, with the original filling consisting of banana-flavored cream filling, and later replaced by the vanilla cream filling that generations have grown to love. Dewar noticed shortbread pans not in use and came up with the idea. The name Twinkie also stems from a billboard near the production plant that bore the name 'Twinkle Toe Shoes.' The Twinkie now comes in various flavors and remains a popular snack among Illinoisans and beyond. Edward Seymour is credited with inventing spray paint in west suburban Sycamore in 1949. According to Seymour created the first aerosolized spray paint can by inventing a novelty spray can to demonstrate an aluminum paint he had made for painting steam radiators. Based on the same principle as spray deodorizers and insecticides, the device featured a small can of paint equipped with an aerosol propellant and fitted with a spray head. 'Soon after perfecting the first spray can, Ed and the employees of his new company formulated the paint, which was mixed and filled with aerosol using a combination of customized and specially engineered machinery.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Water companies should be taken into public ownership now
I welcome the government's decision to block Thames Water from borrowing money to pay bosses' bonuses (Report, 15 May), but this is only a first step to tackling the crisis in our water industry – a crisis that will only intensify if excessively dry conditions persist. As if mismanaging our precious water wasn't enough, many companies haven't hesitated to take on unsustainable debt or pay billions to shareholders: £78bn has been paid out in dividends over the last three decades. For every pound of your water bill, an estimated 35 pence goes on debt or dividends. Our rivers and streams are full of sewage and 3bn litres of water are lost to leaks every single day. Private water companies have failed to prepare for drought and dry weather, says the Climate Change Committee. It's high time to end the disastrous experiment with privatisation and take these companies back into public Ramsay MPCo-leader, Green party How can Thames Water say it is close to running out of money? Most of us pay by direct debit and Thames has increased bills by 46.8%. That's a more reliable flow of income than the water from my taps. If customers could adjust their income as easily and with as little justification, none would say they're hard CooperBromley, London Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
11-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
No smartphone means no cheap bus fares for teens
I am delighted about the campaign to reduce smartphone usage among under-14s ('The crux of all evil': what happened to the first city that tried to ban smartphones for under-14s?, 7 May) but in West Yorkshire, where I work, we have run up against structural issues that make this impossible. The cheapest young person's bus fares are only available via an app, which requires a smartphone. You can buy a monthly bus pass on a smartcard, but only in person and at limited locations. If your child needs a smartphone to get the bus to school, any hopes of not buying them one fall at the first hurdle. Phil SageSkipton, North Yorkshire Regarding children's appetites increasing after watching junk food ads (11 May), I wonder if there is a similar effect when Saturday Guardian readers look at the Feast CooperBromley, London Many Germans in their 40s would be distraught that people think they were named after a film character and not in honour of the star English striker Kevin Keegan, who had three successful years at Hamburger SV (Letters, 7 May).Leo NorthCrewe, Cheshire An even better solution for an eco-friendly lawn (Letters, 8 May): on honeymoon in India, we saw an ox pull a mechanical mower, eat the grass in its breaks and naturally fertilise the soil. The lawns were luscious and no HamiltonBuxton, Derbyshire Re cold callers (Letters, 8 May), I use Eric Morecambe's method: 'I am sorry, you must have the wrong number – I don't have a telephone.'Gerard HastingsCéret, Pyrénées-Orientales, France Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Invented a Liquid-Like Battery That Can Basically Recharge Forever
As the world continues to become ever more interconnected, wearables, implants, and other technologies need batteries that can stretch to fit a variety of form factors. Scientists from Linköping University in Sweden developed a flexible battery—using liquid electrodes, conductive plastics, and lignin—that can stretch twice its length and maintain performance. While the battery needs to increase its voltage to compete with lithium-ion competitors, the idea shows promise for a world full of flexible technologies. On April 3, 1973, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first cellphone call. Within 50 years, the number of cellphones—now empowered with all the wonders (and detriments) of the internet—has reached around 7.2 billion. This explosion of mobile technology wouldn't be possible without some serious battery advancements, and as the world rushes toward one trillion connected devices in the next decade, it'll take new innovations to power that future. Although these batteries get increasingly more impressive over time—the first smartphone, IBM's Simon, had a not-so-stellar one-hour battery life—limitations remain, including that batteries make up the bulk of most electronics and they're famously inflexible. In fact, flex a lithium-ion battery too far and you may just have a flammable disaster on your hands. But in a new study from Linköping University in Sweden, scientists think they might have developed a fluid solution for batteries' famous inflexibility. By converting solid electrodes to liquid, scientists at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University have successfully created a battery that can stretch double its length and maintain performance. The results of the study were published today in the journal Science Advances. 'The texture is a bit like toothpaste,' Aiman Rahmanudin, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement. 'The material can, for instance, be used in a 3D printer to shape the battery as you please. This opens up for a new type of technology.' This is a good thing, as not all electronic applications come in easy, one-size-fits-all, candy-bar-shaped sizes. Wearable technologies, insulin pumps, hearing aids, pacemakers, and the developing world of fast robotics all need flexible batteries in some unconventional sizes for them to work. There's just one problem—capacity often coincides with rigidity. So, if you make something flexible, you inherently degrade a battery's core function: powering stuff. To address this problem, the research team developed a flexible battery using liquid electrodes and a material made from conductive plastics and lignin—a byproduct of paper production. They found that the battery could be recharged and discharged over 500 times without losing performance, and could stretch to double its length. On top of all that, because it doesn't rely on rare earth materials, it's also an environmentally conscious battery. 'Since the materials in the battery are conjugated polymers and lignin, the raw materials are abundant,' Mohsen Mohammadi, a postdoctoral fellow and co-author of the study, said in a press statement. 'By repurposing a byproduct like lignin into a high value commodity such as a battery material we contribute to a more circular model. So, it's a sustainable alternative.' Flexible? Check. Sustainable? Also check. So, what's the catch? Well, right now, the voltages in the battery can't quite compete with lithium-ion batteries. Battery voltages in a typical smartphone can tick upwards of four volts, but the researchers say their flexible creation hovers around 0.9 volts, so future research will look into ways to increase that voltage. To maintain the battery's sustainable bonafides, the scientists say they're considering chemical compounds using zinc or manganese—two of the most abundant metals found on Earth. Fifty years ago, a smartphone battery could barely last longer than an episode of The White Lotus. Now, they can hold a charge for days at a time. In the next half century, who knows where flexible batteries might take us. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
