Tag Archives: Invention

Hay

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Hay

“Hay!” neighs the horse.

  • Hay is a bundle of dried vegetation that is primarily intended for the feeding of farm animals.
  • Animals that are common recipients of hay include horses, goats, sheep and cattle, as well as some pets, including guinea pigs and rabbits.
  • Hay is typically made of grasses, and is sometimes combined with clovers, and legume plants like lucerne.
  • Hay is usually provided to animals when insufficient food or grazing is available; and these circumstances often occur due to droughts, cold temperatures or lack of resources.
  • The colour of hay can be a green, yellow or brown colour, although green is usually superior in quality, while bales that are yellow to brown internally, have lost the majority of their nutrients.

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  • Hay can be fed to animals all year round, and it can be used as the primary food source for some animals on farms.
  • For the purpose of hay making, paddock grasses are grown to maturity, just before seeds ripen, to allow for the greatest quantity and quality of nutrients, and then they are cut and allowed to dry before baling.
  • Too much moisture in hay can cause bales to build up heat, and they can combust spontaneously.
  • Hay is generally gathered tightly in bales, that are either cylindrical or rectangular prisms in shape, often held together with twine, and they are best stored under cover or partly wrapped in plastic.
  • Historically, hay was cut by hand with a scythe, and stacked in piles, known as ‘haystacks’, however, in modern times, the process of cutting and baling is usually all done by specialised machines.
Bibliography:
Hay, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay
Murphey S, Making Hay, 2013, ABC, http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3741731.htm


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Golden Ratio

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Golden Ratio

Marvel the minds of the ancient world as you discover the wonders of the golden ratio.

  • The golden ratio is a mathematical term given to the phenomena of when two lengths, when divided via a formula, is equal to the number phi (φ).
  • ‘Golden ratio’ is also known as ‘golden section’, ‘medial section’, ‘golden proportion’, ‘divine section’, ‘extreme and mean ratio’ and ‘golden mean’, and is called ‘sectio aurea’ in Latin.
  • The formula of the golden ratio is the total of two lengths divided by the longer length (a+b/a), where it equals the longer length divided by the shorter length (a/b).
  • A golden ratio occurs when the formula equation equals the number phi, which is roughly 1.618033, however, this number has an infinite number of decimal places.
  • The golden ratio was likely first discovered by mathematicians of Ancient Greece, including Pythagoras and Euclid, and studied by later folk such as the Italian Leonardo Bonacci (Leonardo of Pisa).
Golden Ratio, Ten Random Facts, Shell, Fibonacci Spiral, Nature, Mathematics, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
Golden Ratio/Fibonacci Spiral evident in a Shell
Image courtesy of Jitz Couperos/Flick
  • Many forms of nature feature the golden ratio in some arrangement, from human facial features, to the petals on flowers.
  • Many artists, architects and musicians consider the golden ratio when creating their work; and the ratio is said to be evident in the Parthenon temple, and the Last Supper painting, among others.
  • The Fibonacci sequence, described by Leonardo Banacci, that defines spirals evident in flowers, galaxy spirals, and hurricanes, uses the golden ratio.
  • Rectangles can be created via the golden ratio, known as ‘golden rectangles’, that have sides of a 1:1.618 ratio, and they are widely accepted as being more aesthetically pleasing than rectangles of random sizes.
  • The value of the golden ratio is not easily written as a fraction, as it is a continued fraction, and it is therefore usually written as a shortened decimal number, or as the symbol phi (φ).
Bibliography:
Dvorsky G, 15 Uncanny Examples of the Golden Ratio in Nature, 2013, io9, http://io9.com/5985588/15-uncanny-examples-of-the-golden-ratio-in-nature
Golden Ratio, 2014, Maths is Fun, https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/golden-ratio.html
Golden Ratio, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

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Canola Oil

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Canola Oil

Light in colour, light in taste…. canola oil.

  • Canola oil is a version of oil used in cooking, that is extracted from the seeds of specifically bred plants of the Brassica genus – Brassica juncea (leaf mustard or mustard greens), Brassica napus (rapeseed), and Brassica rapa (turnip rape or field mustard).
  • ‘Canola oil’ is also known as ‘canola’ and was named by the Western Canadian Oilseed Crushers Association, originating from the words ‘Canada’ and ‘oil’.
  • Canola oil originated in Canada, in the 1970s, and the plants were developed by Canada’s University of Manitoba and the government department, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
  • In 2014, the European Union produced the most metric tons of canola or rapeseed oilseed in the world, with a quantity of more than 21 million tons, while Canada produced almost 18 million, out of a total worldwide production of more than 71 million tons.
  • Canola oil is extracted by pressing and heating the oilseeds, after which the meal of the seeds is separated from the oil; and the meal is frequently used to feed animals like pigs, cattle, fish and poultry and can also be used as a fertiliser.

Canola Oil, Invention, Yellow, Homebrand, Ten Random Facts, Culinary, Oil, Bottle, Australia

  • Canola oil is commonly used in cooking dues to its high heat tolerance and low level of saturated fat, and it is often used in baking; applied to the surface of pans to prevent food sticking; and used for frying food.
  • Canola oilseeds contain approximately 44% oil, with 23 kilograms (51 pounds) of seed, creating approximately 10 litres (2.6 gallons) of oil.
  • Canola can only be classified as such if it has erucic acid quantities of less than 2% present in the oil, while the glucosinolates that exist in the dry meal must be less than 30 micromoles for each gram.
  • Canola oil is commonly used as the main ingredient in shortening, margarine and salad dressings, and is also found in plastics, machinery lubrication, cosmetics and ink for the printing industry, among others.
  • Despite theories that canola oil is not healthy, the product is typically high in vitamin E and vitamin K, and it is believed to be one of the healthier cooking oil options.
Bibliography:
Canola, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola
What is Canola Oil?, 2015, Canola Info, http://www.canolainfo.org/canola/
What is Canola?, 2014, Canola Council, http://www.canolacouncil.org/oil-and-meal/what-is-canola/

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Mirror

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Mirror

Do you ever see a double in a mirror?

  • A mirror, once known as a ‘looking glass’,  is an invented object that reflects any light directed onto it, which results in the object reflecting an image.
  • Both flat and curved mirrors are available, and the latter are able to manipulate light and images depending on the curve extremity.
  • Mirrors are commonly used to look at one’s appearance; as an ornament or part of a building, often to make spaces look larger; and in some machines, including telescopes, to manipulate light.
  • In ancient times, natural items were used to observe reflections in a similar way to mirrors, such as glossy stones and water.
  • Handheld mirrors are believed to have been used around 6000 BC, and were commonly made of polished obsidian, and metals were used some time later.

Mirror, Reflective, Invention, Ten Random Facts, Antique, Shine, Border, Oval, Flat, Ten Random Facts

  • The modern mirror is believed to have been invented in the early to mid 1800s, by the German Justus von Liebig, a chemist, who developed a silvering process that eventually superseded the hazardous mercury backed items that had been used for centuries.
  • Modern mirrors are usually made by coating the underside, of what most commonly is glass, with thin reflective layers, that often include layers of tin chloride, silver, copper, and a chemical activator, while paint is often used to seal and protect the back.
  • Mirrors are used in vehicles to display a wider view of the surroundings, as well as to see behind, and different shapes are used for various vehicles, to maximise the visibility.
  • Not many animals can recognise their own image in a mirror, and only great apes, elephants, bottlenose dolphins, orcas and Eurasian magpies are believed to have the ability.
  • Mirrors are popularly used in art, as well as to entertain, and are used in kaleidoscopes, mazes and disco balls.
Bibliography:
Flinn G, How Mirrors Work, 2015, How Mirrors Work, http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/mirror1.htm
The Inventor of Mirror, n.d., Mirror History, http://www.mirrorhistory.com/mirror-history/who-invented-mirror/
Mirror, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror

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Book

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Book

Be well read with enough information to fill many books.

  • A book is a bound collection of sheets or pages, used for record keeping, or conveying information that generally entertains or informs.
  • The pages of books usually contain printed text or illustrations, or they can be blank so that they can be written in by hand, while sometimes the pages will feature a combination of these characteristics.
  • Paper is the most common material used to make book pages, and the text is usually printed on the page.
  • In ancient history, the first books were made of tablets of stone, metal, bark or clay, and this medium was used during the Bronze and Iron Ages.
  • Papyrus, a plant material, was used to create books, or more accurately scrolls, by Ancient Egyptians from around 2400 BC; and parchment, a product made from animal skin was also used in ancient times.

Book, Pile, Assorted, Old, Fiction, Fact, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Read, Reading

  • Before the revolutionary invention of Johannes Gutenburg’s printing press in the mid 1400s, ‘mass production’ of books was performed by wood-printing techniques.
  • ‘E-books’ are those that are available in electronic form, and this is becoming an increasingly popular way of obtaining books, while numerous electronic devices and tablets are engineered to support these electronic versions.
  • Books are available in a wide variety of sizes and thicknesses according to their purpose and number of pages, although they are mostly orientated to sizes that the printing and paper allow for.
  • Books are commonly obtained by purchasing them from retail outlets or borrowing them from a library.
  • In 2010, Google announced that there were approximately 130 million individual book titles that had existed in modern history up until that time.
Bibliography:
Book, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book
A Brief History of the Book, 2015, Charles Sturt University, http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/humss/art317/form/briefhist.htm

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Telephone

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Telephone

Hear the telephone ring in the morning.

  • Telephones are a communication invention, used to transmit sounds from one location to another, and they were a result of improvements on the Morse code-based telegraphic system.
  • ‘Telephones’ are also known as ‘phones’, and the term comes from the French word, that has its origins in the Greek words ‘tēle’ and ‘phōnē’, meaning ‘far voice’.
  • A telephone typically consists of a ringer that alerts the owner that someone is making an incoming call; a dial or buttons to enter a person’s phone number; and a microphone and earphone, that transmit and receive sounds respectively.
  • To transmit sounds, most commonly voices, telephones are required to convert sounds into signals, which are reconverted by the device located at the destination.
  • Telephones can be categorised into two main types: landlines; and mobiles; and the former transmit signals via wires and are usually left in one position, while the latter is a portable device and transmits signals via radio waves.

Telephone, Digital, Ten Random Facts, Charger, Panasonic, Mobile, Invention, Communication

  • Many newer portable telephones, or ‘smart phones’ as they are often called, consist of numerous features, including texting, internet and photography capabilities, as well as other applications, and commonly consist of touch screens, however, these phones are continuously being developed so further improvements are likely to occur.
  • Numerous people contributed to the telephone invention, although ultimately it was Alexander Graham Bell, from Scotland, who was awarded the first patent for the creation in 1876.
  • Six billion people across the globe were registered as telephone users, of landlines and/or mobiles in 2009.
  • Landline phones are typically bulkier than their portable counterpart, and generally feature a handle with a microphone and earphone on opposite but symmetrical ends, that is held up to one’s face.
  • The American inventor, Elisha Gray, filed a patent for the telephone within hours of Alexander Bell’s patent, and after some dispute, Bell was credited as the inventor of the device.
Bibliography:
Henderson C, The History of Communication Technology, n.d, Penn State Personal http://www.personal.psu.edu/jtk187/art2/telephone.htm
Telephone, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone
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