Here are my research notes, otterotto...

Today, we pay homage to David Warren, who completely changed aviation safety by creating the Black Box flight recorder.

After any aeroplane crash these days, there’s the inevitable hunt for the Black Box flight recorder, a device that records all the in-flight conversations and flight data, so investigators can try and discover what went wrong. What’s amazing is that the box itself was invented by Australian David Warren, who initially struggled to convince aviation companies in the benefits of a rugged recording device.

Born from a passion of electronics, Warren was working as a chemist in the age of commercial airliners infancy in Australia. He was assigned to be part of a thinktank to investigate why a Comet jet aircraft crashed in 1953, an event that had no witnesses and no survivors (and no black box), and therefore few clues as to the events leading up to its demise. The popular theory at the time was that the jet fuel used had a tendency to become explosive at altitude, which is why Warren was part of the investigation.

But it was his passion for gadgets rather than chemistry that saw him come up with the idea of the Black Box.

source : Gizmodo

see also : Wikipedia

Back in the 1950s, doctors were beginning to grow concerned about the effect of taking X-rays on pregnant women to determine the health of their babies. In 1961 David Robinson and George Kossoff, working at the Ultrasonic Research Group of the Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratories, built Australia’s first ultrasound scanner, called the CAL Echoscope. While others had used the same ultrasound technology for similar purposes around the globe, it was discovered in 1962 that the results from the Australian version – called grey-scale ultrasound – were technically superior to other scanners, as well as being the first commercially practical option.

source : Gizmodo

In 1966, Australian doctor Graeme Clark read a paper from an American surgeon who had successfully given a patient hearing sensations using electrical stimulation. Inspired by potentially aiding his hearing impaired father, in 1967 Clark decided to begin his research into trying to develop a technology to give hearing to deaf people.

The road to creating the first Australian cochlear implant lasted 11 years. Clarke was adamant that extensive trials needed to be carried out on animals before experimenting on humans, which could have been driven by the lareg amounts of criticism he received from colleagues during the early stages of his research. Money was also an issue, with the negative criticism towards his studies led to difficulties in getting funds from statutory sources. In 1974, a telethon on channel 0 and Sir Reginald Ansett raised enough funds for a human operation.

In 1978, Clark operated on Rod Saunders, giving him the ability to perceive sound again.

source : Gizmodo

In 1991, the NCR corporation created a wireless protocol in the Netherlands, originally dubbed WaveLAN. It was intended for use in cashier systems and had a relatively slow data rate. Making the technology faster stumped scientists around the world, and prevented the technology from taking off.

In 1992, a team of scientists at the CSIRO, led by Dr John O’Sullivan, were working on a mathematical formula to tidy up the intergalactic radio waves they were using while researching black holes. The mathematics involved, called “fast Fourier transforms”, involved a thorough understanding of how radio waves behave in different environments. It was only later that the team discovered their work in astronomy could be applied to wireless technology being developed here on planet Earth as well.

In 1992, the CSIRO received an Australian patent for their technology, and were awarded a US patent in 1996. This is quite possibly the most important patent the CSIRO has ever received.

source : Gizmodo

We pay homage to Mervyn Victor Richardson, who made the menial job of mowing grass faster and easier for people around the world with his two stroke Victa lawnmower.

Back in 1948, Richardson watched a public demonstration of a new rotary lawnmower called the “Mowhall”, which required two people to operate and ended up being a commercial failure. When his son started a lawnmowing business the same year, Richardson decided to try and help him out by adding a Villiers two-stroke engine to a reel-type mower.

The reel-type mowers worked well enough, but it was in 1952 when Richardson realised he could combine the two-stroke engine with a rotary mower like the Mowhall. After a few hours work, Richardson had created his first Victa mower prototype, using scrap metal, billy cart wheels, and a peach tin as a fuel tank. The prototype worked, and within three months had sold 30 units. Within four years he’d sold 60,000, created his own company and become a millionaire.

source : Gizmodo

Today, we pay homage to Dr Mark C Lidwill, who alongside physicist Edgar H Booth created the world’s first artificial pacemaker.

in the 1890s, medical researchers discovered that the human heart could be contracted by applying an electrical impulse to it. But it took a couple of decades and a bit of Australian ingenuity to create the world’s first artificial pacemaker.

In 1926, Dr Mark C Lidwill, an anaesthesiologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, with a bit of help from physicist Edgar Booth from Sydney University, made a device that was both portable and could be plugged directly into a lighting point. It was rudimentary at best.

source : Gizmodo

...at Gizmodo's :

Something like the Czech invention set! ( One of the set I love most <3 ) That would be awesome.

Do you think the achievements could fit in a set?