Unlimited Innovation? H.K. Wong Physics Department CUHK (Lab demonstrations are available on my homepage:

(A) Sources of innovative ideas How to get a thought flashed through my mind? Are the innovative ideas exhausted? The answer is always “No”! The more you know, the more you don’t know.

1. Go to see a movie. A cheap dehumidifier can be used to simulate tornado:

2. Watch TV or read newspaper. (b) Slope When a dangerous slope is fixed, a plastic screen is usually used to cover it up. Can it result in environmental problems such as bad smell? (a) Pressure cooker: Accidents occur frequently. Is there any new design?

3. Watch around us at home. (b) Toilet: The usual location of venting fan may be a mistake. (a)Hand-free telephone set: Mobile headset should be much more comfortable for long-time users. (c) Clothes drier: Use a humidity sensor instead of just a simple timer. Some examples are:

4. Renaissance Repeating old designs or old experiments can sometime offers you new ideas. It happens frequently in fashion industry and academic research.

5. New or improved method or technology For example, once scientists knew how to probe DNA in an easy way, the biotechnology develops rapidly. Once internet was invented, many new applications emerge, such as ICQ, homepages, …

6. Education Sometime, one can have innovative work done by luck. For example, a commercially available compound MgB 2 was found to be a new superconductor. 7. Luck We have new ideas when we are educated. Universities are the major sources of new inventions and discoveries.

(B) How to accomplish the project? A project can be done according to experience and by logical thinking. Studying science offers us such training.

e.g.: magnetic levitation It is impossible to support the upper magnet by the lower magnet (fixed in position). This is the Earnshaw’s theorem (1839). (fixed)

Levitron – US $38.95 Super Levitron – US $54.95 Deluxe Platinum Levitron – US $54.95 Perpetuator – US $79.95 But

The toy is actually composed of two magnets:

History 1970’s: Invented by Roy Harrigan whose physics was only of high school level. 1983: Roy Harrigan received a US Patent. 1993: Bill Hones took a prototype from Roy Harrigan. 1995: Bill Hones received another US Patent and then sold > 1,000,000 Levitrons without Harrigan’s participation.

Another configuration: (fixed)

But it can be done using a feedback circuit. Therefore it is impossible to hang the lower magnet using the top magnet.

It was used for commercial purpose.

(C) Presentation That is not a problem for most students.

(D) What do we do? Keep educated and be prepared to invent. Doing the project offers us training of team work. Creativity is more possible when we are young.