Inventions predictability

The laser has revolutionized many aspects of science and other disciplines, as well as the daily lives of millions of people. When it was first invented, the laser was referred to by some as a solution looking for a problem because it came about mostly from basic research rather than the active solution to a particular concern. At the time, no one could have predicted the far-reaching effects it would have in the second half of the twentieth centuiy, or that it would come to be considered by many as one of the most inQuen-tial technological achievements of that time. 

Electron-dot symbols for the first eighteen elements. This scheme, invented in the early twentieth century by G. N. Lewis, provides a rough but useful tool for predicting the availability of an atom s valence electrons for chemical bonding. 

The surface force apparatus (SFA) is a device that detects the variations of normal and tangential forces resulting from the molecule interactions, as a function of normal distance between two curved surfaces in relative motion. SFA has been successfully used over the past years for investigating various surface phenomena, such as adhesion, rheology of confined liquid and polymers, colloid stability, and boundary friction. The first SFA was invented in 1969 by Tabor and Winterton [23] and was further developed in 1972 by Israela-chivili and Tabor [24]. The device was employed for direct measurement of the van der Waals forces in the air or vacuum between molecularly smooth mica surfaces in the distance range of 1.5-130 nm. The results confirmed the prediction of the Lifshitz theory on van der Waals interactions down to the separations as small as 1.5 nm. 

In a different context, a micropipette has been applied to monitor the current through a single-ion channel in a biological membrane. The patch-clamp technique invented by Sackmann and Neher [119] led to their Nobel Prize in medicine. The variations in channel current with voltage, concentration, type of ions, and type of channels have been explored. While the functions of specific channels, in particular their ionic selectivity, have been well known, only a handful of channels have the internal geometry and charge distribution determined. The development of a theory to interpret the mass of channel data and to predict channel action is still lacking. 

Finally, it is critical to recognize that this report is missing one serious component the future discoveries that we do not see clearly from our present position. The history of science repeatedly shows that major discoveries open up whole new areas of understanding and of practical applications that were not anticipated. The aim of this overview is not to attempt to predict the future with great clarity but rather to be certain that the future is as rich and productive as it can be. But as we examine the future of our fields, there is one prediction we need to make Chemists and chemical engineers will come up with inventions and discoveries that are not encompassed in any such survey, and we will all say— why didn t we think of that ... 

Invent computer methods to predict the three-dimensional folded structure of a protein—and the pathway by which folding occurs—from its amino acid sequence, so information from the human genome can be translated into the encoded protein structures. 

Along with the prediction and discovery of a macroscopic dipole in the SmC phase and the invention of ferroelectric liquid crystals in the SSFLC system, the discovery of antiferroelectric liquid crystals stands as a key milestone in chiral smectic LC science. Antiferroelectric switching (see below) was first reported for unichiral 4-[(l-methylheptyloxy)carbonyl]phenyl-4/-octyloxy-4-biphenyl carboxylate [MHPOBC, (3)],16 with structure and phase sequence... 

The microscopic world of atoms is difficult to imagine, let alone visualize in detail. Chemists and chemical engineers employ different molecular modelling tools to study the structure, properties, and reactivity of atoms, and the way they bond to one another. Richard Bader, a chemistry professor at McMaster University, has invented an interpretative theory that is gaining acceptance as an accurate method to describe molecular behaviour and predict molecular properties. According to Dr. Bader, shown below, small molecules are best represented using topological maps, where contour lines (which are commonly used to represent elevation on maps) represent the electron density of molecules. 

Software systems and methods for predicting the melting temperature (T ) and other characteristics of oligonucleotides containing pyrazole[3,4-, pyrimidines have been invented <2003USP235822>. 

Some form of agreed and understood philosophy of fire testing is necessary because it is fairly easy to invent a host of more or less ad hoc fire tests which are confusing as to which aspect of fire they are meant to cover, may give positively dangerous impressions because of ill-conceived presentation of results and in no way predict the performance of the material in a real fire situation. 

The science of materials may have begun in the blacksmith s forge, but the materials of tomorrow will be formulated by understanding how the properties of matter are determined by the arrangements of its atoms and molecules. Scientists understand and invent new materials by considering the properties and interactions of individual particles and predicting how those properties translate into bulk properties. This chapter continues the important task of relating atomic and molecular properties to the structure and properties of bulk matter. 

Predictive power is poor, so confine searches to easily preparable materials. Use early screening techniques which work on powders like dielectric constant measurements, the Giebe-Scheibe circuit for piezoelectricity and the Kurtz 36,37) powder measurement test for SHG which was "invented" as a result of our pleas for help in finding materials. 

---