The first screw propeller to be added to an engine was installed by Scottish engineer James Watt in Birmingham, England.
He used it with his steam engine although the screw propeller's origins can be traced to Egyptians by way of Leonardo da Vinci.
The propeller was also used in ancient China to propel watercraft. The third century BC Greek philosopher, Archimedes
developed a related concept with a view to moving water and European crusaders found windmills in the Middle East in the 1090s CE.
The first screw propeller to be powered by a petrol engine, fitted to a small boat (now known as a powerboat) was installed by
Frederick Lanchester, also from Birmingham. This was tested in Oxford. The first 'real-world' use of a propeller was by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who used it instead of paddle wheels to power the SS Great Britain.
This young boy at the age of 13 was destined to go places.. and he did.
This young man /his company and fellow workers all great people have given the
world alot of joy ..and incredible easy to use and very stable products..
I personally think this thread needs to be closed by Parallax.
Come on Ken or Paul make it a sticky and lets move on...
The esteem of being 'the inventor'·has alway been·somewhat the creation of a myth.·Who was it that created fire?·Great ideas happen in a fertile environment and it is a race mostly won by the swiftest [noparse][[/noparse]or the most fortunate].· Recognition is provided to those few that are quite gifted and have devoted great effort.
I spent years and years proudly saying that TV was invented in the USA by Philo Farnsworth [noparse][[/noparse]a Mormon who live near what has today become Silicon Valley] and yet I·have learned·that there were at least two other recognized inventors - A Scot and an Englishman. My pride clouded the reality.
Another case in point is T.A. Edison.· He did invent the light bulb.· But most of his other inventions came out of his company that hired all the best minds of the era.· Essentially, he used his wealth to hire as many of his competitors that would come to work.· Then, he was able to claim their work as his.· Yet, he has been claimed to be the inventor of the phonograph, talking pictures, multiplex telegraph, and many other things which were the fruits of General Electric as a company.
In sum, the day of the individual inventor may have never exisited - and is certainly gone.
I admire Chip for investing the time and money in bringing to market a product that has a significant educational purpose and freely acknowledging that many others wanted to do somethiing similar.·· While others were pumping out micros·motivated by greed and control, he has been willing to serve values that pass knowledge on to younger learners - a educational device and a forum for exploration.
In sum, it is the leadership that counts!
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"Everything in the world is purchased by labour; and our passions are the only causes of labor." -- David·Hume (1711-76)········
···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
Sorry but this by no means raises to the importance of being made sticky, and we are typically loath to stiffle debate (deleting posts or locking threads) as long as our forum guidelines are followed. Eventually this thread will die and it will be relegated to the dustbin of forgotten threads where it belongs.
You are working with Chip... you just aren't getting paid yet.
Make a suggestion... he will consider it.
I personally would like to have a Propeller store front... I wouldn't care if I didn't make any money at it... the logo is just so cool. I want a building with that logo!!!
But as a backup plan, I also have a list of countries that have no Parallax distributors. It's getting shorter as I write[noparse]:)[/noparse]
Comments
So it looks like the Egyptians win.
Of course, I gave them the original concept.
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Post Edited (Larry) : 7/27/2007 3:16:05 AM GMT
Here is the link that you have all been waiting for.
This page has all the history of the creator of the Propeller...
http://www.parallax.com/html_pages/company/history/history.asp
This young boy at the age of 13 was destined to go places.. and he did.
This young man /his company and fellow workers all great people have given the
world alot of joy ..and incredible easy to use and very stable products..
I personally think this thread needs to be closed by Parallax.
Come on Ken or Paul make it a sticky and lets move on...
Ronald Nollet Australia
I spent years and years proudly saying that TV was invented in the USA by Philo Farnsworth [noparse][[/noparse]a Mormon who live near what has today become Silicon Valley] and yet I·have learned·that there were at least two other recognized inventors - A Scot and an Englishman. My pride clouded the reality.
Another case in point is T.A. Edison.· He did invent the light bulb.· But most of his other inventions came out of his company that hired all the best minds of the era.· Essentially, he used his wealth to hire as many of his competitors that would come to work.· Then, he was able to claim their work as his.· Yet, he has been claimed to be the inventor of the phonograph, talking pictures, multiplex telegraph, and many other things which were the fruits of General Electric as a company.
In sum, the day of the individual inventor may have never exisited - and is certainly gone.
I admire Chip for investing the time and money in bringing to market a product that has a significant educational purpose and freely acknowledging that many others wanted to do somethiing similar.·· While others were pumping out micros·motivated by greed and control, he has been willing to serve values that pass knowledge on to younger learners - a educational device and a forum for exploration.
In sum, it is the leadership that counts!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
"Everything in the world is purchased by labour; and our passions are the only causes of labor." -- David·Hume (1711-76)········
Right on..
One of my old favourites is Nikola Tesla..
Check it out at·· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla
As you said Edison had lots of help.... and money
I have read 2 books on Tesla makes good reading..
One is " A Man out of time" by Margaret Cheney"· ISBN 0-7432-1536-2
Although supernaturally gifted he was flamboyant and neurotic
Cheers from Australia
Ron
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Agreed ... but highly entertaining nonetheless ..
Regards,
QuattroRS4
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'Necessity is the mother of invention'
wish i could work with Chip.· He's a modern-say Edison.
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The more I know, the more I know I don't know.· Is this what they call Wisdom?
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The more I know, the more I know I don't know.· Is this what they call Wisdom?
You are working with Chip... you just aren't getting paid yet.
Make a suggestion... he will consider it.
I personally would like to have a Propeller store front... I wouldn't care if I didn't make any money at it... the logo is just so cool. I want a building with that logo!!!
But as a backup plan, I also have a list of countries that have no Parallax distributors. It's getting shorter as I write[noparse]:)[/noparse]
Rich
Rich