In his book What a Great Idea! Awesome South African Inventions, Mike Bruton examines the immediate and long-term impact and disruptive effect of local ingenuity
1CAT scanner: The coinvention of the CAT scanner by South Africa’s first nuclear physicist, Alan Cormack, and Godfrey Hounsfield of EMI in England, in 1972, earned them the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1979. This instrument, which takes 3D x-rays of the body, is used in every major hospital worldwide and is also used widely in industry.
2 Oil-from-coal technology: The Sasol oil-from-coal plant in Sasolburg, which came on stream in 1955, is the most advanced such facility in the world. In addition to producing fuel, it produces many valuable by-products, including bitumen (tar), light alcohols, solvents such as acetone, and polymers from which plastics can be made.
3 Oil-from-gas technology: The PetroSA oil-from-gas refinery established near Mossel Bay in 1992 is the most advanced and largest gas-to-liquid refinery in the world and produces some of Earth’s cleanest fuels.
4 Digital laser: Dr Sandile Ngcobo defied the odds when he invented the world’s first digital laser in 2013 in competition with some of the largest laboratories in the world.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March - April 2018-Ausgabe von Very Interesting.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March - April 2018-Ausgabe von Very Interesting.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
TAKE IT SLOW
Slow running is a fitness trend with some hard and fast science behind it
Physics, AI and music share a common thread. You just have to know where to look
Studying science can lead you in many directions and open doors to unexpected possibilities along the way
BED BUGS VS THE WORLD
When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans
Kids are the key to understanding obesity. But we need more of their genes...
We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so
COVID inquiry: What did we learn and what can we do better in future pandemics?
Masks, social distancing, lockdowns... how effective was the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
One hormone could be the key that unlocks a cure for morning sickness
The nausea and vomiting that, in extreme cases, can endanger mothers and babies might soon be just a memory
THE WORLD'S WEIRDEST CREATURES
Under the sea and upon the land, some animals look - to us - pretty strange...
WHEN MIND AND MACHINE COLLIDE
First, Elon Musk wanted to make electric cars ubiquitous, then he wanted to make space exploration a private enterprise. Now, with Neuralink, his newest venture, Musk hopes to merge humans and artificial intelligence. Turns out, it might not be such a crazy idea...
COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL
Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It's a phobia born out of our evolutionary past. But that raises a puzzling question: why do so many of us fear human interaction when we're supposed to be the most sociable species on the planet?
SPACE ODDITIES
Take a tour of the weirdest spots in the universe, where the 'normal' rules don't apply. Places that squeeze time, blow bubbles and even rain glass... sideways
