inventions and innovations in science 231
with accelerators) helped to discover 2 the Higgs boson —
the essential building block of the Standard Model of particle
physics.
A particular connection we would like to highlight is the
relationship between Higgs and superconductivity. In a recent article, 3 A. Pashkin and A. Leitenstorfer reminded us
that “... the theoretical proposal of the Higgs mechanism was
actually inspired by ideas from condensed matter physics ...
In 1958, Anderson discussed the appearance of a coherent
excited state in superconducting condensates with spontaneously broken symmetry... On page 1145 of this issue, Matsunaga et al. report direct observation of the Higgs mode in
the conventional superconductor niobium nitride (NbN) excited by intense electric field transients.”
The above passage shows us once again that that the general conclusion of TRIZ that “the same problems and solutions appear again and again but in different disciplines” is
applicable to science, too.
11.3.3 Garin, matreshka and Nobel
One of the first inspirations and predictions of a device similar to today’s laser may have appeared in a 1926 novel by
Aleksey Tolstoy, The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin. In that
story, a device was described that was capable of producing
a ray of light of immense power. It is fascinating to note that
technical drawings were included in this novel — a significant attraction for curious readers (even despite the fact that
the drawings referred to non-existing materials).
The adventures described in Tolstoy’s novel were extraordinary. This fictional and powerful ray was responsible for
many astounded remarks. One such was, “Can you imagine
what opportunities are opening now? Nothing in nature can
withstand the power of the beam of light — buildings, forts,
battleships, airships, rocks, mountains, the earth’s crust —
everything could be penetrated, destroyed, cleaved with my
beam.” These are the words Tolstoy put into the mouth of the
story’s protagonist — the engineer Garin.
The lasers developed later in the century 4 did not adhere
to the design in The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin, and were
luckily used for peaceful purposes.
In connection to lasers and TRIZ, we would like to mention here one particular recent invention, stimulated emission
depletion microscopy (STED), which was developed by Stefan
W. Hell and his colleagues. 5
The stimulated emission depletion microscopy allows for
2 Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs, Nobel Prize in Physics, 2013.
3 A. Pashkin and A. Leitenstorfer, Science 345, 1121 (2014).
4 C. Townes, N. Basov and A. Prokhorov, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1964.
5 E. Betzig, S. W. Hell and W. E. Moerner, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2014.
The focusing mirror in
Garin’s hyperboloid was
made from “shamonite” —
an extremely durable material imagined by the writer.
Fictitious and non-existing
in early 20th century, such
a material can perhaps be
created in the 21st century
thanks to the advent of new
engineered materials.
with accelerators) helped to discover 2 the Higgs boson —
the essential building block of the Standard Model of particle
physics.
A particular connection we would like to highlight is the
relationship between Higgs and superconductivity. In a recent article, 3 A. Pashkin and A. Leitenstorfer reminded us
that “... the theoretical proposal of the Higgs mechanism was
actually inspired by ideas from condensed matter physics ...
In 1958, Anderson discussed the appearance of a coherent
excited state in superconducting condensates with spontaneously broken symmetry... On page 1145 of this issue, Matsunaga et al. report direct observation of the Higgs mode in
the conventional superconductor niobium nitride (NbN) excited by intense electric field transients.”
The above passage shows us once again that that the general conclusion of TRIZ that “the same problems and solutions appear again and again but in different disciplines” is
applicable to science, too.
11.3.3 Garin, matreshka and Nobel
One of the first inspirations and predictions of a device similar to today’s laser may have appeared in a 1926 novel by
Aleksey Tolstoy, The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin. In that
story, a device was described that was capable of producing
a ray of light of immense power. It is fascinating to note that
technical drawings were included in this novel — a significant attraction for curious readers (even despite the fact that
the drawings referred to non-existing materials).
The adventures described in Tolstoy’s novel were extraordinary. This fictional and powerful ray was responsible for
many astounded remarks. One such was, “Can you imagine
what opportunities are opening now? Nothing in nature can
withstand the power of the beam of light — buildings, forts,
battleships, airships, rocks, mountains, the earth’s crust —
everything could be penetrated, destroyed, cleaved with my
beam.” These are the words Tolstoy put into the mouth of the
story’s protagonist — the engineer Garin.
The lasers developed later in the century 4 did not adhere
to the design in The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin, and were
luckily used for peaceful purposes.
In connection to lasers and TRIZ, we would like to mention here one particular recent invention, stimulated emission
depletion microscopy (STED), which was developed by Stefan
W. Hell and his colleagues. 5
The stimulated emission depletion microscopy allows for
2 Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs, Nobel Prize in Physics, 2013.
3 A. Pashkin and A. Leitenstorfer, Science 345, 1121 (2014).
4 C. Townes, N. Basov and A. Prokhorov, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1964.
5 E. Betzig, S. W. Hell and W. E. Moerner, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2014.
The focusing mirror in
Garin’s hyperboloid was
made from “shamonite” —
an extremely durable material imagined by the writer.
Fictitious and non-existing
in early 20th century, such
a material can perhaps be
created in the 21st century
thanks to the advent of new
engineered materials.