If a teenager is strong, then a country is strong： 7 inventions of teenagers that changed the world

Since ancient times, heroes have produced teenagers. In history, we have seen countless talented teenagers invent various theories, methods, technologies and products that change the world.

Today, teenagers with unlimited imagination and creativity are also changing the world with their own inventions.

Looking at their inventions, some can bring new impetus to the transformation of an industry, while others hope to save the lives of a group. But all roads lead to the same goal, and their inventions are put forward because they see the existence of a certain problem and want to change and solve it.

Of course, behind their inventions, we should pay more attention to what kind of education and environment can provide fertile ground for teenagers to give full play to their imagination and creativity. What should we do to naturally shape this kind of education and environment.

After all, young people are strong, and technology is strong; Youth is strong, then the country is strong.

1. Ionic liquids for industrial carbon capture.

CO2 is one of the most important greenhouse gases, but it is also a rich resource. At present, some organic solvents are commonly used in industrial production to absorb CO2, but it is difficult to release CO2 again, and it is easy to corrode industrial equipment.

In September, 2017, Zhao Songrui, who is already a freshman in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Peking University, won the special prize of the European Association of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences for his "Study on the Synthesis and Characterization of Pyridine Ionic Liquids and CO2 Absorption Performance", which achieved a zero breakthrough for Chinese players in the EU Young Scientists Competition.

The pyridine ionic liquids studied by Zhao Songrui can quickly attract and release CO2, and the stability is very good. This technology has a broad application prospect in the field of industrial carbon capture.

2. Ultra-efficient catalyst converts plastic waste into biofuel.

AzzaAbdelHamidFaiad, an Egyptian girl, found a cheap catalyst at the age of 16, which can quickly and continuously convert plastic waste into biofuel.

Faiad successfully decomposed waste plastics into methane, propane and ethane by using calcium-based bentonite as catalyst, and then converted it into ethanol for fuel use.

The process can produce as much as 138,000 tons of hydrocarbon gas every year, and generate biofuels worth 78 million dollars. Egypt produces about 1 million tons of waste plastics every year, which is helpful to Egypt’s environmental protection and economic development.

She won the prize of European Nuclear Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) in the 23rd European Union Young Scientists Competition, and attracted the attention of Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute.

3. Life-saving building fire smoke mask system

In 2013, AlexisLewis, an American girl, heard a mother throw a 2-year-old child from the second floor to avoid the harm caused by fire smoke to the child, which led to the idea of designing a smoke mask.

In order to save the people trapped in the building by the fire, Lewis found in the experiment that the success rate of directly throwing the smoke mask into the room from the window was very low, so he designed several 3D printed bomb prototypes and installed a light smoke mask produced by XcaperIndustries, a professional respiratory protection equipment manufacturer, in the bomb.

After more than 290 tests by 37 firefighters throwing bullets at the second floor window, the rugby-type bullets with throwing accuracy exceeding 70% were finally determined.

The design can provide a safe breathing mask for those who encounter fire and have no time to escape, which effectively protects the lives of residents.

Lewis was only 15 years old when he designed the smoke mask system, and he had many patent inventions.

4. Using algae to convert CO2 from automobile exhaust into oxygen.

In 2008, ParamJaggi, a 16-year-old American boy, began to pay attention to automobile exhaust emissions while learning to drive. He designed an exhaust purifier using seaweed, which can reduce carbon dioxide in automobile exhaust.

With this invention, he won a prize of 8,000 dollars and a sustainable development award from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

ParamJaggi has applied for a patent and set up a company. The first product developed by Paramjaggi, AlgaeMobile carbon filtration system, has built-in panels covered with special algae strains on both sides, and uses photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide emitted by automobiles to produce oxygen and glucose (for feeding algae).

Considering that automobile exhaust emissions are too fast, Jaggi arranges a plurality of panels in a staggered way to increase the contact surface area of carbon dioxide and melt carbon dioxide into water to form carbonic acid; Sodium hydroxide placed in the filter reacts with carbonic acid to form harmless carbonate.

ParamJaggi has won many honors and been included in Forbes’ list of 30 outstanding men under the age of 30 in American science and technology field.

5. Simple life-saving equipment in the car to prevent children from dying of heat.

Every year, many children around the world die of heat in cars for various reasons. In 2011, AndrewPelham, an 11-year-old American boy, came up with the concept of EZBabySaver when he heard that a 10-month-old baby was trapped in a car and died of heat.

Pelham’s invention is made of rubber sleeve and adhesive tape, which connects the handle in the front door of the car with the driver’s back seat, thus reminding parents to check the back seat before getting off the bus to prevent tragedy. With this invention, he won the runner-up in the Young Inventors Group in the Rubber Band Competition.

According to media reports, hundreds of parents and grandparents around the world told Pelham by email that they had made this simple baby protector. Although the attention of this small invention is limited, we have to admit that it is a very effective invention.

6. Low-cost Lego Braille printers

In 1824, Louis Blair, a 15-year-old French blind man, created French Braille to help countless blind people read.

In 2014, 13-year-old American boy ShubhamBanerjee used robot toys and programming technology to help the blind again.

Banerjee assembled a Braille printer Braigo using Lego EV3 set with a price of $350. The printer can print Braille with better recognition ability by updating the built-in software and enhancing the hardware.

The invention directly reduces the price of Braille printers on the market from 2000 dollars to 350 dollars. Banerjee has set up a laboratory, focusing on the research of low-cost Braille printing technology, and obtained the investment from Intel. The lab also developed "the world’s first low-cost/silent/on-chip translation /IOT-Cloud printer concept".

This invention helped Banerjee win the 2014 Technology Award and was invited to attend the WhiteHouseMakerFaire (Creative DIY Party) held in the White House.

7. Cheap and rapid Ebola detection

In 2015, OliviaHallisey, a 16-year-old American middle school student, invented a new Ebola virus detection technology.

The invention is based on the principle of chemical reaction. When Ebola virus in blood reacts with chemicals in the reagent, the reagent will change color. This method can complete the detection within 30 minutes.

In addition, the cost of each detection is only 25 dollars, and the storage and transportation of reagents do not need refrigeration.

This invention helped Hallisey win a $50,000 scholarship in the 2015 Google Science Challenge.

(Source: Capital Lab, Li Xin. The content only represents the author’s personal views, not the position of the forum)

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