Inventions are human creations that bring together existing ideas or objects in a novel way, creating something that did not exist before. Many inventions have profound impacts on civilization, such as the printing press introduced by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, which revolutionized communication and led to a period of unprecedented growth in science and education.
Invention is an exploratory process that yields failures as well as successes. Often, the initial idea for an invention is a novel one, but it will need to be improved upon to develop into a usable final product. Inventors must also work within existing constraints, such as manufacturing costs or existing technology, and the limitations of their own knowledge.
The process of invention InventHelp Invention Company begins with inspiration, often a eureka moment. Sometimes, this is a result of a new insight or realization; other times it is the culmination of years of studying the subject matter, such as when Einstein developed his general theory of relativity after working on the problem for a long time and then having the “aha” moment in a dream. Inventors must then use prewriting activities to further explore the subject and identify gaps in current knowledge.
They will then search for solutions to the gap, either by looking at existing products or by trial and error. They may experiment with different combinations of elements, such as the gas tank and carburetor used by car manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency, or they may look at other processes or technologies for inspiration, such as the jacquard loom that led Herman Hollerith to develop perforated cards for tabulating data for the 1890 U.S. census.
Once they have identified a number of potential solutions, the inventor will need to select them according to certain criteria of goodness, such as testability or parsimoniousness in science, artistic originality and expressiveness in art, and manufacturing aspects and cost in technology. Often, a single invention will inspire multiple other innovations; the electric light bulb prompted Edison to develop the distribution network of gaslight pipes and George de Mestral to notice the tiny hooks that burrs had on his clothes while hunting, leading him to invent Velcro.
The final step in the invention process is refinement and fine-tuning, which will often involve additional trials and experiments to ensure that the finished product meets all of the necessary requirements. Often, this will include finding ways to cut production costs or make the product more user friendly.
Inventions are important because they lead to innovation, and in turn, innovation leads to progress and advancement in society. They are also one of the chief examples of positive externalities in economics, which means that benefits accrue to outside parties that are not involved in the transaction or activity that produced the invention. The patent system is designed to capture these benefits and encourage investment in activities that result in inventions. For example, a patent on an invention in the arts will help to fund future inventions based on that invention by generating revenue from the sale of copies of the artwork.