#2797: Nuclearoof

I understand that many people of Germany live in fear that there will be another Chernobyl nuclear disaster, perhaps even one within the EU.

Today’s invention is a rapid response mechanism to ensure that radioactive particles given off by a plant on fire don’t rise into the atmosphere and spread beyond the immediate area.

A shell made of steel and concrete is made in two nesting half-hemispheres (black and blue). This structure would be built around every existing nuclear plant (red), without being particularly costly.

The outer half-hemisphere (blue) would be free to rotate, so that the two overlapping half-hemispheres could become a sealed hemisphere. This would be dragged into place (once the plant was evacuated) by a small, autonomous locomotive (green).

In the event of an explosion, this would contain any escaping dust or gas long enough for a sarcophagus to be created from concrete pumped into the sphere by robots.

#2796: Odourescue

Humans have a stereo sense of smell that subconsciously guides navigation. Who knew?

Today’s invention attempts to make use of this fact for explorers, soldiers or anyone navigating an unknown environment without a map.

If the explorer needed to find water or fruit or the sea or human habitation, in an emergency, they would don a pair of goggles containing two pipes: one running to each nostril from each side of the goggles.

This would provide enhanced stereo smell capability (just as artillery range finders do for stereo vision).

They would then calmly feel which direction to take and this would improve their chances of reaching safety significantly.

#2795: JumpHop

When parachute jumping, I was instructed to keep the ankles pressed together and bend the knees slightly.

Easier said than done.

Many parachutists, especially in the armed forces, do damage to their legs on impact with the ground.

Today’s invention aims to lessen that effect. Parachutists would hop to the door of their aircraft in a single, tightly-fitted overboot which would encase both feet and have quick release clasps…like ski bindings.

This would help to spread the force of impact, as would the sole, a slab of springy material, such as motorcyclists use in back protectors.

#2793: DropShadow

Sports cars look better on the road when they have been ‘lowered’.

This makes them scrape their undersides, however, on the smallest of ramps and bumps.

Today’s invention is to apply a fin of black, brush material to the underside of a sportscar, running down the centre from front to back.

This creates the illusion (as in the bottom image) that the car has a lowered suspension, by blocking light from the far side, but without the danger of damage which that entails.

#2792: NoFlies

A great deal of effort goes into making spacesuits. These have to be extremely airtight and so today’s invention is intended to make them more reliable and simpler to don.

Imagine an inner layer of a space suit that is made in sections which join together using seams which are like those at the neck of a ziplock bag.

These sections could be made to fit an individual astronaut’s body perfectly.

After the sections are fitted to the person and the ziplock seams engaged, a 3D printing, handheld ‘sewing machine’ would be run along each seam, sealing it perfectly (These devices are already used in space).

This would do away with the need to use any high specification zips.

After use, the material could be simply cut off, fed back into a shredder, melted and reused.

#2791: InRiders

Many adventure travellers like to take motorcycles with a backup truck. Even 4 wheel drive trucks get stuck in sand or mud. Today’s invention aims to help out.

These vehicles tend to have V-shaped restraints into which the front wheel of each bike can be rolled and secured.

The back of the truck would have hatches in the floor, so that the rear wheels of say two bikes in parallel could hang down and make contact with the ground (however uneven). The front wheels would remain securely fixed in their restraints.

Someone riding in the back could fire up both bikes and operate their throttles when the truck was in need of some extra traction, turning it briefly into a six wheeled vehicle.

#2790: Cannistir

I’ve had enough of buying paint which has been allowed to settle out and denature whilst standing on the shelf in a shop.

Today’s invention is a can that keeps paint or other (fluid) stirred.

The lid has a blade (or blades) attached with holes in it which will vary in size depending on paint consistency.

The can is stored on its side on a slightly sloping shelf.

Every time someone buys a can, the higher up ones roll down the slope and stir themselves a little.

For storage in a warehouse, the bottommost can can be moved to the top location on a known frequency so that a precise record of how stirred the paint is can be maintained.

#2789: WasPitot

In some places, wasps are making nests in the pitot tubes of aircraft.

Not knowing one’s airspeed is a dangerous condition to be in, so today’s invention offers a solution.

Normally an aircaft pitot tube measures airspeed indirectly by the movement of a small diaphragm (red). In order to periodically clean out any nascent wasps’ nests, a small bottle of compressed air (orange) would be connected to the pitot tube using 2 electronically controlled valves.

The blue one closes to protect the diaphragm and then the pink one opens to allow air from the tank to flush the tube.

Any residual blockages would be indicated by an increase in pressure at this valve.

#2788: HybridHourglass

It seems that traditional watchmakers who sell mechanical items at £20k+ are now being forced to create more decorative, Instagrammable watch faces.

These are increasingly equipped with a colourful face.

Today’s invention is to offer buyers of these expensive products a bit more for their money.

As well as a hand-built Swiss watch mechanism, they would get an electronic face, in the form of a high resolution screen.

This could be made by the owner to have any colour (including eg radial gradation) and even to display extra gauges/dials/graphics/electronic functions etc from a manufacturer-designed palette.