5 revolutionary inventions you didn’t know were Canadian
Canada is famous for a lot of things. The invention of the modern telephone transformed the way people communicate, and the creation of the Canadarm for the International Space Station has led to breakthroughs in space research. However, there are many contributions Canada has made to the fields of science and engineering that often go unseen.
Here are five revolutionary inventions you didn’t know were Canadian:
Electric wheelchair
The electric wheelchair was invented by Canadian engineer George Klein following World War 2 as a way to assist critically injured veterans. Known in its day as the Klein Chair, the design featured the joystick, tighter turning systems and separate wheel drives that are still features of electric wheelchairs today.
Once Klein’s prototype proved successful, an international effort was made to mass-produce the revolutionary design. Considered the Canadian Edison, Klein also invented the microsurgical staple gun and helped design the Canadarm.
Standard time
Believe it or not, a Canadian was responsible for the international time system in use today. In the past, communities used their own solar time, leading to issues of safety and coordination, especially once railways came into use. Pioneering Canadian construction engineer Sir Sanford Fleming advocated for a prime meridian at 0˚ longitude running through Greenwich, England with 24 time zones 15˚ longitude apart, each representing an hour.
In 1884, Fleming convinced all the nations of the world at a conference in Washington D.C. to adopt his system. Fleming was knighted for his influential work on standard time, as well as in map-making and railway design.
UV Index
You can thank three pioneering Canadian scientists for not getting burned. Thomas McElroy, James Kerr and David Wardle developed the ultraviolet (UV) index in 1992. The UV index is an international standard measurement of the strength of sunburn-producing radiation at a particular time and place.
The index is used around the world in daily forecasts aimed at the general public. Kerr and Wardle, now both retired, and McElroy, now a professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, all received an innovator’s award from the UN for their revolutionary work.
Pacemaker
The ingenuity of Canadian biomedical engineer John Hopps keeps millions of hearts beating around the world. While Hopps was observing an experimental heart surgery on a dog, he decided to try using an electrical probe to zap the sinoatrial node. These electrical zaps brought the dog’s heart back to a regular pulse. Hopps went on to build a boxy device resembling a small table radio, using vacuum tubes to generate pulses – the first pacemaker. In 1986 Hopps was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his life-saving invention.
Sonar
When the Titanic tragically crashed into an iceberg in 1912, it highlighted the need to protect ships from collisions. That same year, innovative Canadian engineer Reginald Fessenden built an experimental sonar system known as the Fessenden oscillator. During World War 1, renowned Canadian physicist Robert Boyle was recruited by the British to find a way to detect German submarines. Building on Fessenden’s work, Boyle developed the first working prototype of sonar to be installed on warships in 1917. He was elected to the Royal Society of Canada four years later.
