• Question: How is any invention even made? Because if it hasn't ever been made before, how do people know what to do and where to put things?

    Asked by eleanorbeedles to Sarah, Paul, Mark, Lily, Laura on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Lily Asquith

      Lily Asquith answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      An invention starts as an idea.

      First you identify a problem, then you have to be able to think about what solutions might be available, and if none are, you have to come up with a new one.

      If you manage to create a solution where there was not one before, you have invented something.

    • Photo: Mark Roberts

      Mark Roberts answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Well firstly it’s a bit of luck and secondly most inventions are not new inventions but improvements of the previous design – so there is a bit of the past

      and finally quite a bit of inventing is trial and error in finding out what works

    • Photo: Sarah Bardsley

      Sarah Bardsley answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Inventors make discoveries by having ideas, understanding basic principals and by trial and error. Its all about trying and not being put off by failure!

    • Photo: Laura Maliszewski

      Laura Maliszewski answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Trial an error! Invention happens when someone has a new idea and is dedicated enough to make something new and work out all the unexpected kinks.

    • Photo: Paul Roche

      Paul Roche answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Inventors are very smart – some of them just come up with an amazing idea that no-one else has every had, but more often I think they change something or use it in a different way. Many inventions are the result of lots of lots of small changes over many years, and they rely on inventions and developments in other areas of science and technology – inventing a TV set would be no good without electricity!

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