Batteries/cordless technology
- Published: 18 November 2008 09:47
- Last Updated: 18 November 2008 10:09
- Reader Responses
Nominated by Mark Whitby.
The battery has enabled mobile technology to take off.
Calculators, mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras – where would we be without the battery, enabling us to stay in touch, record events and do sums?
You wonder how we'd all operate without battery power. You'd have to have constant secretarial back-up, have to carry a phone book and a supply of 10ps and pop into call boxes.
How did people manage?
Mobile phones also give you the opportunity to snatch a few minutes out of a busy day to call the family. We're used to things happening at such speed now that we are reliant on battery technology to allow us to get in touch with that person, wherever he or she is in the world.
The battery is the unsung hero. On construction sites, there is also the revolution of cordless drills, electric screwdrivers and the like, which all make life that bit easier.
It's made life infinitely more efficient and less stressful because you can record events and send and receive information."
Mark Whitby is founding partner of engineering firm Ramboll Whitbybird and former president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
