ABSTRACT
Inventors usually have to work with the materials that are available. By studying existing materials and their properties, they often think of new applications or uses for the materials that lead to new inventions. Scientists, engineers and inventors are looking into the future, thinking about what new adventures might be possible in the years to come. Many people feel that living and traveling in space is a definite possibility for the future. Sometimes the ideas for inventions come from thinking about the functions that the inventions would have to perform. Most inventions are attempts to simplify work or accomplish more work with the same (or less) input of energy. Many inventions are merely changes or improvements of existing items. The ideas for many inventions came from looking at nature. The idea for a cotton gin came from thinking about a cat’s claws.
