Space Oddities

Unless you know the theory of differential mobility separation off the top of your head (and what freshman chemistry student doesn’t?), you may have trouble making it through R&D Magazine’s list of the year’s top 100 innovations without a drooping jaw and a head scratch. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention. Despite the long names and complicated explanations, some might just change the world. This year NASA Glenn Research Center produced three of those ideas, including the Mini-Classifier. “NASA has an interest in atmospheric sciences, monitoring the Earth and making the Earth a safer place,” says NASA physicist Paul Greenberg, who worked on the project.

Formal name: Mini-Classifier

Translation: Portable air quality detector

What it does: It measures the size of hazardous air particles, some smaller than 4 millionths of an inch (about 250 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair). Of particular interest in the past 10 years, these tiny particles known to cause asthma and other respiratory problems don’t usually occur naturally. Instead they are created from pollution, large fires, diesel soot emissions and structural collapse like the fall of the World Trade Centers. The BlackBerry-sized Mini-Classifier hits tiny particles with an electric charge, which allows it to read their size and concentration then analyze the data and display it.

Why it’s interesting: Until now, scientists could only collect data and analyze it later in a lab. The Mini-Classifier provides real-time information about air quality. Developed this year to study fire safety in spacecrafts and aircrafts, the Mini-Classifier is already close to being licensed commercially, Greenberg says. There is demand among emergency personnel to determine whether safety gear is sufficient.

How it might impact you: People probably won’t go shopping for a Mini-Classifier like they do a carbon monoxide detector for their house, but “organizations will use it to [understand how to] make air better to breathe,” Greenberg says.

Popularity:
This record has been viewed 571 times.