Similarly, the origins of the microwave oven (an offshoot of radar), the folding baby buggy (the brainchild of a test-pilot inspired by aircraft landing gear) and traffic lights (one of the first of which exploded outside the Houses of Parliament) are not widely known.

ECONOMIST: Encapsulating a century in gadgets

Probably not, though by the lights of 15th-century Europe he was not a particularly bad one, and if Sir Peter muddies what has been till now a fairly spotless reputation, he nevertheless presents a far more fascinating man in a superbly written and thought-provoking book.

ECONOMIST: Historical biography

Zegerman by first one and then a second squad car pulling up outside the building, their sun-muted siren lights twirling unnoticed by anyone but him.

NEWYORKER: The Valetudinarian

But the optical switch takes the flickers of lights flashing by and, with the use of its micro-mirrors, redirects them from one optical fibre to another.

ECONOMIST: Reinventing Marconi