Introduction and some Ergonomics

Abstract

Design is not quite the same activity as inventing. New design elements can come from scientific discoveries, from patient experimentation, from chance observations relevant to a current need. Examples of each are the transistor, the electric light bulb, the Bessemer converter and the Mannesmann tube-piercing method. In the case of the electric light bulb the design concept came first, derived from logical use of scientific principles, followed by tests on likely filament materials to find which had the most suitable combination of properties.