September 24, 2009

Celebs and scientists’ dream gadgets

Leading figures from the worlds of entertainment, science and business reveal the whacky gizmos they wish existed

'If only' competition: Ben Miller — Comedian and physicist Ben Miller of Armstrong & Miller: 'If only you could have an intelligence dial in the middle of your forehead so you could control how brainy you wanted to be at a given time. You could turn it up for challenging intellectual situations or down for when you want to watch rubbish telly' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition — Radio and TV presenter John Humphrys: 'If only there was a gadget I could attach to the chair on which politicians sit when I interview them that would give me an instant evaluation of their answers: “totally honest”; “partly honest but mostly disingenuous”; “self-serving claptrap”; “downright lies.” But on reflection it would probably make my role redundant' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: Gary Lineker — BBC sports commentator and ex-England footballer Gary Lineker: 'If only I had a time machine so I could go back and play one extra game for England to become England’s all time highest ever scorer' Photograph: CREST

'What if' competition: Colin Blakemore — Professor Colin Blakemore, neurobiologist: 'If only we had an attractive solution to global warming and the energy crisis. What about synthetic wisteria, capable of performing artificial photosynthesis, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting sunlight to electricity, with its roots connected to the National Grid?' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: George McGavin — George McGavin of Oxford University Museum of Natural History and star of BBC's Lost Land of the Volcano: 'If only I had something that would allow me to see insects and spiders magnified without getting too close to them, like a pair of really close-focussing, zoom binocular glasses that could be worn as spectacles or on a headband' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition — TV presenter Michaela Strachan: 'If only someone would invent a non-polluting method of flying. Being someone who has to fly regularly for work I'm weighed down with the guilt of my carbon footprint. We're never going to reduce our flying as a species so we just have to find a way to make it less polluting. If only I knew how. Wind power, solar power? Who knows?' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: James Cracknell — James Cracknell, British double Olympic gold rower and adventurer: 'If only teleportation existed. If travel was instantaneous think how many more hours there'd be in a week to do the really fun things in life' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: Adam Rutherford — TV science presenter Dr Adam Rutherford: If only people could see that science is not to be feared, but embraced, encouraged and nurtured. One blast from my Perspective Relative Appreciation Time Distortion Cannon (or PRATDiC) and you'd instantly see how science and technology have taken us from bone tools to the stars Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: Jim Al-Khalili — Jim Al-Khalili, physicist and judge of the National Science and Engineering Competition: 'If only we physicists could truly understand what atoms do when no one is looking. Quantum theory tells us what to expect when we look at atoms but not what they get up to in secret' Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: Richard Dunwoody — Richard Dunwoody, champion jockey and BBC commentator: ‘If only there were ear muffs for horses that really block out the crowd sound but are tuned to let the jockey's voice come through loud and clear’ Photograph: CREST

'What if' competition: Rachel Riley — Rachel Riley, maths expert on the TV quiz Countdown: If only there was a way to create our own weather, to make rain clouds and halt typhoons. We could give Africa some rain and take some away from Manchester! We could make every Christmas a white one and every summer a long one, or turn Britain into Barbados! Photograph: CREST

'If only' competition: Chris Jefferies — Chris Jefferies, Young Technologist of the Year 2009: If only humans could interact with computers by thought rather than traditional, peripheral methods, then our thoughts could be captured, analysed and reproduced

If you're a budding scientist or engineer with a big idea, click here to enter the National Science and Engineering Competition Photograph: CREST

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