TEDSalon London 2010
Thomas Thwaites: How I built a toaster -- from scratch
Thomas Thwaites: Kako sam napravio toster -- ispočetka
Filmed:
Readability: 4.1
1,456,254 views
Potrebna je cijela civilizacija kako bismo napravili toster. Dizajner Thomas Twaiters to je otkrio na teži način pokušavajući izgraditi jedan ispočetka: kopajući rudnike za željezo, praveći plastiku od nafte ... Iskreno, čudesno je kako je uspio doći daleko koliko je došao. Alegorija je to našeg međusobno povezanog društva, slična za dizajnere i potrošače.
Thomas Thwaites - Designer
Thomas Thwaites is a designer "of a more speculative sort," he says. Full bio
Thomas Thwaites is a designer "of a more speculative sort," he says. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
If we look around us,
0
0
3000
Ako pogledamo oko sebe,
00:18
much of what surrounds us
1
3000
2000
puno toga što nas okružuje
00:20
started life as various rocks and sludge
2
5000
3000
započelo je kao različito kamenje i blato
00:23
buried in the ground in various places in the world.
3
8000
3000
zakopano u zemlji na različitim mjestima na svijetu.
00:27
But, of course, they don't look like rocks and sludge now.
4
12000
2000
Ali, naravno, sada ne izgledaju kao kamenje i blato;
00:29
They look like TV cameras, monitors,
5
14000
3000
sada izgledaju kao TV kamere, monitori,
00:32
annoying radio mics.
6
17000
2000
dosadne radio kompilacije.
00:34
And so this magical transformation
7
19000
2000
Tako sam ja tu čarobnu transformaciju
00:36
is what I was trying to get at with my project,
8
21000
3000
pokušao postići svojim projektom
00:39
which became known as the Toaster Project.
9
24000
2000
koji je postao poznat kao Toster Projekt.
00:41
And it was also inspired by this quote
10
26000
2000
Također, bio je inspiriran i ovim citatom
00:43
from Douglas Adams,
11
28000
2000
Douglasa Adamsa.
00:45
and the situation is from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
12
30000
3000
Radnja je iz “Vodiča kroz galaksiju za autostopere“.
00:48
And the situation it describes
13
33000
2000
Situacija koju opisuje
00:50
is the hero of the book -- he's a 20th-century man --
14
35000
3000
jest heroj knjige – on je čovjek dvadesetog stoljeća –
00:53
finds himself alone on a strange planet
15
38000
3000
nađe se na čudnom planetu
00:56
populated only by a technologically primitive people.
16
41000
3000
nastanjenom samo tehnološki primitivnim ljudima.
00:59
And he kind of assumes that, yes,
17
44000
2000
I nekako pretpostavlja
01:01
he'll become -- these villagers --
18
46000
2000
da će postati -- tim seljanima –
01:03
he'll become their emperor
19
48000
2000
da će postati njihovim vladarom
01:05
and transform their society
20
50000
2000
i promijeniti njihovo društvo
01:07
with his wonderful command of technology
21
52000
2000
svojim čudesnim vladanjem tehnologijom
01:09
and science and the elements,
22
54000
2000
i znanosti i elementima,
01:11
but, of course, realizes
23
56000
2000
ali, naravno, shvaća
01:13
that without the rest of human society,
24
58000
2000
kako bez ostatka čovječanstva
01:15
he can barely make a sandwich,
25
60000
3000
jedva može napraviti sendvič,
01:18
let alone a toaster.
26
63000
2000
a kamoli toster.
01:20
But he didn't have Wikipedia.
27
65000
2000
Ali, on nije imao Wikipediju.
01:22
So I thought, okay,
28
67000
2000
Tako sam pomislio, dobro,
01:24
I'll try and make an electric toaster from scratch.
29
69000
2000
pokušat ću napraviti električni toster ispočetka.
01:26
And, working on the idea
30
71000
2000
I tako, radeći na ideji
01:28
that the cheapest electric toaster
31
73000
2000
da je najjeftiniji toster
01:30
would also be the simplest to reverse-engineer,
32
75000
2000
jednostavno i najjednostavniji za unatrag izgraditi,
01:32
I went and bought the cheapest toaster I could find,
33
77000
3000
otišao sam i kupio najjeftiniji toster koji sam mogao naći,
01:35
took it home
34
80000
2000
odnio ga kući
01:37
and was kind of dismayed to discover
35
82000
2000
i bio na neki način razočaran otkrivši
01:39
that, inside this object,
36
84000
2000
da unutar tog predmeta,
01:41
which I'd bought for just 3.49 pounds,
37
86000
3000
koji sam kupio za samo tri funte i devedeset četiri centa,
01:44
there were 400 different bits
38
89000
3000
ima 400 različitih dijelova
01:47
made out of a hundred-plus different materials.
39
92000
4000
napravljenih od više od sto različitih materijala.
01:51
I didn't have the rest of my life to do this project.
40
96000
3000
Nisam imao ostatak života da završim ovaj projekt;
01:54
I had maybe nine months.
41
99000
2000
imao sam možda devet mjeseci.
01:56
So I thought, okay, I'll start with five.
42
101000
2000
I tako sam pomislio, dobro, počet ću s pet.
01:58
And these were steel, mica,
43
103000
2000
To su bili čelik, tinjac,
02:00
plastic, copper and nickel.
44
105000
3000
plastika, bakar i nikal.
02:03
So, starting with steel: how do you make steel?
45
108000
3000
Tako sam počeo s čelikom: kako se pravi čelik?
02:06
I went and knocked on the door
46
111000
2000
Otišao sam i pokucao na vrata
02:08
of the Rio Tinto Chair
47
113000
2000
Rio Tinto Chair
02:10
of Advanced Mineral Extraction at the Royal School of Mines
48
115000
3000
of Advanced Mineral Extraction na Royal School of Mines
02:13
and said, "How do you make steel?"
49
118000
2000
i pitao kako se pravi željezo?
02:15
And Professor Cilliers was very kind
50
120000
2000
Profesor Cilliers bio je jako ljubazan
02:17
and talked me through it.
51
122000
2000
i sve mi detaljno objasnio.
02:19
And my vague rememberings from GCSE science --
52
124000
3000
Moje slabo sjećanje znanosti iz srednje škole –
02:22
well, steel comes from iron,
53
127000
2000
čelik se tvori od željeza.
02:24
so I phoned up an iron mine.
54
129000
3000
I tako sam nazvao rudnik željeza.
02:27
And said, "Hi, I'm trying to make a toaster.
55
132000
2000
Rekao sam: „Bok, pokušavam napraviti toster.
02:29
Can I come up and get some iron?"
56
134000
3000
Mogu li doći i uzeti nešto željeza?“
02:33
Unfortunately, when I got there -- emerges Ray.
57
138000
3000
Nažalost, kada sam došao tamo – pojavio se Ray.
02:36
He had misheard me
58
141000
2000
Krivo me je čuo
02:38
and thought I was coming up because I was trying to make a poster,
59
143000
3000
i pomislio je da pokušavam napraviti plakat
02:41
and so wasn't prepared to take me into the mines.
60
146000
3000
te nije bio spreman odvesti me u rudnike.
02:44
But after some nagging, I got him to do that.
61
149000
2000
Ali, nakon nešto nagovaranja, uspio sam ga nagovoriti.
02:46
(Video) Ray: It was Crease Limestone,
62
151000
3000
(Video) Ray: To je vapnenac.
02:50
and that was produced
63
155000
2000
Stvoren je od
02:52
by sea creatures
64
157000
3000
morskih bića
02:55
350 million years ago
65
160000
3000
prije 350 milijuna godina
02:58
in a nice, warm,
66
163000
2000
u lijepoj, toploj,
03:00
sunny atmosphere.
67
165000
2000
sunčanoj klimi.
03:02
When you study geology,
68
167000
2000
Kada učiš geologiju,
03:04
you can see what's happened in the past,
69
169000
3000
možeš vidjeti što se dogodilo u prošlosti.
03:07
and there were terrific changes in the earth.
70
172000
3000
A dogodile su se ogromne promjene.
03:16
Thomas Thwaites: As you can see, they had the Christmas decorations up.
71
181000
3000
Thomas Thwaites: Kako možete vidjeti, sve je bilo ukrašeno božićnim ukrasima.
03:20
And of course, it wasn't actually a working mine anymore,
72
185000
3000
I, naravno, to više nije bio aktivni rudnik,
03:23
because, though Ray was a miner there,
73
188000
3000
zato što je, iako je Ray bio rudar,
03:26
the mine had closed
74
191000
2000
rudnik bio zatvoren
03:28
and had been reopened as a kind of tourist attraction,
75
193000
3000
i ponovno otvoren kao vrsta turističke atrakcije
03:31
because, of course, it can't compete
76
196000
2000
zbog toga, naravno, što se nije mogao natjecati
03:33
on the scale of operations which are happening
77
198000
3000
s brojem radova
03:36
in South America, Australia, wherever.
78
201000
3000
u Južnoj Americi, Australiji, gdjegod.
03:39
But anyway, I got my suitcase of iron ore
79
204000
3000
Ali, svejedno, dobio sam svoj kovčeg željeza
03:42
and dragged it back to London on the train,
80
207000
2000
i odnio ga natrag u London vlakom
03:44
and then was faced with the problem:
81
209000
2000
i tada bio suočen s problemom:
03:46
Okay, how do you make this rock
82
211000
2000
Dobro, kako napraviti
03:48
into components for a toaster?
83
213000
2000
dijelove tostera od ovog kamena?
03:50
So I went back to Professor Cilliers,
84
215000
2000
Tako sam se vratio nazad profesoru Cilliersu
03:52
and he said, "Go to the library."
85
217000
2000
koji je rekao: „Idi u knjižnicu.“
03:54
So I did
86
219000
2000
Tako sam otišao
03:56
and was looking through the undergraduate textbooks on metallurgy --
87
221000
3000
i prolazio kroz udžbenike za preddiplomski studij metalurgije –
03:59
completely useless for what I was trying to do.
88
224000
3000
potpuno beskorisno za ono što sam pokušavao napraviti.
04:02
Because, of course, they don't actually tell you how to do it
89
227000
3000
Zbog toga, naravno, što ti ne kažu zapravo kako napraviti nešto
04:05
if you want to do it yourself and you don't have a smelting plant.
90
230000
3000
ako želiš to napraviti sam, a nemaš peć za topljenje rude.
04:08
So I ended up going to the History of Science Library
91
233000
2000
Tako sam završio u knjižnici povijesti znanosti
04:10
and looking at this book.
92
235000
2000
i gledao jednu knjigu.
04:12
This is the first textbook on metallurgy
93
237000
2000
To je prvi napisani udžbenik metalurgije,
04:14
written in the West, at least.
94
239000
2000
na Zapadu barem.
04:16
And there you can see that woodcut
95
241000
2000
Tamo se može vidjeti da je zapravo ono
04:18
is basically what I ended up doing.
96
243000
2000
što sam napravio bio drvorez.
04:20
But instead of a bellows, I had a leaf blower.
97
245000
3000
Ali, umjesto mijeha, imao sam puhač lišća.
04:23
(Laughter)
98
248000
2000
(Smijeh)
04:25
And that was something that reoccurred throughout the project,
99
250000
3000
I to je nešto što se iznova događalo cijelo vrijeme projekta,
04:28
was, the smaller the scale you want to work on,
100
253000
2000
što niže na ljestvici je ono na čemu želiš raditi,
04:30
the further back in time you have to go.
101
255000
3000
to dalje u vremenu moraš ići.
04:33
And so this is after
102
258000
2000
I to je ono što se dogodilo nakon
04:35
a day and about half a night
103
260000
2000
dan i pol
04:37
smelting this iron.
104
262000
2000
topljenja željeza.
04:39
I dragged out this stuff,
105
264000
2000
Dobio sam tu tvar,
04:41
and it wasn't iron.
106
266000
2000
ali nije bila željezo.
04:43
But luckily,
107
268000
2000
Srećom,
04:45
I found a patent online
108
270000
2000
našao sam patent na internetu
04:47
for industrial furnaces that use microwaves,
109
272000
3000
za tvorničke peći koji koristi mikrovalnu.
04:50
and at 30 minutes at full power,
110
275000
2000
Trideset minuta na najvišoj temperaturi,
04:52
and I was able to finish off the process.
111
277000
3000
i uspio sam završiti proces.
04:57
So, my next --
112
282000
2000
Tako, moja sljedeća –
04:59
(Applause)
113
284000
2000
(Pljesak)
05:03
The next thing I was trying to get was copper.
114
288000
3000
Sljedeća stvar koju sam pokušao nabaviti bila je bakar.
05:06
Again, this mine
115
291000
3000
Ponovno, rudnik je
05:09
was once the largest copper mine in the world.
116
294000
2000
nekad bio najveći rudnik bakra u svijetu.
05:11
It's not anymore,
117
296000
2000
Više nije,
05:13
but I found a retired geology professor
118
298000
2000
ali pronašao sam umirovljenog profesora geologije
05:15
to take me down,
119
300000
2000
koji me je odveo u njega.
05:17
and he said, "Okay, I'll let you have some water from the mine."
120
302000
3000
Rekao je: „Dobro, dat ću ti nešto vode iz mog rudnika.“
05:20
And the reason I was interested in getting water
121
305000
3000
Razlog zbog kojega sam bio zainteresiran za nabavljanje vode jest,
05:23
is because water which goes through mines
122
308000
2000
jer voda koja protječe rudnikom
05:25
becomes kind of acidic
123
310000
2000
postaje na neki način kisela
05:27
and will start picking up,
124
312000
2000
i počne se nakupljati,
05:29
dissolving the minerals from the mine.
125
314000
2000
rastapajući minerale iz rudnika.
05:31
And a good example of this is the Rio Tinto,
126
316000
3000
Dobar primjer toga je Rio Tinto
05:34
which is in Portugal.
127
319000
2000
koji je u Portugalu.
05:36
As you can see, it's got lots and lots of minerals dissolved in it.
128
321000
3000
Kako možete vidjeti, ima veoma puno minerala rastopljenih u njoj.
05:39
So many such
129
324000
2000
Toliko puno
05:41
that it's now just a home for bacteria
130
326000
3000
da je sada dom za bakterije
05:44
who really like acidic, toxic conditions.
131
329000
3000
koje jako vole kisele otrovne uvjete.
05:47
But anyway, the water I dragged back
132
332000
2000
Ali svejedno, voda koju sam donio natrag
05:49
from the Isle of Anglesey where the mine was --
133
334000
2000
iz otočja Anglesey - gdje je rudnik bio –
05:51
there was enough copper in it
134
336000
2000
imala je dovoljno bakra u sebi
05:53
such that I could cast the pins
135
338000
2000
da sam njime mogao omotati igle
05:55
of my metal electric plug.
136
340000
2000
svoje metalne električne utičnice.
05:57
So my next thing: I was off to Scotland
137
342000
3000
Moja sljedeća stvar: uputio sam se u Škotsku
06:00
to get mica.
138
345000
3000
kako bih nabavio tinjac.
06:03
And mica is a mineral
139
348000
3000
Tinjac je mineral
06:06
which is a very good insulator
140
351000
3000
koji je jako dobar izolator
06:09
and very good at insulating electricity.
141
354000
3000
i veoma dobar u izolaciji struje.
06:12
That's me getting mica.
142
357000
2000
To sam ja kako nabavljam tinjac.
06:15
And the last material I'm going to talk about today is plastic,
143
360000
3000
I zadnja tvar o kojoj ću govoriti danas jest plastika.
06:18
and, of course,
144
363000
2000
Naravno,
06:20
my toaster had to have a plastic case.
145
365000
2000
moj toster je morao imati plastično postolje.
06:22
Plastic is the defining feature
146
367000
2000
Plastika je definirajući dio
06:24
of cheap electrical goods.
147
369000
2000
jeftinih električnih dobara.
06:26
And so plastic comes from oil, so I phoned up BP
148
371000
3000
Plastika se dobiva od nafte, i tako sam nazvao BP
06:29
and spent a good half an hour
149
374000
2000
i proveo dobrih pola sata
06:31
trying to convince the PR office at BP
150
376000
2000
uvjeravajući djelatnika javnih odnosa BP-a
06:33
that it would be fantastic for them
151
378000
2000
da bi bilo odlično za njih
06:35
if they flew me to an oil rig
152
380000
2000
kada bi mi platili let do platforme za iskopavanje nafte
06:37
and let me have a jug of oil.
153
382000
2000
i dopustili mi uzeti lončić nafte.
06:39
BP obviously has a bit more on their mind now.
154
384000
3000
BP je očito imao malo više nafte na pameti.
06:43
But even then
155
388000
2000
Ali, čak i tada
06:45
they weren't convinced
156
390000
2000
nisu bili uvjereni
06:47
and said, "Okay, we'll phone you back" -- never did.
157
392000
3000
i rekli su: „Dobro, nazvat ćemo vas“, nikad nisu.
06:50
So I looked at other ways of making plastic.
158
395000
3000
Tako sam potražio druge načine dobivanja plastike.
06:53
And you can actually make plastic
159
398000
2000
Možete očito napraviti plastiku
06:55
from obviously oils which come from plants, but also from starches.
160
400000
3000
iz ulja koja dolaze od biljaka, ali i iz škroba.
06:58
So this is attempting to make
161
403000
2000
Ovo je pokušaj pravljenja
07:00
potato starch plastic.
162
405000
2000
plastike od škroba iz krumpira.
07:02
And for a while that was looking really good.
163
407000
2000
Neko vrijeme se to činilo vrlo dobro.
07:04
I poured it into the mold, which you can see there,
164
409000
2000
Ulio sam ga u kalup, koji možete vidjeti tamo,
07:06
which I've made from a tree trunk.
165
411000
2000
koji sam napravio od debla.
07:08
And it was looking good for a while,
166
413000
2000
Izgledalo je dobro neko vrijeme,
07:10
but I left it outside, because you had to leave it outside to dry,
167
415000
3000
ali sam ga ostavio vani jer ga morate ostaviti vani da se osuši
07:13
and unfortunately I came back
168
418000
2000
i, nažalost, kada sam se vratio,
07:15
and there were snails eating the unhydrolyzed bits of potato.
169
420000
3000
puževi su jeli nehidrolizirane komadiće krumpira.
07:19
So kind of out of desperation,
170
424000
3000
Tako sam iz očaja
07:22
I decided that I could think laterally.
171
427000
3000
odlučio da ću razmišljati sa strane.
07:25
And geologists have actually christened --
172
430000
2000
I geolozi su ustvari krstili –
07:27
well, they're debating whether to christen --
173
432000
2000
zapravo raspravljaju hoće li krstiti –
07:29
the age that we're living in --
174
434000
2000
razdoblje u kojem živimo –
07:31
they're debating whether to make it a new geological epoch
175
436000
3000
raspravljaju hoće li ga prozvati novom geološkom epohom
07:34
called the Anthropocene, the age of Man.
176
439000
3000
nazvanom antropocen, razdoblje čovjeka.
07:37
And that's because geologists of the future
177
442000
2000
Zbog toga što bi geolozi budućnosti
07:39
would kind of see a sharp shift
178
444000
2000
mogli vidjeli naglu promjenu
07:41
in the strata of rock that is being laid down now.
179
446000
2000
u slojevima stijena koja se događa sada.
07:43
So suddenly, it will become kind of radioactive from Chernobyl
180
448000
3000
Odjednom bi postala radioaktivna kao iz Černobila
07:46
and the 2,000 or so nuclear bombs
181
451000
2000
i oko 2.000 nuklearnih bombi
07:48
that have been set off since 1945.
182
453000
3000
koje su aktivirane od 1945.
07:52
And there'd also be an extinction event --
183
457000
3000
Također bi se dogodilo i istrebljenje –
07:55
like fossils would suddenly disappear.
184
460000
3000
fosili bi iznenadno nestali.
07:58
And also, I thought
185
463000
2000
I, također, pomislio sam
08:00
that there would be
186
465000
2000
da bi
08:02
synthetic polymers,
187
467000
2000
sintetički polimeri,
08:04
plastics, embedded in the rock.
188
469000
2000
plastika, bili ugrađeni u stijene.
08:06
So I looked up a plastic --
189
471000
2000
Potražio sam plastiku –
08:08
so I decided that I could mine
190
473000
2000
odlučio sam da bih mogao iskopati
08:10
some of this modern-day rock.
191
475000
2000
nešto ovog današnjeg kamena.
08:12
And I went up to Manchester
192
477000
2000
Otišao sam u Manchester
08:14
to visit a place called Axion Recycling.
193
479000
3000
posjetiti mjesto zvano Axion recikliranje.
08:17
And they're at the sharp end of what's called the WEEE,
194
482000
3000
Oni su dio nečega što se zove WEEE,
08:20
which is this European electrical and electronic waste directive.
195
485000
4000
direktiva o električnom i elektronskom otpadu.
08:25
And that was brought into force
196
490000
2000
Pokrenuti su kako bi
08:27
to try and deal with the mountain of stuff
197
492000
3000
pokušali i nosili se s hrpom stvari
08:30
that is just being made
198
495000
3000
koja je upravo proizvedena
08:33
and then living for a while in our homes
199
498000
2000
i živi neko vrijeme u našim domovima
08:35
and then going to landfill.
200
500000
2000
i onda ide na smetlište.
08:37
But this is it.
201
502000
2000
Ali to je to.
08:46
(Music)
202
511000
5000
(Glazba)
09:47
(Laughter)
203
572000
2000
(Smijeh)
09:49
So there's a picture
204
574000
2000
Evo slika
09:51
of my toaster.
205
576000
2000
mog tostera.
09:53
(Applause)
206
578000
4000
(Pljesak)
09:57
That's it without the case on.
207
582000
3000
To je to bez presvlaka.
10:00
And there it is on the shelves.
208
585000
3000
Evo ga na policama.
10:03
Thanks.
209
588000
2000
Hvala.
10:05
(Applause)
210
590000
4000
(Pljesak)
10:09
Bruno Giussani: I'm told you did plug it in once.
211
594000
2000
Bruno Giussani: Rečeno mi je da si ga i uključio jednom.
10:11
TT: Yeah, I did plug it in.
212
596000
2000
TT: Da, uključio sam ga.
10:13
I don't know if you could see,
213
598000
2000
Ne znam možete li vidjeti,
10:15
but I was never able to make insulation for the wires.
214
600000
3000
ali nikad nisam uspio napravio izolaciju za žice.
10:18
Kew Gardens were insistent
215
603000
2000
Djelatnici Kew Gardens - a bili su uporni
10:20
that I couldn't come and hack into their rubber tree.
216
605000
3000
da ne mogu doći i koristiti se njihovim plastičnim drvetom.
10:23
So the wires were uninsulated.
217
608000
2000
Pa su žice bez izolacije.
10:25
So there was 240 volts
218
610000
2000
Tako je 240 V
10:27
going through these homemade copper wires,
219
612000
2000
protjecalo ovim domaće izrađenim bakrenim žicama,
10:29
homemade plug.
220
614000
2000
domaće izrade uključenima.
10:31
And for about five seconds,
221
616000
2000
I za tih oko pet sekundi,
10:33
the toaster toasted,
222
618000
2000
toster je radio,
10:35
but then, unfortunately,
223
620000
2000
ali tada, nažalost,
10:37
the element kind of melted itself.
224
622000
3000
dio se na neki način otopio sam od sebe.
10:40
But I considered it a partial success, to be honest.
225
625000
3000
Ali smatrao sam to djelomičnim uspjehom - da budem iskren.
10:43
BG: Thomas Thwaites. TT: Thanks.
226
628000
3000
BG: Thomas Thwaites. (TT: Hvala.)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Thomas Thwaites - DesignerThomas Thwaites is a designer "of a more speculative sort," he says.
Why you should listen
Thomas Thwaites calls himself "a designer (of a more speculative sort)." His thoughtful projects look deeply at the science behind technology, as in the Toaster Project, which sent spiralling him into the history and techniques of metallurgy and plastics production, and Policing Genes, a thought experiment around amateur genetics. We will not mention Honeytrap, an attempt to explore modern criminality through a bicycle theft gone horribly wrong. He's currently working on a project investigating counterfactual histories in science, supported by the Wellcome Trust.
Thomas Thwaites | Speaker | TED.com