Six great South African inventions

South Africa has been at the forefront of many industries, including globally renowned inventions used worldwide.

For over 100 years, South Africa has punched above its weight in the global era regarding technology, medicine, and financial services.

Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world, behind Philadelphia, USA, to install electric streetlights.

On 2 September 1882, Kimberley switched on sixteen electric streetlights, with four based outside the City Hall.

South Africa also has many industrial success stories, including Sasol, which pioneered the world’s first commercial coal-based synthetic fuels manufacturing facility.

Sasol was established on 26 September 1950, and its original coal-to-liquids (CTL) complex at Sasolburg started producing synthetic fuels and chemicals in 1955.

Over the last 75 years, Sasol has developed into a globally renowned chemicals and energy company that produces products in 22 countries.

Besides its coal-to-liquids innovations, it is a world leader in gas-to-liquids and coal-to-liquids technologies.

South Africa has also achieved many firsts in the medical field and its medical professionals are considered world-class.

The South African-American physician and virologist Max Theiler, who developed the vaccine for yellow fever in 1937, was the first African-born Nobel-laureate.

In 1967, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first successful human-to-human heart transplant at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

The operation, which lasted approximately five hours, made headlines around the world and positioned South Africa as one of the world’s leaders in medicine.

In the 1070s, South Africa was part of an exclusive group of countries which had developed nuclear weapons, which included the United States, Russia, China, and Israel.

South Africa also became the first country to voluntarily dismantle all of its nuclear weapons and cancel its nuclear programme.

Koeberg in the Western Cape is the only nuclear power station in Africa, and has the largest turbine generators in the southern hemisphere.

The power station, which was completed in 1985, uses a pressurised water reactor (PWR) design and ranks among the safest of its kind.

Here is a look at five of the greatest inventions which came out of South Africa and which received global acclaim.

Prepaid mobile services using an intelligent network platform

In 1996, Vodacom became the first network to introduce prepaid mobile services using an intelligent network platform.

The operator also invented quiet cellular antenna technology, which reduces noisy emissions from cellular base stations.

Dr. Gordon Mayhew-Ridgers and Paul van Jaarsveld developed an antenna based on phased-array principles.

It provides omnidirectional coverage but also blocking the RF transmissions along a single direction. The antenna has been tested in the Karoo and performs extremely well.

CT scan, co-invented by Allan Cormack

Johannesburg-born Allan MacLeod Cormack developed the theoretical underpinnings of Computed Axial Tomography scans, commonly known as CT or CAT scans.

CT scans can show detailed images of any body part, which can be used to diagnose numerous health conditions and injuries.

While his primary work was in the field of particle physics, his side interest in X-ray technology led him to devise the theoretical underpinnings of CAT scans.

Cormack was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside Hounsfield for their work on X-ray computed tomography.

Radar-based speed gun

Somerset West local Henri Johnson introduced the world’s first radar-based speed gun in 1992. He initially built projects for the SA Navy using sonar technology.

He later developed radar technology to measure the speed and trajectory of projectiles in flight, which militaries would adopt in dozens of countries.

Johnson realised that the invention had an application in sports and founded an engineering company called Electronic Development House (EDH) in 1989 to commercialise the system.

The “Speed Gun” was launched in 1992 and could accurately measure the speed and angles of fast-moving objects like cricket or tennis balls.

He developed the SpeedBall specifically for measuring cricket ball speeds in flight. It was officially launched at the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

These technologies are widely used, and Johnson’s company is also an accredited supplier to Armscor and defence procurement agencies in several countries.

Dolosse to protect harbours

Anybody who has visited harbours around the world would have seen large concrete blocks with a complex geometric shape, used to protect hardbour walls.

These large concrete blocks, known as dolosse (plural) or a dolos (singular), were invented by South African Eric Mowbray Merrifield in 1963.

These concrete blocks are used around the world to protect harbour walls from the erosive force of ocean waves.

Kreepy Krauly to keep swimming pools clean

The Kreepy Krauly is an automated swimming pool cleaner that collects dirt from swimming pools and keeps them clean with minimal work.

South Africa’s Ferdinand Chauvier, a hydraulics engineer, is credited with inventing the Kreepy Krauly in 1974.

The first Kreepy Krauly was crafted from wood and rubber tubing, and it quickly gained popularity.

Pratley Putty

The world-famous Pratley Putty was invented by George Pratley, a South African engineer who developed innovative products for the mining sector.

Pratley invented his famous putty in the 1960s while looking for glue that would hold components in an electrical box.

It gained fame for its use on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and has since become a well-known household and industrial adhesive.

Pratley Putty has been used in various applications, including repairs to the Golden Gate Bridge and swimming pool leaks.