Wikijunior:Famous Inventors/Inventors in Transportation/Clive Sinclair
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When, Where, and to whom was he or she born? edit
Clive Sinclair was born July 30, 1940.
He was born in Ealing, England.
What was his or her childhood like? edit
Did You Know?
- He was also behind the Sinclair personal computer.
- He invented the Micro Amplifier.
- He was knighted in 1983.
Sinclair's father and grandfather were engineers; both had been apprentices at the shipbuilders Vickers.
Why did this person become interested in science? edit
He went for holiday jobs at electronic companies.
Where did this person go to school? edit
Sinclair attended Boxgrove Preparatory School, excelling in mathematics. Sinclair had little interest in sports and found himself out of place at school.
What problem did he or she uncover that needed solving? edit
At Solartron he inquired about the possibility of electrically propelled personal vehicles.
What solutions had already been tried that did not solve the problem? Why wasn't it working? edit
Bicycles, mopeds and cars did not offer personal electric transport. Lithium battery technology was not sufficiently developed.
What did this person invent that solved the problem? edit
The Sinclair C5.
How did the invention solve the problem? edit
It was a fared recumbent tricycle or velomobile with a battery electric motor.
How has this inventor changed people and the world? edit
He was ahead of his time. The Sinclair C5 predated escooters by several decades.
What happened to this inventor in the end? edit
Whilst Sinclair had anticipated 100,000 C5's would be sold in the first year, only 14,000 units were produced and 4,500 sold before the C5 line was terminated
If you could ask this inventor one question, what would you ask? edit
Could the C5 have succeeded with lithium battery and appropriate infrastructure?
If you could bring this inventor to today and tell him or her one thing, what would you tell him or her about the effect of his or her invention? edit
Escooters became popular.