It’s dangerous to make generalisations but inventors are often a funny
breed, finding themselves in all sorts of difficulties. Ernest Nagy, who
discovered that a simple polishing mop could be used to coat surfaces with
a thin film of diamond, now seems to be having more than his fair share.
The ability to make any surface virtually indestructible could herald
a new age for materials science and you would expect industrialists to
be beating a path to Nagy’s door. But life is not that simple. First, the
technique is still in its early stages and the scientists Nagy now works
with at Bristol University are not yet ready to publish. He cannot go faster
without more financial backing – but he can’t get backing without more data.
Secondly, Nagy has always said that the good fortune that dropped into
his lap should be available to as many people as possible. He has been happy
to license his technique to anyone. That, and his willingness to talk enthusiastically
about every nuance of the technique, hasn’t endeared him to industrialists.
Like other inventors, Nagy has always refused to yield the controlling
interest in the patent he owns. Though he claims to have remortgaged the
family home and to be in debt to friends and business associates, he does
not want someone else to decide how his invention is developed.
But Nagy has had a change of heart (see This Week). After a disagreement
with the university, he says he’s now prepared to sell to the highest bidder.
This is a sad ending. If inventors really do have to be unusual to
come up with exceptional ideas then it is a pity we have still not learnt
how to cope with their eccentricities.