Danielle George, Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering, at the University of Manchester, claims that the under 40s expect everything to 'just work' and have no idea what to do when things go wrong.

 

Unlike previous generations who would 'make do and mend' now young people will just chuck out their faulty appliances and buy new ones.

 

But Prof George claims that many broken or outdated² gadgets could be fixed³ or repurposed with only a brief knowledge of engineering and electronics.

 

This year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are entitled 'Sparkswill fly: How to hack⁴ your home' she is hoping it will inspire people to think what else they can do with common household objects.

 

Ideas include using a magnifying glass and shoe box to turn a mobile phone into a rudimentary projector⁵; how to use tin foil to make too small batteries fit correctly and how to turn a bottle of water into a lamp.

 

Prof George said: "We've got a lost generation that has grown up with factory electronics that just work all of the time.

 

"All of these things in our home do seem to work most of the time and because they don't break we just get used to them. They have almost become like Black Boxes which never die. And when they do we throw them away and buy something new.

 

"But there is now a big maker⁶ community who are thinking hard about what we do with all of these gadgets. They are remaking and repurposing things.

 

"I talked to someone who had used some LEDs on his bike so that he could put up a message as he was cycling."

 

Hundreds of websites have emerged in the last few years where users post ideas about home hacks⁷ and electronics.

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