• Exciting news! With our new Ad-Free Premium Subscription you can enjoy a distraction-free browsing experience while supporting our site's growth. Without ads, you have less distractions and enjoy faster page load times. Upgrade is optional. Find out more here, and enjoy ad-free learning with us!

english expression

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hello,
can you tell me what 'commercial spin-off' means?
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
minayo said:
Hello,
can you tell me what 'commercial spin-off' means?

I would take that to mean a product that was developed for a private purpose that was subsequesntly found to have a commercial use.
 

Tdol

Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I'd give it a wider meaning and say that anything developed for or as part of one process which then had commercial value would be a 'spin-off'. All that matters is that it was not the originalintention. ;-)
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Many things originally developed by NASA have had commercial spin offs.

:)
 

Tdol

Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
That was exactly what I had in mind, but didn't want to name things like teflon, because I know some said to be from NASA are not. BTW have you heard about the NASA pen developed to operate in zero gravity at low temperatures etc? It cost millions to develop. The Soviets used a pencil. ;-)
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
tdol said:
That was exactly what I had in mind, but didn't want to name things like teflon, because I know some said to be from NASA are not. BTW have you heard about the NASA pen developed to operate in zero gravity at low temperatures etc? It cost millions to develop. The Soviets used a pencil. ;-)

I would have used a pencil. Maybe things are different tho if you have a problem to overcome and plenty of money to play with to help you do so.

  • Teflon = tetrafluoroethylene

:)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top