Eastman Kodak in Camera
The Invention: Eastman Kodak in Cameras
Although cameras have been in use since the 17th century, the Kodak came about in 1888, invented by George Eastman. Kodak is a dry, transparent, and flexible, photographic film or rolled photography film made of celluloid. It was the first rolled-film for camera used in Kodak cameras that we know, and most likely, have used a lot prior the proliferation of the latest digital cameras.
Eastman’s roll-film was made by the Eastman Dry Plate Company in Rochester, New York, USA. The Kodak became the most popular camera that time. Eastman invented the famous phrase, “You press the button, we do the rest.” What this meant was: all that owners of Kodak camera had to do was shoot all the negatives and mail the camera back to Eastman factories, and technicians were ever ready to develop the pictures. At the height of Kodak’s popularity, practically everyone tried to afford one.
The foundations of modern photography was made with Kodak – until in 1947 – when Edwin Land invented the ‘instant’ Polaroid camera, that releases the picture immediately. Since then, advances in technology have been enormous, along with competition in the business playing field. In January, this year (2012), Kodak filed for bankruptcy.
The Inventor: George Eastman (1854-1932)
George Eastman (born July 12, 1854, Waterville, New York – died March 14, 1932, Rochester, New York), was an American photographic inventor and manufacturer of roll film photograph. It is famously known today as Kodak camera.
Among his inventions, Eastman introduced the following:
- machine-coated plates (1879)
- paper roll film (1884)
- celluloid roll film
- camera (Kodak, 1888)
- daylight-loading film (1891).
For all the above innovations, Eastman founded the basic materials for still and motion picture photography. In 1892, George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company.
According to the article “Kodak had Secret Nuclear Reactor” by James Manning (Melbourne’s The Age newspaper), it has been revealed that Kodak, the ailing imaging company who recently declared bankruptcy in January this year 2012, had a secret nuclear reactor hidden in a US research facility for more than 30 years.
The reactor, which contained 1.5kg of enriched “weapons-grade” uranium, was a Californium Flux Multiplier (CFX) acquired by the company in 1974 and only decommissioned in 2006.But Kodak claims that the device was fully licensed and perfectly safe.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/kodak-had-secret-nuclear-reactor
Resources:
- Kodak Company – www.kodak.com
- “Eastman Kodak Files for Bankruptcy“, January 19, 2012, New York Times
- Philbin, Tom. The 100 Greatest Inventions of All Time. NY: Citadel Press, 2003,
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Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman (1918-1988), American Physicist
Richard Phillips Feynman
Photo Source: Wikipedia.Org
Richard Phillips Feynman (May 11, 1918, Queens, New York – February 15, 1988, Los Angeles, California), was an American physicist famous for his work in quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED), the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, and particle physics. In his lifetime, he was considered one of the world’s best-known scientists.
Jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Feynman received the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, for contributions to QED. He developed a pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions governing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. Feynman was ranked as one of the 10 greatest physicists of all time in a 1999 poll of 130 leading physicists by the British Journal Physics.
Feynman the Theoretical Physicist
He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb and was a member of the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In addition to his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing, and introducing the concept of nanotechnology. He held the Richard Chace Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.
Feynman Lectures and Books
Feynman also famous for his lectures and books, notably his 1959 lecture on top-down nanotechnology, There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom and the 3-volume publication of his undergraduate lectures, The Feynman Lectures on Physics. He also wrote semi-autobiographical books: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?.
Scientific Endeavours other than Physics-related
Feynman was also interested in biology, and was a friend of geneticist and microbiologist Esther Lederberg, who discovered bacteriophage lambda and developed replica plating.
Richard Feynman is recognized as one of the greatest communicators of scientific ideas to have lived, as exhibited in his discoveries, invention of Feynman diagrams, books and series of lectures that recognized the importance of nanotechnology, and alerting the world about it.
Related article: Richard Feynman
Resources:
- Defining Moments in Science. London: Cassell Book, 2008
- Richard Feynman Bio, www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-bio.html. Accessed May 11, 2012.
- Richard Phillips Feynman, www.history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/mathematicians/feynman.html. Accessed May 11, 2012.
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Land Polaroid Camera
Edwin Land – Inventor of Photography Polaroid
Edwin Herbert Land (born May 7, 1909, Bridgeport, Connecticut – March 1, 1991, Cambridge, Massachusetts ) was an American scientist and inventor, best known for his development of Polaroid camera. He was the co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation. Among other things, his major invention is the inexpensive filters for polarizing light, a practical system of in-camera instant photography.
Land Photography Polaroid
Edwin Land was educated at Harvard but left before graduating to develop the polarizing filter, a new invention at that time. In effect, another extremely famous Harvard dropout in recent years followed his footsteps in this respect. I’m referring to Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. In 1937, Land founded the Polaroid Company to take advantage of his discovery.
During World War II, he was in charge of research into the development of weapons. His instant camera was first demonstrated in 1947. This made possible for a picture to be taken an developed in 60 seconds or even less. The following year, the Polaroid Land Camera was open to the public. He was chairman of the Polaroid Company from 1937 until 1980, his retirement year.
Instant Camera Pic300
Other Inventions and Discoveries of Land
Through the years, Land also pursued interest in the mechanism of colour vision, in particular, his retinex theory (retina-and cortex) that the nature of the perceived image is not determined solely by the flux of radiant energy that reaches the eye.
Resources:
- The Story of Polaroid Inventor Edwin Land – One of Steve Job’s Biggest Heroes. Accessed May 7, 2012.
- Oxford Who’s Who in the 20th Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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Christiaan Huygens – Light Theory Discovery and Pendulum Invention
Christiaan Huygens
Dutch astronomer and physicist Christiaan Huygens worked on the wave theory of light and invented pendulum clock, among other inventions and discoveries.
Christiaan Huygens, Royal Society Fellow (FRS), (14 April 1629, The Hague, Netherlands – 8 July 1695, Neherlands) was a prominent Dutch mathematician, astronomer and physicist.
Christiaan Huygens Biography (Brief)
Christiaan Huygens was born in April 14, 1629 at The Hague, Netherlands, the second son of Constantijn Huygens, (1596–1687), a friend of mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, and of Suzanna van Baerle. Christiaan studied law and mathematics at the University of Leiden and the College of Orange in Breda. He worked as a diplomat, before changing a career in science. He published his mathematical Theoremata in 1561.
His early work included telescopic studies explaining the nature of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of the fourth satellite of Saturn, and its moon Titan. He investigated timekeeping and later invented the pendulum clock based on the suggestion of Galileo, developing the latter’s principle of accelerated motion under gravity.
Christiaan Huygens Light Theory, other Inventions and Discoveries
He achieved fame for his argument that light consists of waves, now known as the Huygens–Fresnel principle or sometimes referred to as “principle of Huygens,” which two centuries later became instrumental in the understanding of wave-particle duality.
He also received credit for his studies and discovery of both optics and the centrifugal force, the laws for collision of bodies, for his role in the development of modern calculus and his original observations on sound perception. Huygens is seen as the first theoretical physicist as he was the first to use formulae in physics.
In 1663, Huygens visited England where he was elected FRS, Fellow of the Royal Society. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences (1666-1681) and stayed for some years in Paris. However, he later returned to the land of his birth, The Hague. Christiaan Huygens was considered the greatest scientist of the second half of the 17th century, next to Isaac Newton.
Related articles:
- Christiaan Huygens, Suite101.com
- Christiaan Huygens Discovered Saturns Rings, Decoded Science
Resources:
- Chambers Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers (2002)
- The Great Scientist by John Farndon and Alex Woolf, Anne Rooney and Liz Gogerly, Capella (2005)
- Who Discovered What When by David Ellyard, New Holland (2005)
Photo Credit:
Astronomer Christiaan Huygens, Wiki Commons public domain
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