Television Essay Research Paper Introduction

Television Essay, Research Paper

Introduction

“The instrument can teach, it can illuminate, it can even inspire. But only if human beings are willing to use it to

those ends. Otherwise, it is just wires and lights in a box.” Edward R. Murrow, NBC studios in NEW York on

June 2, 1953.

You use it all the time. It’s a part of your every day life, but do you really have any idea who invented it?

Television is the center of the household. It will always be there. You cannot ignore it just as you cannot ignore a

plague. Not many ponder it’s power or how it works. This paper tells of the man who did. In fact he invented it. Philo

Taylor Farnsworth who was the American inventor of the television during the first half of the century from 1927-1956

had a significant impact on history because television dramatically changed politics and culture throughout the world.

What Edward R. Murrow meant was that television was a great thing if used correctly, if not it was useless.

Historical Background

Philo Taylor Farnsworth was born in Beaver, Utah on August 19,1906. He discovered the subject of

electricity, as a young boy. He became very fascinated with it. He later saw a science magazine that had a article in it

about a new idea which an author described as,”…pictures that fly through the air…” Young Philo became interested

and decided to look into it. At this time television had already been invented by some inventors such as Paul Nipkow

and John Logie Baird, but they had only created mechanical television with spinning disks or mirrors. Philo new that

you could not spin disks fast enough to create a moving picture. He only knew of one thing that could; the electron.

One day Philo was daydreaming while disk harrowing a potato field with a two horse team. Row by row by

row. Suddenly he got an idea that if he could put lines of dots row by row on the television to make a picture, he

would have something. This single idea started the whole thing. At fifteen years of age Philo created his first television

system design and showed the design to his chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman. Philo covered a couple of chalkboards

with diagrams. After the death of his father, Lewis Farnsworth, Philo quit school to take care of his family.

Philo applied for an office boy job. He was interviewed by George Everson who was impressed by his school

record and asked why he dropped out. Philo told him that he had to take care of his family and to work on his

invention. After Philo explained it to Mr. Everson, Mr. Everson thought it was a good idea and thought someone

should put some money in to it. Mr. Everson remembers this meeting well in his biography on Philo Farnsworth. Mr.

Everson and a San Francisco partner named Leslie Gorrel drew up a contract to help the young inventor since only a

working model could meet patent requirements. Philo Farnsworth also got twenty-five thousand dollars from the

famous San Francisco banker, W.W. Crocker.

Philo moved into half of a two family house in San Francisco with his family. The other family was the

Gardners. The Gardner’s oldest son, Cliff, became good friends with Philo. The prettiest of the six Gardner daughters

was named Elma, but everyone called her Pem. She was only a year younger than Philo who had started to call

himself Phil now because he thought it sounded more mature. On Pem’s birthday in 1926 Phil proposed to her, but

their youth and uncertainty of their lives made them postpone setting a wedding date. Later, in the spring of 1926, Phil

and Cliff opened their own store to repair radios.

Phil and Pem were married in 1926. On Phil’s wedding night Phil confessed to his 19-year-old bride:

Pemmie, I have to tell you there is another woman in my life and her name is television.

The way I see it, my work is going to be taking most of my time. The only way we will

have the time together I would like is for you to work with me. How about it? It will be

exciting. We’ll be working right on the leading edge of discovery. (Farnsworth, E.,

1990,p.22)

Phil’s lab, located at 202 Green Street, San Francisco, was full of tools. He even had to learn glass blowing

for his cathode-ray tube. In 1927 Phil made his first transmission (explained later). When he and his team were

transmitting another picture the camera man was smoking and some of the smoke appeared on the film when they

played it. Then they knew that you could have a moving image. The first moving image done on purpose was a burning

cigarette. The only problem with the “cigarette show” was that the smoker had to get so close to the transmitter

(because there were no zoom-in or zoom-out capabilities at that time) that he blistered his nose on the hot lights.

Phil always tried new images: still photographs, other pictures painted on glass, a hand holding a pair of pliers,

and finally a motion picture using an old projector and a sixteen minute movie of a hockey game. This was TV’s first

sports show. At this time Phil was only twenty. Even though Far

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