The address is 202 Green Street, San Francisco, California. And while that address lacks the immediate recognition of, say, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave or No. 10 Downing Street, it is no less of an historic landmark. Because here, in 1927, the most ubiquitous appliance in human history made its first appearance on earth. We are talking […]
For the Birthplace of Video: A Not-So-Modest Proposal Read More »
As the industry ramps up for Sunday’s 2024 Emmy Awards telecast, have a look at the trophy’s namesake: The Image Orthicon tube. It is based on patent number 2,087,683 – which was awarded to Philo T. Farnsworth in 1937.* This is the camera tube that supplied most or the television signals in the late
“Emmy”…. Meet “Immy” Read More »
“To have the right idea is one thing. To have the right idea and make it work is everything.” – Roger Penrose ___________________ Having the right idea and making it work – that is what Philo T. Farnsworth did nearly 100 years ago. In the 1920s, while the great minds of science wrestled with 19th
The Centennial Is Coming: 9/7/2027 Read More »
Some of you know that for the past couple of months I have been ‘laser focused’ (I actually hate that expression, but it does seem to express the ADHD way I go at some things) on the presentation I delivered to The Cosmic Summit on Saturday June 15. I have to admit that being part
The Future Is Prologue: Cosmic Summit 2024 Read More »
Quantum Mechanics had a moment last summer, thanks to ‘Oppenheimer.’ But ‘Oppenheimer’ also reminded me of an important historical footnote that too often gets overlooked in our preoccupation with blowing things up and the prospect of human annihilation: that television, and video in general, also derives from the same scientific breakthroughs in the early 20th
The Quantum Origins Of Television Read More »
Have you seen Oppenheimer yet? As the world braced itself over recent weeks for the cultural shock wave of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, I have been preoccupied by one scene in the trailer. It’s the scene where Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) meets Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) at the edge of a pond on the grounds of the
Oppenheimer, Einstein – And Farnsworth Read More »
Visitors to this site who might want to follow an erudite discussion of the myriad issues around the theatrical release of Oppenheimer might want to hop on over to this discussion at fusor.net. Registration is required to add your 2¢.
…up on the jukebox*! A couple of weeks ago after I learned that the Mysterious Universe podcast had been talking about my new book, The Man Who Mastered Gravity. I contacted the host/producers of Mysterious Universe, and we spent more than two hours talking about the Townsend Brown biography and my earlier (recently re-released) bio
Hey Mister, That’s Me… Read More »
I just made some minor updates to the page I created back in 2013 for the occasion when Philo T. Farnsworth was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. I also wrote about that event in the new Afterword added to the 2023 edition of The Boy Who Invented Television: 2013 –
Revisiting “Philo In The Hall” Read More »
Television will be 100 years old in 2027, and preparations are now underway for what we’re calling… INTERNATIONAL PHILO T. FARNSWORTH DAY SEPTEMBER 7, 1927 – 2027 TO CELEBRATE THE FIRST 100 YEARS OF ELECTRONIC VIDEO! Every video screen on the planet – including the one you are looking at right now – can
100 Years of Television:
September 7, 2027 Read More »
