Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Image sources:
http://www.tvhistory.tv/2000_Sept-Oct_TECH_REV-Pg97.JPG
http://www.public.asu.edu/~chrisdon/research/promo/PhiloTFarnsworth.jpg
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Contents
1. Introduction 4
1.1 Project Objectives 4
1.2 Rationale 4
2. His Contribution, The Electronic Television 5
3. The Dramatic Shift 7
3.1 Impact on Viewership 7
3.2 Impact on the Entertainment 8
3.3 Impact on dissemination and nature of information 10
3.4 Impact on the Medical Field 11
3.5 Economics Impact 11
4. Showcase of Activities 13
4.1 Preliminary survey 13
4.2 Overall Plan 14
4.3 Exhibition 15
4.4 Blog Design Competition 16
5. Evaluation of activities 16
5.1 Benefits 16
5.1.1 Exhibition 17
5.1.2 Blog Design competition 19
5.1.3 Brochures 19
1. Introduction
Television has been with us for many years and its impact on society has truly been
pervasive. Probably not many know the first man in human history who has contributed
This project therefore seeks to introduce the father of electronic television system, Philo
Taylor Farnsworth. It will also include other inventions that Farnsworth invented. It will
examine the impacts and dramatic shift that his life and contributions caused to human
societies in social, medical and economic fields of human endeavours today. This
project will also present various ways to showcase Farnsworth to the public.
1.2 Rationale
We want to show our targeted audience the students in particular and the public in
general to learn from Farnsworth who despite coming from a poor family and having no
proper education, could become famous in his later life for inventing the first electronic
television all through hard work and a sheer determination to success against all odds. It
is this person of Farnsworth that we want the students to emulate by having an inquiring
mind and working through their dreams with determination and hard work. Whatever
their situations in life they can succeed in life and make great impact on society. Their
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social status matters not. They can accomplish whatever they want with sheer
Throughout his life, Farnsworth invented many great inventions that have a great impact
on the world such as the isolette (baby incubator), to maintain pre-matured babies
temperature when they cannot do so on their own; the PPI Projector, which allowed
safe control of air traffic from the ground, and the Fusor, which is used for nuclear
fusion.
Farnsworth was remembered best in the invention of electronic television system. It was
television system the world has become a far richer place for us to live, work and play
even till today. Where it takes days to bring news in vivid dramatic happenings, the
The television system then was primitive and cumbersome in that it was built
mechanically based mainly on a spinning disc that produced the image sensor. The
images produced by such mechanical disc resulted in the resolutions to be poor and
electronically. Where the world then thought electronic television was an impossibility,
Farnsworth thought otherwise. In his dream, he truly believed that electronic television
was nearer than the world would ever dare to imagine. His driving passion to invent
electronic television was so radical, so impossible that he spent nearly his whole life
The beginning of his dream started when at the age of 14 years he drew a drawing
so simple and yet so advance for his age and time that
That was the turning point of Farnsworth’s passion in producing electronic television.
Through sheer hard work and dedication to his dream, he continually experimented in
many ways to produce the system. He faced several failures in his experiments but he
After years of determination and hard work, the breakthrough came on 7th September
1927 when Farnsworth finally was able to produce the first fully electronic television.
From then on he began improving on it. The profound impact of his invention
revolutionized the way television works. Where the mechanical television could only
display a resolution of up to 30 lines, his system could display a picture of 100 to 150
From the above, one can see that to achieve one’s dream, one must be committed to
ones work in order to achieve the goal one has set out. There is no substitute for hard
work. Perseverance, determination and the grit to succeed were the hallmarks of
Farnsworth’s personality that the student could benefit in learning about him. He taught
In this section we will study in depth how the invention of the electronic television by
The invention of electronic television has created many dramatic impacts worldwide.
There are many fields of human endeavours that are being impacted. Some examples
are the social, medical and economical fields of human endeavours and these impacts
will be examined.
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When Farnsworth’s invention caught the attention of the world, the mechanical
televisions died a slow death. Suddenly the dinosaurs of the world were wiped off the
world when every home began to replace mechanical television with electronic
television. This was the most impact that Farnsworth invention showed. Figure 2 above
shows the tsunamic effect of his invention after it was perfected commercially. In 1946,
there were only 8,000 sets of televisions, it dramatically and overwhelmingly increased
Another impact of Farnsworth’s electronic television was that it provided many new
ways of entertainment compared to the past. In the old days, people get their
entertainment through live operas, musicals and stage performances. For example, in
the Middle ages, the actors had to tour the lands to provide such entertainment
With electronic television, all sorts of entertainment can reach every home that
possessed a television to enjoy such live operas, musicals and stage performances.
More than that more news happening in the various parts of the world could be viewed
in real time. The exploits of the television were fully appreciated by the educational and
news media and other institutions. Lives of human communities were never the same
with the advent of electronic television in the 20th century and beyond. Farnsworth’s
untiring work has produced one of the marvels of modern invention that saw the
To augment the impact of the invention, we did a survey on how such an invention
could benefit a person. Our survey found that of the type of entertainments that the
respondents attributed to most, it is the in the area of entertainment and leisure. Some
examples of entertainment from television programmes are variety shows like American
Idol and Survivor series, movies such as Titanic, Harry Potter series, serial drama like
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CSI, cartoons like Walt Disney’s Mickey and Sesame Street, etc. Our findings can be
Another impact of Farnsworth’s invention is that people could immediately receive news
in real time. As information transmitted are more ‘visual’, it leaves a deeper impression
on recipients of the broadcast, thus learning about current affairs was much more
effective. Happening at locations far away from the audience of the television
broadcasts are received instantaneously with interesting graphics which capture their
attention and thus making the information more memorable to them. This is far more
useful and beneficial than merely receiving groundbreaking news through the usual
informal setting. In the past, only scientist know more about the world and commoners
who were educated will only get and understand these information which is published in
the newspaper or books. However, with electronic television, people can get and
understand this information easier and faster. This educates people about the world.
Some examples are documentaries from Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and
National Geographic channel. The shows from these channels are usually educational
and they broadcast informal shows about Earth, animals, great activities of human,
history, etc.
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Another great and immense benefit of Farnsworth’s invention is in the field of medicine.
Once the education of delicate and critical microsurgeries were taught hands on. Today
with electronic television, they could be taught through the said medium to medical
practitioners and interns. Further such surgeries can be performed more efficiently and
accurately where once it was thought impossible to do so. Other area of medical field to
benefit such invention is dentistry. As an educational tool, the medical field has taken
that television is also used in patient surveillance, for example in intensive care units, so
that several areas can be monitored from a central nurses’ station. This also helps the
doctors to observe the patient in the intensive care unit more closely and efficiently.
Perhaps arguably the greatest impact of his invention is in the economic sector of the
country. The most immediate effect of the electronic television can be seen in the
American (RCA) that television has been “a dynamic industry employing more than a
million…..”; that “American business have found a most effective advertising medium”
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and “Television servicing alone has become a major industry employing nearly one
hundred thousand people.” (The Story of Television [Video clip], RCA, 1956).
The invention of the television also sparked off the start of the motion picture and
television production industry. National broadcasting began in the UK, USA and
Germany in the 1930s, but the popularity of the television boomed in the 1950s and
1960s (Dowswell, 2002, p. 31). Incidental to the growth of the said industry, jobs like
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) report (MPAA, 2007, p. 6) that in 2005,
over 1.3 million jobs were generated in the motion picture and television production
industry.
the numbers of television programs. The broadcasters charge advertisers more to play
commercials during hit shows like American Idol (Wan, 2007, p.6). Advertisements are
made more convincing because audiences can capture the image and sounds of the
advertisements through the television unlike through radio. The media of electronic
and preferences. It helps to boost the economy. According to the MPAA report (MPAA,
2007, p. 6), in 2005, over a staggering sum of $30.20 billion in revenue was generated
Clearly the above showed beyond doubt that Farnsworth’s invention played a significant
4. Showcase of Activities
Prior to putting up the exhibition, we had carried out a survey to assess what is the
public’s preference to showcase Farnsworth’s life and work. The finding can be seen
from figure 4 below that putting an exhibition is the preferred choice of the public.
From the above survey our group strategise by planning to carry out a series of
activities to showcase the life and work of Philo Farnsworth. A summary of our plan is
Distribution of brochures
Hands-on activities
From the above plan, we decided to cater for one week to hold the exhibition. We have
choosen the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Hall (Suntec
We would be printing brochures and posters giving details of our exhibition and these
would be distributed to visitors of our exhibition during the first four days. A sample
brochure can be found in Annex 5 and a sample poster can be found in Annex 6. We
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would also be printing posters on the life, work and his inventions to be put up at the
exhibition for the public to browse and at the same to educate them about Farnsworth.
4.3 Exhibition
Besides the posters, we would also prepare his life and history of his inventions by
There will also be other activities such as jigsaw and crossword puzzles and word
search or quizzes and accordingly specific booths would assigned to them as shown in
our jigsaw puzzle in Annex 8 and a sample of the word search in Annex 9.
Screen
Stage
Seats
Seats
Seats
Registration Booth
Checkpoint
Jigsaw Puzzle
Crossword Puzzle
Refreshment
Word Search
Quiz
Brochur
Entrance Exit
The floor plan for the exhibition is set out in figure 6 from the previous page. Visitors
would enter through the entrance, receive their brochures and begin with their quiz,
word search and crossword puzzle. Those who are interested in the life and his work
would loiter around the exhibition wall to browse or read about him. They can proceed
to sign up for the blog design competition if they are interested. There would be a
word search and crossword. Those who managed to finish the hands-on activities would
be awarded with small souvenirs. When they leave the exhibition, the visitors would be
In the blog designing competition, the participants will design based on Philo
Farnsworth’s biography, inventions and the benefits of his contributions to mankind. Ten
selected entries will be announced during the exhibition on the sixth day and the overall
winning entry will be announced on the last day of the exhibition. The winning blog will
5. Evaluation of Activities
5.1 Benefits
The electronic television is an important and popular component of the mass media.
The activities held would increase the public’s awareness about Philo Farnsworth, the
inventor of electronic television. The public would also gain more knowledge about
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Farnsworth’s other contributions and how it has affected our lives from the past to the
present.
5.1.1 Exhibition
It can be seen from figure 7 that the preferred method that appeals to the public is by
way of an exhibition. Since it appeals most to the public, it would benefit the public the
most and gain information faster. Also, by using the surveys that we conducted, we will
have more accurate information on what we will present in our exhibition as to suit the
audience’s needs. In this way we would know what and how we are suppose to let the
exhibition. Our survey in Fig 8 above has shown his invention of the television have
invention to the visitors. The quizzes, word search and crossword puzzles held at the
exhibition would encourage the public to focus during the presentation to remember the
information in order to answer those questions correctly to get their souvenir. The
jigsaw would also help them remember how Philo Farnsworth looks like.
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Our survey findings on the previous page as shown in figure 9 shows that about 86% of
the public do not know what other inventions Philo Farnsworth has invented. Thus this
activity will allow the public to know more about Farnsworth and his inventions. This
competition will serve as an inspiration to youths about inventing new things that
benefits the society. Getting them to do research for the blog would allow them know
5.1.3 Brochures
consideration. The brochures designed will include pictures of Farnsworth and his
inventions making it more attractive. In this way, the viewers would have background
knowledge about Farnsworth and refer again conveniently to the information needed in
future.
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One of the limitations is that we are constrained by time to implement the various
activities set out in paragraph above as we have only one week to properly introduce
Philo Farnsworth. One suggested solution is that we would have a division of labour
and a distribution of work among our members. In this way we can be able to manage
our time efficiently and properly when carrying out the activities.
We steer clear of organising large scale exhibition due to financial constrain. It entails
Kingswood and Enzer to help defray the costs of printing brochures. We also decided to
shift our venue for the exhibition from the Suntec city convention centre to the school
hall.
We expect the response for the blog design competition to be less than encouraging.
Hence we may have to obtain corporate sponsors such as Akira to provide prizes such
as an mp3 player to attract participants to the competition. They might help as the
theme of our exhibition is on the benefits of television and that is linked closely to their
products and thus provides them with the opportunity to display and advertise their
products.
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5.2.4 Exhibition
A large scale exhibition at Suntec city convention centre would cost a lot thus holding it
in school would be more affordable and the school hall would be an ideal place. Also,
holding a mobile exhibition is another way to increase the exposure of Farnsworth. The
6. Conclusion
blog designing competition and distributing brouchers. These series of activities seek to
remember that his invention has far reaching effects in our lives even till today by
making the world shrunk in terms of communication and delivery of contents across the
globe through television even in the deep waters of the ocean or the space of the
7. Bibliography
Sammartino, S. McPherson. (1996). TV’s Forgotten Hero: The Story of Philo Farnsworth.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Sturm, E. (2007). Philo Farnsworth and the Television. Mankato Minnesota: Capstone Press.
Riehecky, Janet. (1996). Television. New York: Benchmark Books, Marshall Cavendish
Corportion
Dowswell, Pual. (2002). Entertainment. Great Britain; Reed Educational and Professional
Publishing Ltd.
Pennycook, Veronica. (1992). Facts & Records. London, Kingfisher Books, Grisewood &
Dempsey Ltd.
Motion Picture Association of America. (2007). The Economic Impact of the Motion Picture and
Television Production Industry on United States. United States of America. Available:
http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/mpa%20us%20economic%20impact%20report_final.pdf.
Radio Corporation of America (1956). The Story of Television. [Videotape]. United States of
America: Radio Corporation of America. Available: http://video.google.com/videoplay?
docid=406596257030781787.
About, Inc., The New York Times Company (1996). Philo Farnsworth. [On-Line]. Available:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfarnsworth.htm. (May 12, 2007)
Dr Subodh Mahanti. Philo Taylor Farnsworth: The Forgotten Genius. [On-Line]. Available:
http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/PTFarnsworth.htm. (June 14, 2007)
The aim of this survey is to show how well the public knows about
the history of the inventor of the first electronic television and to
show how the television has affected our lives.
85.7 No
%
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55.5 Yes
%
No
44.5
%
7. Which would be your preferred method of gaining
information about the person who invented the electronic
television? Please order them in terms of your preferences.
(Most preferred: 1 ; Least preferred: 2)
45.5 Blogs
%
Exhibition
54.5
% Other methods: 1) Newsletter, 2)
Road show, 3) Documentary
Thank You
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About 32% of the public think that Philo Farnsworth invented the first electionic
television.
About 30 % of the public chose Direct-Tube as the first type of electronic TV invented.
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About 86% of the public do not know what other inventions Philo Farnsworth has
invented.
About 44% of the public think that Fusor is one of the inventions invented by Philo
Farnsworth. About 24% of the public also think that Infant Incubator is another
About 54.7 % of the public think that television has provided them with entertainment.
About 56% of the public want to know more about Philo Farnsworth, the person who
About 54.5% of the public preferred to gain more information about Philo Farnsworth
through exhibition.
science and art, invention and engineering, private incentive and public service. By
television, American business have found the most effective advertising medium and in
turn, advertising has provided the resources that sustain the standards of programming
and permit the never ending research that is the heart of the television industry.
Television servicing alone has become a major industry employing nearly one hundred
thousand people.
Yes, in a little more than a wake of time, television has entered our homes our lives
implanted new silhouettes in our skylines and all these are just the beginning. There is
still another dream to be realised, still another dimension to be added. Black and white
television has been the hero. It put millions of television sets in our homes, built
exhilarating component of our American way of life. It provided the foundation for the
Screen
Stage
Seats
Seats
Seats
Registration
Booth
Jigsaw
Puzzle
Checkpoint
Crossword
Puzzle
Word Refreshment
Search
Quiz
Brochures
Entrance Exit
30
1
C
1 I 2
F
3
T
2 D
3 I
4 S
N
Across:
1 Philo dreamt that _______ could be transmitted line by line electronically.
When Philo was 14, he came up with the basic concept of the image
2
__________.
Philo invented the ________ which was used to maintain pre-matured
3
babies temperature.
4 The ___________ was invented to help soldiers to shoot in the dark.
Downwards:
1 Philo’s tubes were all based on ______ ray tubes.
2 Philo invented the first _____ which could join atoms together.
3 Philo made the first fully-electronic __________ when he was only 21.
Answers:
(Across) 1.Image 2.Dissector 3.Isolette 4.Sniperscope
(Downwards) 1.Cathode 2.Fusor 3.Television
Annex 8 (A sample Jigsaw puzzle)
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E T L Z O E A G P E T Z B T Z T R
F O C R O S G F M M R M C T S L C
E H L L K X D T E H W R U O N E Q
E A K S A W L A F U S O R W I I T
S T E O M E G I I N V O O Y P A Z
T U P S O E H J N E D R T E E S E
N S S R T K E E J E S E C M R R T
E S U I D N C T Q T I T E Z S S E
T U B S P F E V U L O W S K C G L
A I E S E E P T T E N Y S E O E E
P H I L O F A R N S W O R T H K V
L D N L E H E S O D I O D T E C I
H C Z E E X I G O T A S E C R E S
D T S T F N V S H G H A G E P S I
E B U T Y A R E D O H T A C F Q O
D Z L E K R N Q P M A M M Q I E N
A S I C T L C H R G E T I G P C E
Find the words in bold in the grid above. There are no spaces.
1. Philo Farnsworth was born in Utah on the 19th of August, 1906
2. Philo Farnsworth was the first person who invented a fully
electronic television.
3. The first working model of electronic Television was released on
the 27th September 1927.
4. The Cathode Ray Tube formed the basis for all Farnsworth’s
electronic television systems.
5. The Image Dissector was an electronic television camera tube
invented by Philo Farnsworth.
6. The first televised image was a single horizontal line.
7. Philo Farnsworth also invented the Sniperscope was used in the
World War 2 which was created by Philo Farnsworth to help the soldiers
shoot in the dark.
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8. Philo invented the Isolette for those premature babies who were
too frail to survive in a normal environment. It is also known as a baby
incubator.
9. Philo Farnsworth had approximately a total of 165 US patents.
10. The fusor, invented by Philo, is an apparatus used to create
nuclear fusion.