Talk:Philo Farnsworth
From Academic Kids
I have a question: the cathode ray tube article says it was invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun. This seems like an inconsistency with what is in this article. Could an explanation be included in the article as to how Braun figures in with Farnsworth? --Gary D 03:32, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Quote from this interview (http://www.ethos.org/evan_schwartz.html) with Evan Schwartz, who has written a book about Farnsworth: "The idea of electronic television came to him while plowing a potato field on his family's farm in Idaho. ... Just think of it: the potato field led to the couch potato." -- Jim Regan 17:50, 12 Aug 2004 (UTC)
In response to the question: While Farnsworth and others are credited in creating the first televisions, they did not invent the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). It was, as you mentioned, Braun who invented it. When cathode ray tubes were first invented (discovered?), there was no practical use for them. Like many complex devices, the inventors of the television used a previously existing device and modified it in such a way that it had a practical use.
I'm not sure how to best go about explaining this in the article... or where to put that bit of information. Perhaps it belongs in the television article. A simplified diagram of the inner workings of a TV may be helpful. Or perhaps a comment that the CRT invented by Braun is not exactly the same as the ones used in TVs today.--Farmerjoe 19:54, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Need more detail about the end of Farnsworth's life. Could start by condensing the following paragraph from Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor down to a few sentences:
- "Farnsworth then moved to Brigham Young University and tried to hire on most of his original lab from ITT into a new company. The company started operations in 1968, but after failing to secure several million dollars in seed capital, by 1970 they had burned through all of Farnsworth's savings. The IRS seized their assets in February 1971, and in March Farnsworth suffered a bout of pneumonia and died."
I haven't gone through the biographical manual o' style yet to see if there are standard-ish headings for biographical sketches -- but I guess I'll add this to my to-do-eventually list unless someone else wants to tackle it...? --dvgrn 06:08, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)
