An Invention That Staggered the Imagination: How the First Television Came to Be

The first inventors

The history of the creation of the television consists of small and large discoveries that ultimately led to a grand technical success.

In 1884 the German inventor Paul Nipkow presented to the scientific world a technical device that would serve as the prototype of today's television. The apparatus had the ability to scan an image line by line – and transmit it to a screen. The Nipkow disk, despite its simplicity, opened the way to the creation of the first mechanical television in the history of humankind.

But this event was preceded by very important events. In 1895 Karl Braun invented the cathode-ray tube and caused a real sensation among his colleagues. Twelve years later the Russian physicist Boris Rosing managed to build a device that staggered the imagination of ordinary people. With the help of the said apparatus, it became possible to obtain a single picture out of dots and figures.

Risky experiments

The work of the famous inventors attracted the attention of John Baird. And he embarked on a series of risky technical experiments that nearly cost him his life. Once Baird almost died from high-voltage current while working on a device. But following the famous Latin proverb «Through hardships to the stars», the inventor achieved phenomenal success. And in 1925 he demonstrated to everyone the operation of the first mechanical television. However, the public received John Baird's invention coldly. Therefore, there could be no talk of mass production of such devices.

At almost the same time, the Russian inventor Vladimir Zworykin, forced to move to the USA, developed and patented a new, original device. It was an electronic television. Not long after the iconoscope was built, the apparatus was perfected. And in 1927 television went on the air in the USA. One drawback did not even hinder this process: the image was transmitted by an optical-scanning principle. Attempts to eliminate it were not crowned with success.

Modern models

But in the mid-1930s of the last century, in Germany, for the first time in the world, television broadcasts were already conducted on the basis of the electronic principle. It was a real technical breakthrough that brought inventors closer to creating the modern television.

In the USSR they also did not lag behind the achievements of the West. In 1932 the first television, the «B-2», was built at a Leningrad factory. Unfortunately, the tiny screen made it possible to view the image only with the help of a magnifying glass.

In 1949 the first mass-produced television, the «KVN-49», went on sale. It should be said that not everyone could afford it. Alas, the high cost of the television did not match its quality. Often a huge lens filled with water was placed in front of the small screen to enlarge the image. Some managed to wrap it in colored film, trying to convince themselves that a color television had appeared in the home.

There were many experiments in creating the television, so it is impossible to single out one specific inventor. All the scientists who worked on its creation adopted the experience of others and passed on their own to future generations.

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