Description: Did you know that Joseph Francis invented the first metal life-saving boat? Or that Gail Borden invented the process for creating condensed milk? Neither did I until I heard The World Is Yours episode titled “Unheraled American Inventors,” which originally aired on April 4, 1937.Where most of the episodes I’ve listened to begin with the host walking up to two people while they
Description: We wish you a Happy National Inventors Day and invite you to check out the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History!
Description: The term “personal equation” came into use in the 19th century as scientists found that observers have inherent biases: some anticipate events, and some report events after they have occurred. Recognition of the problem led to a spate of personal equation instruments: some measured biases of this sort, and some reduced the effect of personal errors. Most of these
Description: Everyone loves a parade – especially one followed by a banquet. When scientists and politicians met in Washington, D.C., on November 23, 1936, to celebrate the centennial of the U.S. patent system, they listened first to a conventional program of speeches. Then, in the afternoon, Science Service director Watson Davis arranged something different: a “Research Parade” featuring
Description: [caption id="attachment_2474" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Silicon Eye, from the inner core.... the 5 Megapixel CCD sensor that electronically captures the image, by Flickr user jurvetson."][/caption] The Nobel Prize jury recently announced three winners in physics, who’ve been dubbed "the masters of light" for their innovations in the ways photographic images are
Description: For the last year the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has been preparing to celebrate its 100 year anniversary. As part of the celebration, curators and archivists have been combing the files in preparation for an exhibition of historic photographs that will describe the museum’s history. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="218" caption="Photomicrograph
Description: Tricia Edwards, Interim Associate Director for Smithsonian Affiliations, spearheaded Spark!Lab, an interdisciplinary space at the National Museum of American History where educators use art, science, and engineering to engage kids and families with hands-on invention.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="The Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx, from "Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem" Portfolio, 1858, Francis Frith"][/caption] The first examples of travel photography are almost simultaneous with the invention of photography itself. In 1841, following an extensive trip through the Middle East, wine merchant and early photographer,