Inventor: Karl Ferdinand Braun

• Invented in 1897 by Karl Braun
• Paved the way for televisions

In 1897, Karl Braun demonstrated the first Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a vacuum tube that showed an image when electrons struck its phosphorescent surface. In 1907, Boris Russing improved the CRT to the point where it could project simple geometric shapes onto a television screen. Vladimir Zworykin invented the iconoscope, a precursor to early television cameras, as well as the kinescope, which was the first effective CRT to be implemented in television sets.

The television set that could efficiently bring information to people around the United States proved to be a great influence on the shaping of the public mindset for the years to come. Citizens could receive news of an event immediately after it occurred without the customary 24-hour delay newspapers required. The vast amount of visual and audio stimulation that ink and paper failed to reproduce affected the emotions of the viewers and brought people from the isolated spots of the nation close to politics, wars, and the culture of our country.

Picture from Encarta Encyclopedia

SOURCES:

Bellis, M. (2003). Inventors from About.com. Available March 27, 2003, from About, Inc. <http://inventors.about.com/>

• This site gave good information regarding the development of the CRT