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Zworykin, pioneer of television / Albert Abramson ; foreword by Erik Barnouw.

By: Abramson, Albert.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1995Description: xviii, 319 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.ISBN: 0252021045.Subject(s): Zworykin, V. K. (Vladimir Kosma), 1889-1982 | Inventors -- United States -- Biography | Television -- HistoryDDC classification: 621.3880092
Contents:
"Father of television" -- Growing up in Tsarist Russia -- World War I -- Revolution and escape -- An invitation from Westinghouse -- The Kinescope -- The Iconoscope -- "A century of progress" -- A return to Russia -- "The world of tomorrow" -- World War II -- "Ad astra per video".
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
General Lending MTU Bishopstown Library Lending 621.3880092 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 00015354
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Using patents, published and unpublished documents, and interviews with television pioneers including Zworykin himself, Abramson reconstructs the inventor's life from his early years in Russia, through his stay as RCA's technical guru under David Sarnoff, to his death in 1982. More than fifty photographs show highlights of Zworykin's work. Abramson notes the contributions of other scientists--particularly Zworykin's biggest rival, Philo T. Farnsworth--to the advancement of television. However, he argues, it was Zworykin's inventions that made modern, all-electronic television possible, causing many to award him the title "father of television".

"His achievements rank him with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell," states Albert Abramson in this discerning, often dramatic biography of Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, the Russian-born scientist who "did more to create our present system of cathode-ray television than any other person."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-301) and index.

"Father of television" -- Growing up in Tsarist Russia -- World War I -- Revolution and escape -- An invitation from Westinghouse -- The Kinescope -- The Iconoscope -- "A century of progress" -- A return to Russia -- "The world of tomorrow" -- World War II -- "Ad astra per video".

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Abramson writes for the serious historian of television, devoting much space to detailed chronologies of the development of electronic components and their patents. He details the construction of various components of television circuitry (frequently with dated terminology, confusing to laypersons). Even so, it is fascinating to watch the struggles between today's TV giants, such as RCA, Westinghouse, and General Electric, as they fought for preeminence in the infant industry. Zworykin, first at Westinghouse and then RCA, was at the forefront of television technology and likely earned the title, "father of television" when he publicly announced the first working TV tube in 1929. Zworykin's personal life was rich in adventure; he served in the Russian Czar's army during the 1918 revolution and barely escaped with his life. He returned in 1934 as a US citizen to find that his mother had died in the fighting. Later he had to flee again for his life, first from the Italian Fascists and then from the onrushing Nazi forces. Zworykin's name is connected with radar and the electron microscope, in addition to television. Perhaps the tribute he would treasure most is that Voyager 2, as it made its historic tour of the Solar System, sent back pictures by cameras developed in Zworykin's RCA laboratories. Extensive chapter footnotes add value. Upper-division undergraduate through professional. C. G. Wood; Eastern Maine Technical College

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