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Early television system, 19th century
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Early television system, 19th century
Early television system. Historical artwork of a proposed 19th century system to transmit an image by using optical and telephone technology. The original image (a womans head) is at left. This is scanned by a Lissajous Generator, using a light source (far left) and a pair of tuning forks (centre right, U-shaped) arrayed at right-angles. Mirrors on the tuning forks reflect the light, which is projected by a lens onto a selenium cell. The voltage of the selenium cell varies with the amount of light. This encodes the image as an electrical signal. This is sent along telephone lines and the image is then recreated (right). From Physique Populaire (E. Desbeaux, 1891)
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Media ID 6431223
© SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
1891 Desbeaux Device Early Electrical French Optical Physique Populaire Projecting Receiver Receiving Recording Scan Scanner Scanning Television Transmitter Transmitting Visual Edison Recreating
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This print showcases a groundbreaking early television system from the 19th century. The historical artwork depicts an ingenious proposal to transmit images using a combination of optical and telephone technology. On the left side of the image, we see the original image, which is a woman's head. To capture this image, a Lissajous Generator is employed, utilizing a light source situated on the far left and a pair of U-shaped tuning forks positioned at right-angles in the center-right section. The mirrors attached to these tuning forks reflect the light onto a selenium cell through a lens. As light intensity varies, so does the voltage generated by this selenium cell, effectively encoding the image as an electrical signal. This signal is then transmitted along telephone lines for recreation on another device shown on the right side of this illustration. This remarkable technological achievement represents an important milestone in visual communication history. Created by E. Desbeaux in 1891 and featured in Physique Populaire magazine, it exemplifies French ingenuity during that era. The intricate equipment showcased here demonstrates how early inventors like Edison were exploring ways to project and scan images long before commercial applications became prevalent. This mesmerizing fusion of electrical and optical components paves the way for future advancements that would ultimately shape modern television systems as we know them today.
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