The Boy Who Saw Television In A Potato Field
How can a moving picture be drawn out of lines of light?
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The story
Fourteen-year-old Philo Farnsworth was plowing a potato field in 1922, watching the plow cut neat back-and-forth rows. He realized a picture could be sent the same way: scanned line by line, fast enough that eyes see one whole image. He sketched it for his teacher, and it became electronic television.
What you'll learn
- Screens build a picture by drawing it in rows, one line at a time.
- If the lines are drawn fast enough, your eye blends them into motion.
- Philo's chalkboard sketch later helped prove the idea was his.
- Kid takeaway: ideas often arrive while your hands are busy with something else.
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