BBLs are a series of weekly, informal talks by CHF fellows on their current research, and members of the academic and business communities on topics involving the history of chemistry, political and social issues of importance to chemists and chemical engineers, and issues affecting the future of chemical research.
Benjamin Gross, “ ‘Like a Picture on a Wall’: Early Flat-Panel Display Research at RCA, 1951–1966”
Although flat-panel liquid-crystal displays have only recently begun to outsell traditional models, the challenges associated with the construction of a flat television screen have captivated engineers for decades. In a 1956 speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of his tenure at the Radio Corporation of America, company chairman David Sarnoff predicted that technology would soon advance to the point where bulky cathode-ray tubes would be replaced by devices so thin they could hang on the wall like a painting. As this talk will demonstrate, by the time Sarnoff made his prediction, scientists at his namesake research center in Princeton had already begun pursuing that objective. Between 1951 and 1966 RCA scientists considered a wide range of technological approaches in their efforts to develop a functional flat-panel television, including displays based on cathodoluminescence, electroluminescence, light-emitting diodes, and ionized gases. While none of these projects proved entirely successful, an examination of these alternatives provides broader insights into the dynamics of American industrial research during the cold war.
Benjamin Gross is a Ph.D. candidate in the history of science program at Princeton University and the 2009–2010 Charles C. Price Dissertation Fellow in Polymer History at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. His dissertation focuses on the development of the first liquid-crystal displays at RCA Labs during the 1960s. Before applying to graduate school he taught Philadelphia public high-school students chemistry, physics, and physical science as a member of Teach for America.
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