Re: Papa Flash
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mark, Doc Edgerton was an early electrical engineer, in Dynamo Engineering I believe. He developed the flash to help freeze the spinning machinery for a good look. In the hall outside his lab there were some of his early photos, including Ariel Recon photos of Boston taken in the late '30's. He loaded some flash tubes and capacitors in an airplane and took night shots of 4 or 9 square miles of Boston at a time. He was a remarkable individual with a great deal of curiosity who treated the students well. He and his lab were remarkably open to undergraduates. One afternoon while helping Doc with a show at a local Hotel, the press showed up and suggested that I and another student stand back so that they could get some solo shots of Doc with some of the gear on display. What they got was shots WITH the students front and center and to do so they were allowed to take some duplicates with the student's cameras as part of the deal. Doc took a lot of interest and extremely good care of those who worked with him.It all transpired very smoothly and comfortably -- no tension whatsoever -- as was Doc's style, and as I recall on that occasion there were no opportunities for any solo shots of Doc except those he offered to the students after the press left. I didn't take any courses from Doc. Just worked in his lab. However, no one had a more profound impact on my career other than maybe Jay Forrester. In the '60's, he brought friends like Jaques Costeau around to show off his early underwater movies. Costeau was visiting in '59 , and it was my impression then that he had there in earlier years. Amongst many other things, we were working on camera sleds and sled-tracking sonar at the time--- as I recall. Cheers, Otis Wright Regards, Bob S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Bob W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Those were photos from Doc Edgerton's lab at MIT. They used some good size flash tubes, and I believe a microphone was used to trigger the flash. Polaroid film and open the shutter, fire the gun, which triggers the flash, and you see where the bullet is. Then, adjust the microphone closer or farther away from the gun, to get the bullet where you want it in the frame. I'm speaking from a position of almost total ignorance here, but surely a bullet is travelling 2 or 3 times faster than sound? Over the short distances involved is it really possible to do this? I don't know anything about the velocity of bullets, but even if they do travel at Mach 3 all you'd have to do is position the target 3 feet from the gun and the microphone 1 foot away and you'd be pretty much synchronized. I would have thought a light or electric trigger would be better. e.g. fit the trigger or the hammer of the gun with an electrical gizmo to fire the flash. A microphone was deemed the easiest way to go: No attachments or modifications to the gun; most equipment readily available off-the shelf. Edgerton claims he got his first shot (the bullet going through the apple, IIRC) on his first try. Clearly, this was a man not unaccustomed to precise laboratory work!
Re: Papa Flash
I love the display in the hallway. His water going "up hill" trick was amazing. rg [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mark, Doc Edgerton was an early electrical engineer, in Dynamo Engineering I believe. He developed the flash to help freeze the spinning machinery for a good look. In the hall outside his lab there were some of his early photos, including Ariel Recon photos of Boston taken in the late '30's. He loaded some flash tubes and capacitors in an airplane and took night shots of 4 or 9 square miles of Boston at a time. He was a remarkable individual with a great deal of curiosity who treated the students well. He and his lab were remarkably open to undergraduates. In the '60's, he brought friends like Jaques Costeau around to show off his early underwater movies. Regards, Bob S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Bob W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Those were photos from Doc Edgerton's lab at MIT. They used some good size flash tubes, and I believe a microphone was used to trigger the flash. Polaroid film and open the shutter, fire the gun, which triggers the flash, and you see where the bullet is. Then, adjust the microphone closer or farther away from the gun, to get the bullet where you want it in the frame. I'm speaking from a position of almost total ignorance here, but surely a bullet is travelling 2 or 3 times faster than sound? Over the short distances involved is it really possible to do this? I don't know anything about the velocity of bullets, but even if they do travel at Mach 3 all you'd have to do is position the target 3 feet from the gun and the microphone 1 foot away and you'd be pretty much synchronized. I would have thought a light or electric trigger would be better. e.g. fit the trigger or the hammer of the gun with an electrical gizmo to fire the flash. A microphone was deemed the easiest way to go: No attachments or modifications to the gun; most equipment readily available off-the shelf. Edgerton claims he got his first shot (the bullet going through the apple, IIRC) on his first try. Clearly, this was a man not unaccustomed to precise laboratory work!
Papa Flash
Mark, Doc Edgerton was an early electrical engineer, in Dynamo Engineering I believe. He developed the flash to help freeze the spinning machinery for a good look. In the hall outside his lab there were some of his early photos, including Ariel Recon photos of Boston taken in the late '30's. He loaded some flash tubes and capacitors in an airplane and took night shots of 4 or 9 square miles of Boston at a time. He was a remarkable individual with a great deal of curiosity who treated the students well. He and his lab were remarkably open to undergraduates. In the '60's, he brought friends like Jaques Costeau around to show off his early underwater movies. Regards, Bob S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Bob W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Those were photos from Doc Edgerton's lab at MIT. >> They used some good size flash tubes, and >> I believe a microphone was used to trigger the flash. > >> Polaroid film and open the shutter, fire the gun, >> which triggers the flash, and you see where the bullet is. >> Then, adjust the microphone closer or farther away from the gun, >> to get the bullet where you want it in the frame. > >I'm speaking from a position of almost total ignorance here, but >surely a bullet is travelling 2 or 3 times faster than sound? Over the >short distances involved is it really possible to do this? I don't know anything about the velocity of bullets, but even if they do travel at Mach 3 all you'd have to do is position the target 3 feet from the gun and the microphone 1 foot away and you'd be pretty much synchronized. >I would have thought a light or electric trigger would be better. >e.g. fit the trigger or the hammer of the gun with an electrical gizmo >to fire the flash. A microphone was deemed the easiest way to go: No attachments or modifications to the gun; most equipment readily available off-the shelf. Edgerton claims he got his first shot (the bullet going through the apple, IIRC) on his first try. Clearly, this was a man not unaccustomed to precise laboratory work! -- Mark Roberts
