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Subject: The Secret Life of Machines - Series 1,2 and 3 - [003/293] - "The Secret Life of Machines (series#3)(episodes1to6of6)(1993).txt" (1/1)
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The Secret Life of Machines (series#3)(episodes1to6of6)(1993).txt
http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/
THE SECRET LIFE OF MACHINES
by Tim Hunkin
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Just how does a video recorder work? And how about fax machines, cars, washing machines, electric light, telephones, vacuum cleaners, and refrigerators? You'll find the answers here. This site is designed as a companion to the TV series 'The Secret Life Of Machines' written by Tim Hunkin, and presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod.
Series Three: (1993)
Fax Machine
The Lift/Elevator
Word Processors
Electric Light
Photocopiers
The Office
The Secret Life of the Fax Machine:
The world's first fax machine was patented in 1843 by Alexander Bain. He came from a remote croft in Caithness in Scotland and, for his early experiments, used cattle jaw bones for hinges and heather for springs. His fax machine was based on an electric clock, which he had also invented.
The Secret Life of the Lift (aka Elevator):
The Colosseum in Rome is thought to have had a lift to carry the Emperor Nero to his balcony. By the 18th century, Mr Villayer was touring the palaces of Europe installing lifts called flying chairs. He disappeared shortly after an heir to the French throne had a serious accident in one at Versailles.
The Secret Life of the Word Processor:
The name 'Word Processor' was invented by IBM. Their first machines were very difficult to use because they had no screen. A draft version was typed and stored on a magnetic card. After correcting the draft it could be automatically retyped, stopping wherever a change was needed.
The Secret Life of the Electric Light:
A Scottish chemist called Joseph Swann tried passing electricity through fine wires (filaments) to make them glow white hot in 1860. Despite enclosing them in bulbs and pumping out the air, they quickly broke or blackened and Swann abandoned the idea. 17 years later, finding a better vacuum pump, he tried again. With no air left inside, the filament light bulb became a practical proposition.
The Secret Life of the Photocopier:
James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine, patented the first copying machine, because of the disastrous inaccuracies that had occurred due to copying drawings by hand. Drawings to be copied were written in a special ink which bled into the copy when squashed through a mangle.
The Secret Life of the Office:
Today, over 50% of jobs are in offices, but 160 years ago the figure was only 1%, and the only office workers were 'Dickensian' clerks. They had considerable status and freedom to organise their work, and kept financial ledgers, but there were no forms, memos, reports, etc.
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