Scophony facts for kids

Scophony was a clever way to make television pictures. It was developed in Britain by a company called Scophony Limited. This system created black and white images. It used a special method to control light. This method involved a piezoelectric crystal and a column of water. This was an early type of light control.

How Scophony Worked

The Scophony system used light to create images. Here's how the light was controlled:

• A special crystal vibrated at one end of a water column.
• These vibrations made waves move through the water.
• Light was shone through this water column.
• The waves in the water acted like a special screen. They bent the light as it passed through.
• Stronger waves bent the light more. This changed how much light got through.
• After the water, the light hit a fast-spinning mirror drum. This drum moved the light horizontally.
• Another, larger mirror drum moved the light vertically.
• This allowed the system to use much more light than older methods. This made the pictures brighter.
• Many people thought the water column held a whole TV line. But the Scophony system didn't need that.

Cool Inventions in Scophony

The Scophony system used several new and smart inventions:

• Special Lenses: An inventor named Walton created a unique lens system. It focused light in two directions. This meant smaller lenses and mirrors could be used. This made the TVs smaller and cheaper. This was important because Scophony wanted to make very large TV pictures.
• The Jeffree Cell: J.H. Jeffree developed a special light controller in 1934. It was called the Jeffree cell. This cell was filled with a clear liquid. It used tiny vibrations to control a beam of light. It was a huge improvement over older systems. It made the light on the screen 200 times brighter.
• Fast, Reliable Motors: The Scophony system used very fast motors. These motors could run for 1,000 hours without wearing out. One motor spun at 240 rotations per minute (RPM). Another super-fast motor spun at over 30,000 RPM. This was for showing 405-line TV pictures.

The Scophony Company

The Scophony Limited company started in the early 1930s. A businessman named Solomon Sagall created it. He wanted to use the inventions of George William Walton and William Stephenson.

In 1932, another company called Ferranti invested money in Scophony. Later, in 1935, EKCO became the main investor.

In 1938, Scophony showed off three types of their mechanical televisions. This was at an exhibition in London called Radiolympia.

• One was a TV for homes. Its picture was about 24 by 20 inches (61 by 51 cm).
• They also had two systems for movie theaters. One made a huge 6 by 5 foot (183 by 152 cm) picture. The other made an even bigger 9 by 12 foot (274 by 366 cm) picture!

Several of these theater systems were set up and worked well. But no home TVs were sold. Production stopped because World War II was about to begin.

Scophony Limited made televisions in Britain until the war. Then they moved to Somerset and worked on war-related projects. Experts said that Scophony's technology was the best of its kind in the mid-1930s.

In November 1948, Scophony joined with another company, John Logie Baird Ltd. They became Scophony-Baird. The next year, they started selling a line of Baird-branded television sets.

See also

• Ulises Armand Sanabria
• Joshua Sieger