The high-octane ride of the 1920s had just gone up in flames with the Wall Street crash of November 1929, but the market malaise that followed would last years. Dire economic and political conditions in Germany gave rise in 1933 to new chancellor, Adolf Hitler, and almost immediately, new tensions would sweep across Europe. Meanwhile, television continued to improve significantly throughout the decade, but the focus of scientific endeavour would eventually fall on more militaristic targets. Nevertheless, the decade that began in collapse and ended with war delivered new vision technologies that are not only still with us today, but that our current-day lives cannot do without.
Farnsworth takes on RCA
The new decade dawned in Australia with visible progress on the momentous Sydney Harbour Bridge. As the two halves of the bridge steadily arched their way across Port Jackson, progress was also being made in television in the U.S., with Russian pioneer Vladimir Zworykin joining the giant Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Yet, despite the backing of RCA, Zworykin still lagged behind young pioneer Philo Farnsworth and his all-electronic ‘image dissector’ camera tube.
RCA boss David Sarnoff wasn’t to be deterred from entering the television market and pursued Farnsworth with a $100,000 offer for his television patents. Farnsworth not only turned him down, but joined the rival Philco company instead. Sarnoff countered with RCA
