the life of Philo T Farnsworth - Early Television Foundation

RESEARCH GOES ON 263
cent surface that would stand bombardment of high voltage.
As a result they were able to project a television image on a
screen of the size used in motion-picture theaters. However, the
apparatus used in getting this large image was so expensive that
it is not usable except in large auditoriums.
We discussed all these matters with the engineers, and this
was the first of repeated trips
at more frequent intervals that
Phil made from his home in Massachusetts to the laboratory.
The doctor had given him the go-ahead sign,
and his health was
improving by rapid strides. He ate with relish and was making
slow progress
in gaining some weight. It was now possible for
him to attend all of the directors' meetings. The doctor's permission
for full steam ahead again acted like a tonic to his
health. During the years of his desperate illness and slow convalescence,
he had learned that rest is essential if one is to do his
best work. So in spite of his eagerness he took his work at a pace
which he could stand.
A few weeks after this meeting in Fort Wayne, I
was delighted
to receive a telegram from Phil saying that he and Pern
were arriving
in San Francisco to visit their families and that he
wished to spend two days with me at the Radiation Laboratory
at the University of California, where I had charge of scientific
When personnel. he arrived, he telephoned and with some diffidence
asked if he might bring his sister and Pern to see the
large cyclotron on the hill. This was arranged and they were
shown the huge
installations. Here Phil was in his element.
After the sight-seeing trip
was over, Pern and Phil's sister left
and I introduced Phil to Professor Lawrence and other leaders
of research on the staff. Since much of the work here is in the
field of electronics, Phil's eager mind was grasping
and searching
out the essentials of the work. Because of Phil's specialized
knowledge in electronics, Professor Lawrence, the director of