the life of Philo T Farnsworth - Early Television Foundation

THE GREEN STREET LABORATORY 79
dissector tube the capsules of potassium were sealed to the lead
into the tube and driven in by the application of heat. Then
hydrogen gas was introduced in such a way as to insure its combination
with the potassium surface to form potassium hydride.
This gave a good photosensitive surface. It was an intricate and
exacting operation, better suited to the abilities and background
of experienced chemical engineers than to the capacities of a
boy fresh from high school.
The fact that Farnsworth and Gardner devised the technique
and successfully built the tube that the inventor had in mind
is a tribute to their ingenuity and perseverance,
and to the
tutoring of Herbert Metcalf .
Such problems delighted Phil. He reveled in the simple laboratory
facilities provided for him and, like a boy with a new
mechanical toy, enjoyed showing "house of magic"
stuff to
the uninitiated. Liquid air, for instance, was one of the essentials
for operating the vacuum pumps. When visitors came to
the lab Farnsworth took boyish pleasure in removing the cap
of the liquid air container and inserting a piece of rubber hose
for instant freezing. Pulling
it out, he would break the brittle
frozen rubber. Igniting pellets of crude potassium by throwing
them into water was another of his favorite stunts.
Instinctively Phil enjoyed enlisting the interest of people in
his ideas. There was something of the evangelist and propagandist
in his make-up. He delighted in people's approval and
interest in what he was trying to do and used these simple
showman tricks to arouse it.
Farnsworth spent a great deal of his time in studying the
mathematics involved in his invention. He had a peculiar genius
for thinking in mathematical terms as clearly as the ordinary
student thinks in terms of language. He also had a gift for visualizing
the behavior of electrons within a vacuum tube. Though