posted on November 17, 2002 05:42:07 PM new
My 13 yr old has a homework assignment with which I'm helping. Oh gee, wait did I say helping? I meant I'm doing it! Just kidding, love to help, 'couse Dad gets all the research work. In good shape 'cept for one lousy thing. WHO INVENTED THE BLACK LIGHT AND WHEN????? Have exhausted all my search techniques, and web pages. Found lots of info. Flourescent tube invented in 1938, but don't know by whom. Can't find a thing about the black light. Inventor, date, etc. HELP PLEASE!!!!! I'm headed off the deep end here. It would be greatly appreciated. thanks, Jerry
posted on November 17, 2002 06:05:48 PM new
Black light may refer to ultraviolet light and ultraviolet light is sunlight. It's called black light because the ultraviolet wavelengths are not visible to the human eye...just causes sunburn.
posted on November 17, 2002 06:33:09 PM new
What teacher would even ask such a question?
Who invented "black light"? God maybe.
"Black light" is ultraviolet light, the existence of which was found in 1801 by the German physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter.
If he's referring to the thing we put over our way-cool black velvet murals, I guess it would be the first guy that put a UV filter in front of a light source to exclude all but UV radiation (which you can't see. The violet color comes from lower more visible parts of the spectrum.)
posted on November 17, 2002 06:48:12 PM new
>What teacher would even ask such a question?
It was a nice break from the rest of the chatter. Thanks, jbl, for posting it, and to DeSqurrel, for giving away the answer in the usual DeSquirrel Traditon of Belittling the Poster.
posted on November 17, 2002 08:59:19 PM new
The question wasn't "who invented black light?"...it was "who invented THE black light?"...a little word that considerably changes the meaning of the two questions.
The first AND second posts sounded like belittling to me...."stupid pills"????
[ edited by profe51 on Nov 17, 2002 09:02 PM ]
posted on November 17, 2002 10:31:26 PM new
I think that the prof was talking to DeSqurrel and to DeSqurrel's first and second posts - not yours, Helen. There was nothing wrong with yours, Helen, so it must be as I suggest.
posted on November 17, 2002 10:50:45 PM new
Thanks for that clarification, borillar!
I've been looking for an answer and found some other uses for ultraviolet photography
in medical and forensic detection but it would probably be too advanced for a 13 year old student.
posted on November 17, 2002 11:43:31 PM new
My initial post belittled no one, least of all the poster. The second post, well that's just the required response to it's request.
profe51
The fact the adjective "The" is not material IS the point.
One might assume that the inventer of "the" black light saw it as an improvement on "The Light".
There are many ways to produce ultraviolet light, current arc, microwave excitement of contained gases, and many others.
The POINT of course is the teacher's question. If the question is as Jerry reports it, I think the teacher is in the wrong profession. I have seen this same thing dozens of times with my friends' younger kids. I don't know what has happened in the last 10 years, but most of today's public high school students couldn't get through 7th grade in my grade school.
Jerry,
I believe the "answer" the teacher has in mind is Thomas Warren, who did extensive work refining and experimenting with hand-held ultaviolet lamps in the 1930's.
As Helen has mentioned, UV is used extensively in forensics. I'll bet they discussed this type of stuff and the "teacher" figured he'd make it interesting.
posted on November 18, 2002 12:05:57 AM new
Actually, the tone of most, if not all of your posts, DeSqurrel are snide and sarcastic, often derisive and usually filled with venom towards another member of AW. That you have yet to post an intelligent opinion has not revealed why you feel so superior to anyone else on here, or, why you get such a giggle out of being trite and nasty to everyone. That you fail to see just how demeaning your posts are towards your fellow RT posters says something else about you.
posted on November 18, 2002 01:19:25 AM new
Borillar
I believe you have serious delusions. I am neither snide or filled with venom towards anyone's opinion in an open discussion. But I will admit I have little patience for people who know nothing about something yet proclaim not only to understand it but offer the "solution", and usually the ONLY solution.
You for instance know nothing about law, yet sit in the big chair and declare this or that "illegal". I hope the judicial departments pick up on a few of your points. I especially liked it when you talk about "illegal" decisions of the Supreme court, kind of a contradiction in terms, no.
You give us the "facts" about the oil companies of which you also know nothing about. When corrected by someone with such knowledge, say Oklahomastampman, it is YOU who goes crazy. You then say his numbers, etc are wrong, but are too "offended" to supply refuting evidence.
In one of your sermons on the mount, you explained the ins and outs of pharmaceuticals, I tried to tell you how drugs are developed, but YOU went wacky again. What do you know about Chemical Engineering? You saw the outside of a plant once?
Do you even recall supporting the old chestnut about the evil oil companies keeping the guy with the 1000 mi/gal or the French "scientist" with the "perpetual motion machine" down. It is not snide to mention it's impossible by the laws of physics.
Tell us again how the gummit should require us all to buy electric cars in 3 yrs.
You just can't usurp the title of chatroom god. You have to earn our devotion.
posted on November 18, 2002 02:25:57 AM new
Oh for crying out loud - the man is simply looking for help with his kid's homework and once again, another thread becomes a p*ssing match.
posted on November 18, 2002 04:50:36 AM new
Hello Helen, I was indeed referring to DeSquirrel. Sorry, I should have been more specific....your posts were right on the money.
posted on November 18, 2002 06:13:07 AM new
palaco,
"You people really need to take a long, hard look at the way you act - ever wonder why hardly anyone comes to the RT anymore?
Interesting how you jumped right into the pissing match you are criticizing. You fit right in as a matter of fact. Welcome!
BTW...The people who hardly come to the RT anymore have probably found a board with a better pissing match going on. I could give you the location but you probably already have it.
That particular group is composed of over fifty year olds who have just discovered four letter words.
posted on November 18, 2002 06:33:18 AM new
Profe51
Thanks so much for your reply!!! I did take a class long ago called the Science of Photography but passed it only by the skin of my teeth and forgot every bit of it. lol!
I, of course, blame my failure to excel in that class on the professor.(wink and grin) He was a Vietnam vet who told us about storing developing fluid in the refrig while in Vietnam. One day he drank a big swig of the fluid...thinking it was water. I suspect that it affected his brain permanently. Hahaha!!!
posted on November 18, 2002 04:29:04 PM new
Who invented "the" black light.
Would that be the incandescent or the flourescent?
I would suppose, that if fluorescent lights preceded the "Blacklight", the "inventor" of the fluorescent bulb would be. When the mercury gas in the bulb is excited by the electricity, it gives off ultraviolet light. The white light you see is when the UV rays hit the coating inside the tubes and it "fluoresces"
posted on November 18, 2002 06:43:00 PM new
>Oh for crying out loud - the man is simply looking for help with his kid's homework and once again, another thread becomes a p*ssing match.
Well, palaco, like Helen said: It's a hellva lot less "pissy" here in the RT than in other messageboards! DeSqurrel has a problem that he can hardly ever find it within him to post without looking down his nose at the other AW member. That bracketing by DeSquirrel for me is only becaue I am the last regular poster here in the RT who will talk to him and try to explain things when he gets confused. That's because I have had years of working with mentally and emotionally ill children and I have a strange sort of compasion for that type of people, which includes putting up with their constant lashing out at anyone around. Unfortunately, this compasion for DeSquirrel's condition is not shared by others in the RT and they go out of their way to point out the illogic and flaws of each of his statements. I avoid doing it, because as nasty as he gets when he can't comprehend the subject, at least he's willing to participate and not just lurk. So, you see, palaco, it is a matter of trying to understand what is really going on before you make the obvious judgement.
posted on November 19, 2002 09:51:11 PM new
Thank you all so much for your wonderful help, and amusing bantor. This was my first post here in over a year (haven't been running many auctions as of late), and it's nice to see some things never change!
DeSsqurrel:
I do not believe your comments to be Belittling. I feel no offense was meant on your part, and believe me, none was taken. In fact, having a 'somewhat' photographic background myself, I couldn't help but chuckle. After a few hours of fruitless searching, I too thought it must have been the poor schmoo who placed the UV filter in front of his lighting. Poor schmoo because he probably didn't realize what he had there.
Helen:
You were right on with the UV light and radation part. We did include it in the finished report. thx
Borillar:
You're quite welcome. It was a pleasure to post, and I'm happy to know you all found it a refreshing change of pace. If I recall correctly, my last post got a long string started when I told everybody about Heinz introducing Green Ketchup! We're near the Pittsburgh PA area (Heinz home base) and the first to have it on the shelves.
palaco:
Thank you very much for the link. You nailed it right on the head. I located a similar page (about 2:00 am night of post) which confirmed the same information. Farnsworth is the gentleman we chose to go with.
While DeSquirrel [Thomas Warren], and mlecher [Nikola Tesla], could be considered likely canditates (sp?), Our Parish Priest had just used Farnsworth in a very insporational homily earlier that very morning. (Devine Intervention, perhaps?)
I'll place all of this in a new "Thank You" post, in case all of you no longer refer back to this one.
Anyway I thank you all again. It was indeed a pleasure meeting all of you. The help provided was much needed, and greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to get back to post the correct answer, and the final grade received on the report.
posted on November 19, 2002 10:51:37 PM new
Thanks Jerry,
I am tremendously interested in the "answer" the teacher gives. This thread exposed a major pet peeve of mine. From when I could first read I would spend hours reading encyclopedias, histories, etc.. I mean weird, like go from one volume of encyclopedia to the next. My brother was much older than I, and I read all of his texts and stuff he got from Book of the Month (never fiction). Anywho, I used to sit in classrooms and generally have a knowledge of what was being taught beforehand. I was astounded the number of times I said to myself "that's wrong". "Teacher" is supposed to be a respected profession. When I look at the stuff my niece or nephew or friends' kids bring home today, I cringe. You know that pretty soon a bunch of 13 year olds are going to be babbling that Philo Farnsworth "invented" UV light. They won't know what ultraviolent light is, they won't know its' relationship in the electromagnetic spectrum, but they'll think good 'ole Philo invented it.
It's wonderful you actually spend time with your child and his homework. I'll bet the majority of parents don't have a clue.
posted on November 20, 2002 02:24:51 PM new"You know that pretty soon a bunch of 13 year olds are going to be babbling that Philo Farnsworth "invented" UV light. They won't know what ultraviolent light is, they won't know its' relationship in the electromagnetic spectrum, but they'll think good 'ole Philo invented it."
