High-Speed Motion Pictures With Stroboscopic Light
HEE-FV-016
- Date:
- 1936 ±
- Location:
- MIT laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Cambridge MA
- Image(s):
- Black & White
- Sound(s):
- Silent
- Maker:
- Harold E. Edgerton
- Film type:
- 16 mm Kodak positive print
- Run time:
- 10:54
- People:
- Harold E. Edgerton, Kenneth Germeshausen
Harold E. Edgerton put together a series of demonstrations of high-speed photography research conducted at MIT’s Electrical Engineering Department in the mid-1930s. With detailed title cards explaining each example, he illustrates the use of stroboscopic light to study machinery and the use of high-speed photography to capture movement too fast to be seen with the naked eye. The compilation includes high-speed (slow motion) footage of smoke moving though fan blades, spring vibrations, gasoline engine springs, machinery oscillations, the bursting of a soap bubble, a canary in flight, multiple objects being dropped into milk, a cat falling, fighting roosters, a snake's tongue, breaking light bulbs and water leaving a spout.
TIME CODE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
00:00:01 | Introductory information: film title, synopsis, date, run time. |
00:00:08 | Film begins. |
00:00:11 | [Title card, shown against a night image of the Great Dome of MIT] “Taken at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Electrical Engineering Dept.) by means of Stroboscopic Light” |
00:00:16 | [Title card] “An electric fan observed with a Stroboscope” |
00:00:19 | Footage of a spinning electrical fan, filmed at regular speed. |
00:00:26 | [Title card] “Smoke shows the passage of air through the blades.” |
00:00:31 | Slow motion film of moving fan blades and curling eddies of air revealed by smoke blown against blade ends. |
00:00:43 | [Title card] “A closer view.” |
00:00:45 | A closer image of smoke passing through the fan blades. |
00:01:01 | [Title card] “The vibrations of springs are usually so rapid that they appear as a blur.” |
00:01:07 | A spring mechanism is set into motion. |
00:01:12 | [Title card] “Stroboscopic light apparently slows down the motion.” |
00:01:15 | The vibrations of springs are shown under stroboscopic light. |
00:01:28 | [Title card] “A spring has many modes of vibration.” |
00:01:32 | Slow motion film reveals the apparent changes in vibration of a spring shown under different frequencies of stroboscopic light. |
00:01:37 | [Title card] “The valve springs of a gasoline engine.” |
00:01:42 | Film at regular speed shows the movements of springs in a gasoline engine. |
00:01:45 | [Title card] “The stroboscope shows surges.” |
00:01:47 | Slow motion film shows the movement of gasoline engine springs, under stroboscopic light. |
00:02:11 | [Title card] “The stroboscope is useful for studying electrical machinery.” |
00:02:16 | Moving heavy machinery is observed by placing a stroboscopic light near the moving parts. |
00:02:25 | [Title card] “Oscillations are evident when the motor is synchronized.” |
00:02:29 | A man (likely Kenneth Germeshausen) adjusts machinery at a large control panel. |
00:02:32 | The man again holds a strobe light near the machine and adjusts the flash rate to show the change in oscillations on the machine. |
00:02:44 | [Title card] “The flashes of light from the stroboscope are so quick that they "stop" all motion.” |
00:02:52 | [Title card] “This property permits photographs to be taken upon a moving film.” |
00:02:59 | [Title card] “A camera utilizing this principle has been constructed at M.I.T.” |
00:03:05 | An unidentified man prepares and adjusts a high-speed camera. |
00:03:14 | [Title card] “The film races by the lens at a speed of 75 feet per second.” |
00:03:20 | A demonstration of how quickly the film moves through the high-speed camera. |
00:03:26 | [Title card] “A commutator controls the instant of flashing so that the pictures are framed for projection.” |
00:03:33 | Demonstration of a commutator (a rotary electrical switch that periodically reverses the current) hooked to the camera; a man points out features of the mechanism. |
00:03:40 | [Title card] “The high-speed camera is capable of slowing down the fast motions of many subjects besides those of engineering and scientific interest.” |
00:03:51 | [Title card] “A series of interesting subjects follow-” |
00:03:55 | [Title card] “The bursting of a soap bubble by a small object.” |
00:04:00 | A man sets up equipment to film the bursting of a soap bubble. |
00:04:10 | [Title card] “The collapse of a soap bubble is too quick to be seen.” |
00:04:16 | A soap bubble is burst, shown at regular speed. |
00:04:18 | [Title card] “The high-speed camera shows the manner of bursting. (Taken at 1200 pictures per second)” |
00:04:31 | High-speed film footage of a soap bubble bursting. |
00:04:38 | [Title card] “A canary dropped from the hand.” |
00:04:40 | A canary is dropped, filmed at regular speed. |
00:04:45 | [Title card] “As photographed by the high-speed camera.” |
00:04:46 | The canary is dropped, as captured in slow motion by high-speed camera. |
00:04:50 | [Title card] “Ball bearing dropped into a glass of milk.” |
00:04:55 | High-speed (slow motion) footage of a ball bearing being dropped into milk. |
00:05:10 | [Title card] “Hexagon nut dropped into a glass of milk. Notice the first splash coming up through the hole in the nut.” |
00:05:15 | High-speed footage of a hexagon nut being dropped into a glass of milk. |
00:05:38 | [Title card] “A cat always lands on its feet.” |
00:05:42 | High-speed (slow motion) footage of a cat being dropped onto a tabletop. |
00:06:11 | [Title card] “Fighting Cocks” |
00:06:13 | High-speed footage of roosters fighting. |
00:06:59 | [Title card] “A golf ball splashed into a pail of water.” |
00:07:03 | High-speed footage of a golf ball being dropped into water. |
00:07:18 | [Title card] “Hammer Striking An Electric Light Bulb.” |
00:07:21 | High-speed footage of a hammer striking a light bulb. |
00:07:36 | [Title card] “Jets of Water in Slow Motion” |
00:07:40 | A man sets up the water jet device for high-speed capture. |
00:07:45 | A stream of water is shown moving in slow motion, back-lit, separating into individual droplets. |
00:08:05 | The stream of water shown in slow motion, with normal light, on the verge of separating into droplets. |
00:08:20 | [Title card] “Motion pictures showing the action of a snake's tongue.” |
00:08:24 | High-speed footage of a flickering snake tongue. |
00:08:38 | [Title card] “The splashing of milk drops.” |
00:08:41 | Footage of milk drops taken at regular speed. |
00:08:54 | [Title card] “The splash as seen by the high-speed camera.” |
00:08:59 | Footage of milk drops dropping into milk, filmed with a high-speed camera. |
00:09:18 | [Title card] “The drops are made to fall a greater distance.” |
00:09:23 | The milk dropper device is raised higher. |
00:09:30 | Slow motion footage of milk drops falling into milk from a greater height. |
00:09:45 | [Title card] “Still greater.” |
00:09:47 | High-speed footage of milk drops falling an even greater distance. |
00:10:14 | [Title card] “A beautiful crown is formed when a milk drop strikes a plate covered by a thin film of milk.” |
00:10:24 | High-speed footage of a milk drop falling into a thin layer of milk, creating a coronet of droplets; the process is repeated several times. |
00:10:48 | [Title] “Finis” |
00:10:54 | © 2010 MIT credits. |