QuoteReplyTopic: Ibero-America unknown Posted: 21-Oct-2006 at 10:47
Ibero-America is a cultural region that links together all the countries of Europe and the Americas that speak Spanish and Portuguese and that have a common root in the Iberian peninsula, both by culture and blood.
People outside the region knows very little about it. It is usually is nothing more than an stereotype. That's why I challenge you with the questions above.
This is a more precise definition of Ibero-America:
Ibero-America (also "Spanish and Portuguese Speaking Commonwealth of Independent States") is a term which started to be used in the second half of the 19th century to refer collectively to the countries in the Americas which were formerly colonies of Spain or Portugal. Spain and Portugal are themselves included, for example the Organization of Ibero-American States has them as member states.
You already killed two questions . Yes, the color TV was developed by Camarena
Guillermo Gonzlez Camarena (Guadalajara, Jalisco, February 17, 1917 - Puebla, April 18, 1965), was a Mexican engineer that invented the color television. His family moved to Mexico City when Guillermo was almost 2 years old. Since he was very young, he made electronically propelled toys and at the age of twelve built his first Amateur radio. In 1930 he got matriculated at the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (ESIME) by the IPN in Mexico City and got a licence for radio operation two years later.
EL ING. GONZLEZ CAMARENA OBTIENE EN MXICO Y EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS LA PRIMERA PATENTE PARA LA TELEVISIN A COLORES. El ingeniero Guillermo Gonzlez Camarena obtiene la patente de su invento tanto en Mxico como en Estados Unidos el 19 de agosto de 1940. Este sistema de televisin en color se empieza a utilizar con fines cientficos.
To be completely honest about the color TV invention, it was one of those inventions that several people got to about the same time independently.
This often happens with technology. The information is out there, and several people come up with the same solution at the same time. :)
Camarena is very unusual in Mexico. Mexicans tend to be very good at keeping systems going or reverse engineering. They are very creative at that. We can keep obsolete technology running on rubber bands and chewing gum. They don't seem too keen on inovations in technology.
Most of Mexican creativity goes into the arts or the humanities.
Miami is the center of American Hispanic Media. However, another important media centers would be Mexico in mass media as in television, music, magazines, and comics and Argentina in book publishing.
Yes, I agree with your post. Now, we have half the questions blew up .
Now for the point of Mexican inventions, you would be suprise to find out color TV has not been the single contribution of Mexicans to mankind.
Now I would explain the topic of "chess computer" and "remote control".
Few people outside the Spanish and Hispanic engineering historical circles know him, but he is considered one of the most outstanding Spanish inventors: Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852-1936)
He invented, among others, the first electromechanical device that was able to play chess. It was not an hoax like previous inventions of charlatans but a real electromechanical machines that played the ends of the game. He was also the inventor of the first remote control. His was a remote control that sent "codes" to a robot that interpreted it, rather that just an analogic signal. This is his bio:
Torres was born on 28 December 1852, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, in Santa Cruz de Igua, Molledo (Cantabria), Spain. The family resided for the most part in Bilbao, where Torres's father worked as a railway engineer, although they also spent long periods in his mother's family home on Cantabrian Mountains. In Bilbao he studied to enter an advanced high school program and later spent two years in Paris to complete his studies. In 1870, his father was transferred, bringing his family to Madrid. The same year, Torres began his higher studies in the Official School of the Road Engineers' Corps. He temporarily suspended his studies in 1873 to volunteer for the defense of Bilbao, which had been surrounded by Carlist troops during the Third Carlist War. Returning to Madrid, he completed his studies in 1876, fourth in his graduating class.
He began his career with the same train company for which his father had worked, but he immediately set out on a long trip through Europe to get to know the scientific and technical advances of the day firsthand, especially in the incipient area of electricity. Upon returning to Spain, he took up residence in Santander where he financed his own work and began a regimen of study and investigation that he never abandoned. The fruit of these investigations appeared in his first scientific work in 1893.
He married in 1885 and eventually had eight children.
In 1899 he moved to Madrid and became involved in that city's cultural life. From the work he carried out in these years, the Athenaeum created the Laboratory of Applied Mechanics of which he was named director. The Laboratory dedicated itself to the manufacture of scientific instruments. That same year, he entered the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences in Madrid, of which entity he was president in 1910. Among the works of the Laboratory, the cinematography of Gonzalo Braas and the X-rayspectrograph of Cabrera and Costa are notable.
In 1902, Leonardo Torres Quevedo presented to the Science Academies of Madrid and Paris the project of a new type of dirigible that would solve the serious problem of suspending the gondola by including an internal frame of flexible cables that would give the airship rigidity by way of interior pressure.
In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindeln, Torres directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located in Guadalajara. It was completed successfully, and the new airship, the Espaa, made numerous test and exhibition flights. As a result, a collaboration began between Torres and the French company Astra, which managed to buy the patent with a cession of rights extended to all countries except Spain, in order to make possible the construction of the dirigible in its country. So, in 1911, the construction of dirigibles known as theAstra-Torres was begun. Some were acquired by the French and British armies at the beginning of 1913, and were used during the First World War for diverse tasks, principally naval protection and inspection.
In 1918, Torres designed, in collaboration with the engineer Emilio Herrera Linares, a transatlantic dirigible, which was named Hispania, aiming to claim the honor of the first transatlantic flight for Spain. Owing to financial problems, the project was delayed and it was the Britons John Alcock and Arthur Brown who crossed the Atlantic without stop from Newfoundland to Ireland in a Vickers Vimy twin-engine plane, in sixteen hours and twelve minutes.
Chess Automaton
In early 1910 Torres began to construct a chess automaton he dubbed El Ajedrecista (The Chessplayer) which was able to automatically play a king and rook endgame against king from any position using electromagnets under the board, without any human intervention.
Cableways
Torres's experimentation in the area of cableways and cable cars began very early during his residence in the town of his birth, Molledo. There, in 1887, he constructed the first cableway to span a depression of some 40 metres. The cableway was some 200 metres across and was pulled by a pair of cows, with one log seat. This experiment was the basis for the request for his first patent, which he sought in the same year: an aerial cable car with multiple cables, with which it obtained a level of safety suitable for the transport of people, not only cargo. Later, he constructed the cableway of the Ro Len, of greater speed and already with a motor, but which continued to be used solely for the transport of materials, not of people. In 1890 he presented his cableway in Switzerland, a country very interested in that transport owing to its geography and which was already coming to use cable cars for bulk transport, but Torres's project was dismissed, allowing certain ironic commentary from the Swiss press. In 1907, Torres constructed the first cableway suitable for the public transportation of people, in Monte Ula in San Sebastin. The problem of safety was solved by means of an ingenious system of multiple support cables. The resulting design was very strong and perfectly resisted the rupture of one of the support cables. The execution of the project was the responsibility of the Society of Engineering Studies and Works of Bilbao, which successfully constructed other cableways in Chamonix, Rio de Janeiro, and elsewhere. But it is doubtless the Spanish Aerocar in Niagara Falls in Canada which has gained the greatest fame in this area of activity, although from a scientific point of view it was not the most important. The cableway of 580 meters in length is an aerial cable car that spans the whirlpool in the Niagara Gorge on the Canadian side, constructed between 1914 and 1916, a Spanish project from beginning to end: devised by a Spaniard, constructed by a Spanish company with Spanish capital (The Niagara Spanish Aerocar Co. Limited); a bronze plaque, located on a monolith at the entrance of the access station recalls this fact: Spanish aerial ferry of the Niagara. Leonardo Quevedo Torres (18521936). It was inaugurated in tests on 15 February1916 and was officially inaugurated on 8 August1916, opening to the public the following day; the cableway, with small modifications, continues to run to this day, with no accidents worthy of mention, constituting a popular tourist and cinematic attraction.
Radio Control: the Telekino
In 1903, Torres presented the Telekino at the Paris Academy of Science, accompanied by a brief, and making an experimental demonstration. In the same year, he obtained a patent in France, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States. The Telekino consisted of a robot that executed commands transmitted by electromagnetic waves. It constituted the world's first apparatus for radio control and was a pioneer in the field of remote control. In 1906, in the presence of the king and before a great crowd, Torres successfully demonstrated the invention in the port of Bilbao, guiding a boat from the shore. Later, he would try to apply the Telekino to projectiles and torpedoes, but had to abandon the project for lack of financing.
Analogue calculating machines
Analogue calculating machines seek solutions to eqations by translating them into physical phenomena. Numbers are represented by physical magnitudes such as may be done with certain rotational axes, potentials, electrical or electromagnetic states, and so on. A mathematical process is thereby transformed by these machines into an operative process of certain physical magnitudes which leads to a physical result corresponding with the sought mathematical solution. The mathematical problem therefore is solved by a physical model of itself. From the mid 19th century, various such mechanical devices were known, including integrators, multipliers, and so on, to say nothing of Charles Babbage's analytical machine. It is against this background that Torres's work is defined. He began with a presentation in 1893 at the Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of the Memory on algebraic machines. In his time, this was considered an extraordinary success for Spanish scientific production. In 1895 the machines were presented at a congress in Bordeaux. Later on, in 1900, la Memoria would present the calculating machines at the ParisAcademy of Sciences. These machines examined mathematical and physical analogies that underlay analogue calculation or continuous quantities, and how to establish mechanically the relationships between them, expressed in mathematical formulae. The study included complex variables and used the logarithmic scale. From a practical standpoint, it showed that mechanisms such as turning disks could be used endlessly with precision, so that variables' variations were limited in both directions.
On the practical side, Torres built a whole series of analogue calculating machines, all mechanical. These machines used certain elements known as arithmophores which consisted of a moving part and an index that made it possible to read the quantity according to the position shown thereon. The aforesaid moving part was a graduated disk or a drum turning on an axis. The angular movements were proportional to the logarithms of the magnitudes to be represented. Using a number of such elements, Torres developed a machine that could solve algebraic equations, even one with eight terms, finding the roots, including the complex ones, with a precision down to thousandths. One part of this machine, called an "endless spindle" and consisting of great mechanical complexity, allowed the mechanical expression of the relation y=log(10x+1), with the aim of extracting the logarithm of a sum as a sum of logarithms. Since an analogical machine was being used, the variable could be of any value (not only discrete prefixed values). With a polynomial equation, the wheels representing the unknown spin round, and the result gives the values of the sum of the variables. When this sum coincides with the value of the second member, the wheel of the unknown shows a root.
With the intention of demonstrating them, Torres also built a machine for solving a second-grade equation with complex coefficients, and an integrator. Nowadays, the Torres machine is kept in the museum at the ETS de Ingenieros de Caminos of the Technical University of Madrid.
I agree that Iberoamrica is one of the most underrated region of the world, with India and North frica, there are several althought few forumers interested in the native cultures as you can see in the precolumbian forum, but, it's a forum more or less dead, because very few of the interesting post opened there have no answer. Contrary, here the spanish history is well known, after many time with these guys i can say that they have a great knowledge about this, the only problem is that many of their information is contaminated by Black Legend or victorian british prejudices about the spanish history.
I'm happy that you pinguin are promoting the knowledge about all the iberoamerican history, good work
Most of Mexican creativity goes into the arts or the humanities.
There is one very important invention made by a Mexican though: the
anticonception pill. It was invented in 1951 in Mexico by a team led by
Luis Miramontes.
The importance of the anticonception pill should definately not be
underestimated. Though perhaps technologically speaking it wasn't
world-shaking, but the social effects were huge.
Most of Mexican creativity goes into the arts or the humanities.
There is one very important invention made by a Mexican though: the anticonception pill. It was invented in 1951 in Mexico by a team led by Luis Miramontes.
The importance of the anticonception pill should definately not be underestimated. Though perhaps technologically speaking it wasn't world-shaking, but the social effects were huge.
I didn't know that. That's great to know!
It is curious but a Chilean invented the "copper T", the device that is implant in the uterous to prevent pregnacy and that is used worldwide now.
No. They weren't simultaneous inventions. It all depens of what we mean by "remote control". The invention of Telsa is nothing more that a radio transmited that send a signal to control a servo mechanism by an analogical way. You can increase or decrease the speed of a motor that way. That was invented by him.
What Leonardo Torres Quevedo invented was a "digital" remote control, like the ones you use on your TV. That is, a control that send a codified order or COMMAND to a external device (or robot) that react on it.
The remote control of Torres Quevedo is part of the earliest "telematic" devices that were invented, and in some way they started the "digital" age.
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Read this please:
One of the earliest examples of remote control was developed in 1893 by Nikola Tesla, and described in his patent, U.S. Patent 613809, named Method of and Apparatus for Controlling Mechanism of Moving Vehicle or Vehicles.
In 1903, Leonardo Torres Quevedo presented the Telekino at the Paris Academy of Science, accompanied by a brief, and making an experimental demonstration. In the same year, he obtained a patent in France, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States. The Telekino consisted of a robot that executed commands transmitted by electromagnetic waves. It constituted the world's first apparatus for radio control and was a pioneer in the field of remote control. In 1906, in the presence of the king and before a great crowd, Torres successfully demonstrated the invention in the port of Bilbao, guiding a boat from the shore. Later, he would try to apply the Telekino to projectiles and torpedoes, but had to abandon the project for lack of financing.
I agree that Iberoamrica is one of the most underrated region of the world, with India and North frica, there are several althought few forumers interested in the native cultures as you can see in the precolumbian forum, but, it's a forum more or less dead, because very few of the interesting post opened there have no answer. Contrary, here the spanish history is well known, after many time with these guys i can say that they have a great knowledge about this, the only problem is that many of their information is contaminated by Black Legend or victorian british prejudices about the spanish history.
I'm happy that you pinguin are promoting the knowledge about all the iberoamerican history, good work
Well, it is a pitty most people of the world don't know about the Pre-contact Americas, because that region contributed in so many things to the development of the world, that it's impossible to ignore. At least in Hispanic America we love our native cultures, and we believe Mayans can easily compare to Greeks, Aztecs and Incas to Romans, and Nezahualcoyotl to the best poet of the old world. So, we don't forget that past.
Now, in the case of Iberoamerica, I believe the problem is we need a department of publicity . The fact is, if iberoamerica had been serious about spreading the news of its own achievements to the world, the image it has would be very different. It's our own fault, I believe.
With respect to the parallel invention of color TV, that's false too. The first patent for color TV was given to Gonzales Camarena in 1940.
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DID YOU KNOW? FACTS & FICTION WITH A MEXICAN TWIST OCTOBER 2003
Did You Know That...
...the world's first patent for a color TV was granted to a Mexican inventor?
Guillermo Gonzlez Camarena was just 23 years old in 1940 when he obtained US Patent No. 2,296,022 protecting his invention of a "Trichromatic" system for color television transmissions.
The method is sometimes referred to as a "field sequential" system. Basically, a motor-driven disk, consisting of three segments in the primary colors - red, blue and green - rotates behind the camera lens. The resulting film is monochromatic (black and white). If it is replayed fast enough through an identical disk, precisely synchronized with the original filming, then each separate single-color "filtered view" is retained by the eye long enough to complete a full-color image.
The system became the first color TV system to be approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and in 1950 was accepted as the "standard" system. Its major disadvantage was that the signals used to transmit the images did not allow a good picture to be obtained on any TV that was only capable of displaying black-and-white images.
But how did a 23-year-old come to invent the world's first color TV system?
Gonzlez was born in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, on February 17, 1917. His family moved to Mexico City when he was two years old.
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And about Camarena being forgotten:
Our article on the invention of color television at the RCA Laboratories after World War II (U.S. 1, November 14, 2001), continues to provoke E-mail, such as this one from Ricardo Cuadra:
"Why is it, that all of you being scholars and capable of gathering good research, don't even mention Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena of Mexico who obtained the first patent for colored television in the world back in 1940.
"The first experimental television transmission in Mexico - from Cuernavaca to Mexico City - was arranged by Francisco Javier Stavoli in 1931. Stavoli purchased a Nipkow system from Western Television in Chicago with funding from the ruling party, which was then called the Mexican Revolutionary Party and became the current Institutional Revolutionary Party. In 1934 Camarena built his own monochromatic camera; by 1939, Camarena had developed a Trichromatic system, and in 1940 he obtained the first patent for color television in the world. In 1942, after Lee deForest met with him in order to buy the rights, he secured the U.S. patent under description of the Chromoscopic Adaptors for Television Equipment."
Alex Magoun, curator of the Sarnoff Library and museum, replied. "Thank you for responding, as I have learned about another television pioneer. Please allow me, however, to respond in turn.
"You cite a widely repeated, unquestioned article on Sr. Camarena. I do not doubt his talents and acknowledge the limitations on his abilities because of the political and economic circumstances in Mexico in that time. Sr. Camarena, however, was working on electro-mechanical systems of color television, which is not surprising given his training as an electromechanical engineer. The article in U.S.1 highlighted RCA Laboratories because it invented and demonstrated the first all-electronic color television system, one that we still use with minimal adaptations today around the world.
"I have strong doubts about the claim made on Sr. Camarena's behalf that his August 19, 1940 patent was the first for color television in the U.S. Patent Office for two reasons. First, the patent number listed, USP no. 2,296,022, was awarded to M. Chernow on September 19, 1942 for a method of attaching monograms. You can look this up on the US Patent and Trademark Office's website: www.uspto.gov/patft/. Second, Camarena's could not have been the first for the U.S. since AT&T certainly patented the electro-mechanical color TV system that it demonstrated in 1929, and Vladimir Zworykin applied in 1925 for a patent on a nearly all-electronic color system.
"Perhaps if one was willing to perform some scholarship, we would begin to know the motivations, inspirations, and frustrations that shaped this fine man's career and contributions. Unfortunately, support for the study of the history of invention and innovation is poorly funded around the world, and we do not have the resources to locate such a scholar or inspire them in this direction."
I voted for the space record one. Nobody's mentioned that so far as I can see.
But I note you didn't actually say which space record you're talking about. Certainly not the first man in space, the first to orbit the earth, the first to the moon or the first space walk, or the longest stay in space (at least I don't think so - that's surely a Russian?)
I voted for the space record one. Nobody's mentioned that so far as I can see.
But I note you didn't actually say which space record you're talking about. Certainly not the first man in space, the first to orbit the earth, the first to the moon or the first space walk, or the longest stay in space (at least I don't think so - that's surely a Russian?)
Well, the record in the "number" of space flights is for Frankling Chang-Diaz, a Costa Rican astronaut. He has gone to space seven times. Franklin is a curious individual. Of Chinese and Hispanic ancestry, he is one of the best space scientists Latin America has produced, and he is researching new propulsion systems for NASA.
He is considered an heroe in his country, and an important figure for the rest of Latinos.
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