Seeing the Future -- from 1934
Talk about accurate futurism! Thumbing through the Sept 1934 issue of Popular Science (don't ask), I found this: "Television May Add to the Power of Telescope." Without ever hearing about "pixel count" the inventive professor suggested the light gathering power might reach that of a "2000 inch reflector," when the largest telescope on earth had a 100 inch mirror! The futurist foresaw pixel count saying, "a mosaic of tiny photoelectric cells at the focus of the telescope." 88 years ago! Wow. The James Webb has 8 million "tiny photoelectric cells!" ... and they see Infra-red! I'm sure even the far-seeing Dr. Francois Henroteau* (Canadian, dontcha know) would have been blown away. I sure am, both by his prescience and by the JWST itself. THAT FUTURE JUST KEEPS THUNDERING DOWN THE TIME TRACK. * A NYTime piece on Francois