8th Grade Inventor Research 2014

James T. Russell James T. Russell (Left), born in Bremerton Washington, is a very influential inventor in the music industry. Russell, an avid music fan, frustrated by the poor quality of his records, set out to create a means of playing music that would have better longevity. With this goal in mind, Russell created the first “digital-to-optical recording and playback system,” what we know now as the compact disc. He used light to read the product instead of actually touching the material. The invention was finished in the late 1960s, and was originally patented by 1970. By 1985, Russell had over 26 patents on the invention, and sold the licenses to companies like Phillips Electronics, to produce the compact disc.

The music industry has been changed and has had great advancements throughout history. One of the main forms of advancement stems from the ways in which the industry has faced recording, and publication. Society has seen the industry veer from the standard eight-track, to the record, to the tape, to CD, to MP3, etc., and with each new advancement, the entire industry changes. It isn’t uncommon for a person to see many changes of medium within a lifetime. With each change comes better quality, more innovation, and more possibility for further progression.

The Compact Disc The invention of the CD has had one of the most influential, and timely effects on the music industry. The CD came into the technology scene in the 1980s. Philips Electronics N.V first produced it in 1980. The invention originated in the computer industry in 1980, and took over the floppy disk. It could contain the same amount of information as 1,000 floppy disks, thus it became a very popular alternative. Soon, it also became influential in the music industry in 1982, when technology was invented that allowed the disc to hold audio files with a far better sound quality than was prior possible. The compact disc is read by a laser beam, which leads to a more accurate and qualified playback. In addition, compact discs allowed the user to skip between songs with out using the fast forward/ rewind button, a feature that wasn’t available on the magnetic cassette tape.

There's a bit in Wonderful World that has to do with Post-it Notes so we did some research into this seemingly ubiquitous office product and learned some fun stuff. Here goes, courtesy of the inventor, 3-M.  - The Post-it Note was invented as a solution without a problem: In 1968 Dr. Spencer Silver developed a unique, repositionable adhesive, but the 3M scientist didn't know what to do with his discovery. Early ideas included a sticky bulletin board for temporary messages, or as a low-powered spray adhesive. Silver kept plugging away at the possibilities of this new glue, presenting it individually and during seminars.

Then, six years later, a colleague of Dr. Silver, Art Fry, remembered the light adhesive when he was daydreaming about a bookmark that would stay put in his church hymnal. The rest is history. - Post-it Notes were introduced to the American market in 1980 by the 3M Company. 

- A Post-it Note weathered a flight from Las Vegas to Minneapolis on the nose of the plane. It endured speeds of 500 mph and temperatures as low as -56 degree Fahrenheit. - In 1989 a family left a Post-it® Note on their front door during Hurricane Hugo and it was there 3 days later. Their trees weren’t.