Death of a Light Bulb

© Estate of Harold Edgerton

Death of a Light Bulb

Currently not on view

Death of a Light Bulb,

1936, printed 1980s

Harold Eugene Edgerton, 1903–1990; born Freemont, NE; died Cambridge, MA; active Cambridge, MA
x1989-12
Edgerton, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was fascinated by the challenge of capturing transient moments. He invented the strobe light in the 1930s and patented the stroboscope, a high-powered flash with an exceptionally fast cooldown time, in 1949. Combined with photography, fast flashes can help capture an otherwise undetectable succession of rapid events, such as a bullet piercing a light bulb. Edgerton revolutionized photography, producing images that balanced scientific precision with artistic experimentation.

Information

Title
Death of a Light Bulb
Dates

1936, printed 1980s

Maker
Harold Eugene Edgerton
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image (each): 19.1 x 23.4 cm. (7 1/2 x 9 3/16 in.) sheet: 50.7 x 60.7 cm (19 15/16 x 23 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Young
Object Number
x1989-12
Inscription
Insc. on sheet: Death of a Light Bulb/.3 cal. Bullet Ca. 1936 11/40; on sheet: Harold Edgerton; verso: Harold Edgerton/3610.3011
Culture
American
Type
black-and-white photographs, photographs
Subject
light bulbs

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