The Marginalian
The Marginalian

How Muybridge Changed Science Through Art: A Fascinating Vintage Short Film by the U.S. Department of Defense

Pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge (April 9, 1830–May 8, 1904) conducted some of the earliest experiments in chronophotography. His locomotion studies shaped early animation. In 1965, more than half a century after Muybridge’s death, the U.S. Department of Defense commissioned It Started with Muybridge — a fascinating short documentary, currently in the public domain, tracing how Muybridge’s motion studies contributed to the science and technology of the Atomic Age, from testing the safety limits of nuclear reactors to measuring the speed of supersonic missiles.

Towards the beginning of the film is also a fine addition to this omnibus of famous definitions of science:

Discovery begins with observation. The scientist studies forms, movement, patterns — the commonplace with the unusual.

For some ownable Muybridge, see Eadweard Muybridge: The Human and Animal Locomotion Photographs.


Published April 11, 2012

https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/04/11/it-started-with-muybridge-1965/

BP

www.themarginalian.org

BP

PRINT ARTICLE

Filed Under

View Full Site

The Marginalian participates in the Bookshop.org and Amazon.com affiliate programs, designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to books. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book from a link here, I receive a small percentage of its price, which goes straight back into my own colossal biblioexpenses. Privacy policy. (TLDR: You're safe — there are no nefarious "third parties" lurking on my watch or shedding crumbs of the "cookies" the rest of the internet uses.)