1950's Science and Technology | Carlson, Chester 1906-1968

INVENTOR OF XEROGRAPHY

The Need.

Chester Carlson was an ingenious and determined man who saw a problem and solved it. After graduating from college, he worked briefly for Bell Laboratories. He lost this position during the Depression of the 1930s and went to law school. He eventually became a patent attorney. To copy the information from various sources required for his job, he had to write it out tediously by hand. Carlson saw the need for a copying machine and set about making one. He used the kitchen of his apartment as a laboratory. His landlord's daughter came to his door to investigate a foul odor one day. She was intrigued enough by his activities to marry him.

The Principle.

He began from a basic scientific principle: some charged particles (positive or negative), when exposed to light, will attach themselves to a surface that has the opposite charge. After some experimentation, he placed an image...