 Short Stories of Science and InventionA Collection of Radio Talks byCharles F. KetteringINDEXWeekly, from September 1942 to July 1945, Charles F. Kettering gave five-minute intermission talks about Science and Invention during the radio broadcasts of the General Motors Symphony of the Air. Kettering invented the first automobile self-starter, and for 31 years directed a research laboratory for General Motors. These radio talks are a fascinating legacy from the mind of a prolific inventor. The obvious anachronisms now add a historical perspective of the war-time period in which they were written. These web pages now preserve some of the most popular stories for a new generation to read The text and art come from a General Motors booklet of selected talks. (Reprint, March 1959) |
A Radio Talk by Charles F. Kettering 
Before our modern scientific age came into being, this tying
together of different types of knowledge was done as a rule by people
who were educated in one field and through choice or force of
circumstances worked in another. One of the outstanding men of this
class was Hermann Von Helmholtz
who lived more than a century ago and
brought together physiology, music and physics.Helmholtz was born in Potsdam, Germany in 1821. His father was an eminent teacher and his son received an excellent education in medicine and surgery. After practicing medicine for a while, young Helmholtz taught anatomy in Berne and then physiology in several of the best universities, including Konigsberg. What is still more important, in the latter part of his life he became professor of physics in the University of Berlin where he made great contributions to the physiological effect of sound and light. |
