Exhibition opening group photo

Left to right: Professor Francis Ring, Councillor Sarah Bevan, Derek Birch, Rosemary Wilman (RPS President), Andy Finney
Photo by Sally Smart

The bolometer

The thermal people often refer to bolometers. These basically are remote thermometers, and usually work by focussing heat radiation onto something which changes its characteristics, in a measurable way, when it warms up. The original version used a platinum foil strip blackened with soot from a candle. Its electrical resistance changed with temperature. The inventor was Samuel Pierpont Langley, in 1878.

This gave rise to the following rhyme/limerick which was quoted several times during the Infrared 100 events last week.

Oh Langley devised the bolometer
Which is really a kind of thermometer
Which can measure the heat
From a polar bear's feet
At a distance of half a kilometre

Who said science can't be fun! Sadly, it seems Langley actually measured the temperature of a cow from a quarter of a mile ... but that doesn't rhyme [Ref]. There are variations and I believe the original rhyme is by Mr Anon.

Infrared 100 Exhibition and Symposium

Last week was a busy one. We had the private view/launch of the Infrared 100 exhibition at the RPS in Bath on Monday and the two-day symposium on Thursday and Friday. [See the earlier blog entry]

A corner of the exhibition at Fenton House

A number of our photographers were able to join us for the launch and Rosemary Wilman, President of the Royal Photographic Society was host. Councillor Sarah Bevan, who is the chair of Bath and North East Somerset Council (known locally as BNES) also gave a short speech, and proved very knowledgeable on the subject too. So, as they say, a splendid time was had by all.

The two-day symposium in London was also well-supported and I discovered such things as just how much has been done in infrared astronomy in recent years, not to mention the fascinating way african elephants control their body temperature in an unforgiving climate. My great thanks to Francis Ring and Helen Walker who each organised one of the two days and especially to the hospitality of the Royal Astronomical Society who hosted day one and jointly-branded day two which was in the Geological Society ... both in Burlington House. One guest on both days was Professor Paul Feldman from RW Wood's own establishment, Johns Hopkins University, and it was really great to meet him.

I am now starting discussions that I hope will lead to an exciting event next May in central London which will be open to all. Fingers crossed.

Cover of the RPS Journal

Fishing on the River Avon at Christchurch by Andy Finney

I remember it was Dr Hook who sang about being on the cover of Rolling Stone: they even got there. Well, I'm delighted to say that I finally made the cover of the RPS Journal Infrared Centenary Edition. It's a faux-colour image taken in Christchurch in Hampshire last year. The colours have a little to do with real life but also to do with infrared leaking through the Beyer filtering on the sensor of my Sony DSC-F828 camera. The edition also includes Clive Haynes discussing infrared digital photography and a piece on the background to Professor Wood's 1910 and 1911 infrared photographs, by me.

Infrared 100 Exhibition

The Infrared 100 exhibition has opened at the RPS Fenton House Gallery in Bath (a short but uphill walk along Wells Road from the centre of town: MAP).

The exhibition runs until Thursday 28th October, 0930 to 1630 Monday to Friday: info on RPS web site.

Moydrum Castle by Simon Marsden 1978

These are the images included (in title order) ...

• Aerial photograph at 23,000 feet, showing Mount Shasta at a distance of 331 miles Captain Albert W Stevens, US Army Air Corp 1932
• African Elephant Thermogram Professor James Mercer
• Approaching Storm, Cape Cod Joseph Paduano, 1984
• Baby Stars in the Rosette Molecular Cloud Herschel Space Observatory 2010
• Bob Dylan,Woodstock Elliott Landy 1968
• Children watching Mickey Mouse cartoon James Jarché for the Daily Herald 1934
• Cottage in the Woods Martin Addison FRPS
• Dover and the French coast Bill Warhurst for the Times May 9th 1932
• Foreboding Mel Gigg FRPS
• Group photograph taken in total darkness at Kodak Research lab, October 7th 1931
• How Caple: the Gateway Malcolm Haynes
• Infrared rainbow with secondary and supernumeries Professor Robert Greenler 1971
• Kingsley Pond Keith Millar
• Lantern slide comparing views of Mars and San José William Hammond Wright, Lick Observatory 1924
• Lochan na h’Achlaise Peter Clark FRPS
• Magical Banyans Theresa Airey
• Minneapolis Dream Diane Syme 1996
• Mojave Desert Nude Chris Maher
• Moydrum Castle Simon Marsden 1978
• New Orleans Streetcar on St Charles Carol M Highsmith
• Park in Portugal CEK (Kenneth) Mees 1910
• Puff the Magic Dragon Mike Finley
• Resolution Clive Haynes FRPS
• Rosebud as Demeter Abe Frajndlich 1975
• Shephali at the Taj Mahal Martin Reeves 1990
• Sunflower Andy Finney
• The Final Bow Colin Trow-Poole ARPS
• Thermal Dancer ProfessorJoseph Giacomin
• Thermogram showing rheumatoid athritis in the knee Professor Francis Ring 1959
• Tortworth Alan Lewis LRPS
• Tree with Exposed Roots Tim Rudman FRPS
• Untitled Akron Ohio Stephen Paternite 1980

You can also see Karl Ferris's fish-eye colour infrared photo of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, on the cover of their first album as released in the USA. Professor Wood's 1910 Photographic Journal article will also be on display, as is the double-page spread from the Illustrated London News of June 1911.

I'll be very interested in your comments if you visit the exhibition. Photos without dates are the contemporary set and all date from this millennium. My huge thanks to Simon Marsden for allowing us to use his photograph to help promote the event. Simon's web sites are: www.simonmarsden.co.uk and www.marsdenarchive.com. I would also like to acknowledge the help of ILFORD Lab Direct, who superbly printed our black and white archival images.