George E. Smith, a pivotal researcher at Bell Labs, died at 95. Alongside Willard S. Boyle, his brainstorming in 1969 led to the concept of the charge-coupled device (CCD), which transformed light into electrical signals. Initially aimed at a video phone project, their innovation later became the cornerstone of digital photography. Their work built on Einstein's photoelectric effect, leading to widespread applications in imaging technology. Smith and Boyle were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009, recognizing the enduring significance of their revolutionary idea that changed how we capture and process images.
Dr. Smith and Boyle theorized that the electrical charge from light dislodging electrons could be directed and stored, leading to the creation of digital imaging.
"What you want is a photon to come in, and for every photon to make one electron that you can count," Dr. Smith noted in his oral history.
Though they initially worked on a video phone concept, the discovery of the CCD revolutionized digital photography long after the PicturePhone project was abandoned.
The patent for the charge-coupled device was registered in 1974, eventually leading to Kodak's prototype digital camera unveiled in 1975.
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