Magnetic recording, past and present

Abstract

Why is the old complaint true: “The ancients have stolen our inventions?” There are good reasons: It is easy to propose something, difficult to make it work. Excellent ideas are often discarded when a trifling mistake gives negative results; later a luckier discoverer gets the credit. Case histories in magnetic recording illustrate these points. Metal particle tape was proposed 95 years ago. High frequency bias had its roots in the Marconi-Muirhead wireless detector of 1902. Digital recording goes back at least to Morse's telegraph of 1840. The rotating-head principle used for video recorders dates back about three decades before it became practical. Sendust used in the latest recording heads was invented in 1936. Magnetic disks, the important memory of personal computers, were demonstrated in about 1905. Soundstriping for motion picture film goes back to the early 1920s. Personal experiences of failures and successes are related.