Nicéphore Niépce invented long-lasting photography, and the internal combustion engine.

Top that!

Starting from 1800, Thomas Wedgwood and others developed means of capturing basic images on photo-sensitive silver compounds. Unfortunately these images did not last long because there was no means of “fixing” the image: the silver compounds eventually went all dark when exposed to light.

In the mid-1820s, Nicéphore Niépce used bitumen dissolved in petroleum on a metal plate to capture images in a basic camera. The bitumen exposed to light hardened. Exposure times of hours or days were required. After an appropriate exposure period, the non-hardened bitumen was washed away.

This image is the oldest surviving photograph, taken in 1926 at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes.

This photograph of a dinner setting, captured by Niépce in 1929, also survives.

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In 1807, Nicéphore and his brother Claude built the Pyréolophore, an internal combustion engine which ran on coal dust and lycopodium powder (the spores of a clubmoss, which were used as a flash powder back in the day.)
In order to prove its utility, the Niépce brothers fitted the contraption (which ran to about a tonne) to a small boat, which was successfully powered upstream. They were awarded a patent for the Pyréolophore, the first such for an internal combustion engine.

>This image is the oldest surviving photograph, taken in 1926 at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes.

I don’t believe you.

Shopped!

(In case people don’t notice, the photo dates are wrong)

Ah yeah.

Subtract 100 from the years on the pictures, but leave the other years as they are. 1826, 1829.

dv said:

Ah yeah.

Subtract 100 from the years on the pictures, but leave the other years as they are. 1826, 1829.

I was about to say something about when roll film was invented but refrained.

So what stopped him developing these projects further? Death?

Hmmm…yeah, I was going to say something about the 1929 photos of my father at 9 years of age standing in a field.

Death and destitution, by the looks:

Death

Nicéphore Niépce died on July 5, 1833, financially ruined by the semi-delirious spending of Claude such that his grave in the cemetery of Saint-Loup de Varennes was financed by the municipality. The cemetery is near the family house where he had experimented and had made the world’s first photographic image.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nic%C3%A9phore_Ni%C3%A9pce

Bubblecar said:

So what stopped him developing these projects further? Death?

The bitumen idea did prove to be something of a dead-end due to the long exposure times required. He worked with Daguerre for some years on other methods but died in 1833.

My kingdom for an edit button.

dv said:

My kingdom for an edit button.

Ha!

Bubblecar said:

So what stopped him developing these projects further? Death?

That and a fella called Fox Talbot who invented a much better photographic system. Better than Niepce’s and better than Daguerre’s in that it made a negative that could be printed multiple times. Both Niepce and Daguerre’s systems just made the one copy.

pommiejohn said:

Bubblecar said:

So what stopped him developing these projects further? Death?

That and a fella called Fox Talbot who invented a much better photographic system. Better than Niepce’s and better than Daguerre’s in that it made a negative that could be printed multiple times. Both Niepce and Daguerre’s systems just made the one copy.

That’s not what stopped Niepce. He was long dead before Talbot got anything working.

dv said:

pommiejohn said:

Bubblecar said:

So what stopped him developing these projects further? Death?

That and a fella called Fox Talbot who invented a much better photographic system. Better than Niepce’s and better than Daguerre’s in that it made a negative that could be printed multiple times. Both Niepce and Daguerre’s systems just made the one copy.

That’s not what stopped Niepce. He was long dead before Talbot got anything working.

His method was a technological dead end though, as was Daguerre’s.

IIRC Niepce was trying to make a “direct to plate” method so prints could be made from his images.

This image is the oldest surviving photograph, taken in 1926 (1826) at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes.
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I think you will find the Shroud of Turin has a 400 year head start…

pommiejohn said:

dv said:

pommiejohn said:

That and a fella called Fox Talbot who invented a much better photographic system. Better than Niepce’s and better than Daguerre’s in that it made a negative that could be printed multiple times. Both Niepce and Daguerre’s systems just made the one copy.

That’s not what stopped Niepce. He was long dead before Talbot got anything working.

His method was a technological dead end though, as was Daguerre’s.

IIRC Niepce was trying to make a “direct to plate” method so prints could be made from his images.

In fairness, photography using negatives has also proved to be a dead end…

dv said:

pommiejohn said:

dv said:

That’s not what stopped Niepce. He was long dead before Talbot got anything working.

His method was a technological dead end though, as was Daguerre’s.

IIRC Niepce was trying to make a “direct to plate” method so prints could be made from his images.

In fairness, photography using negatives has also proved to be a dead end…

So how come everybody (cough, cough) focusses on photography, when he and his brother invented the infernal combustion engine, which is yet to be superseded?

the infernal combustion engine
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like yore word play…

The Rev Dodgson said:

dv said:

pommiejohn said:

His method was a technological dead end though, as was Daguerre’s.

IIRC Niepce was trying to make a “direct to plate” method so prints could be made from his images.

In fairness, photography using negatives has also proved to be a dead end…

So how come everybody (cough, cough) focusses on photography, when he and his brother invented the infernal combustion engine, which is yet to be superseded?

Yeah but it is only a matter of time, the lecky car is going to overtake the acoustic eventually.

dv said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

dv said:

In fairness, photography using negatives has also proved to be a dead end…

So how come everybody (cough, cough) focusses on photography, when he and his brother invented the infernal combustion engine, which is yet to be superseded?

Yeah but it is only a matter of time, the lecky car is going to overtake the acoustic eventually.

OK, but making an internal combustion engine in the early 1800’s is still a pretty good miracle, by any standards.

but making an internal combustion engine in the early 1800’s is still a pretty good miracle, by any standards.
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Only by poor reporting standards and a healthy arn’t I grand attitude.

People were the smartness, back then, and before.

dv said:

pommiejohn said:

dv said:

That’s not what stopped Niepce. He was long dead before Talbot got anything working.

His method was a technological dead end though, as was Daguerre’s.

IIRC Niepce was trying to make a “direct to plate” method so prints could be made from his images.

In fairness, photography using negatives has also proved to be a dead end…

Thanks for reminding me why I hardly post here any more.