The pioneering experimental photographic work of Dr Harold Edgerton produced some of the most ground-breaking images ever seen, slowing down and freezing time as no one had done before. A bullet fired through an apple; an exploding corona of milk on a red background; atomic bombs exploding. Some of these have never been bettered and have passed into the pantheon of iconic images that define the medium of photography. By inventing his own lighting rigs and building his own studio to conduct time and motion studies, Edgerton changed how we looked at the world, and wasn't afraid to put himself in the firing line, as the above image shows. Less well-know, but equally innovative and mesmerising, are the films he also made of his experiments for
MIT, a few of which are below. Whilst technology has moved on almost immeasurably, and scientific films today can be breathtaking in quality and scope, these early experimental films made with jury-rigged equipment were jaw-dropping in their day, and paved the way for everyone else. And admit it, you've always wanted to see what a hammer smashing a light bulb looks like in slow motion...
All films courtesy of Massachussetts Institute of Technology
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