Jim West
James West grew up in the American South under discriminatory “Jim Crow” laws that legalized racial segregation, but with an interest in science and engineering from the time he took apart his father’s pocket watch as a child. After serving in the Korean War, he studied at Temple University in Philadelphia and had an internship, and then was employed at the renowned Bell Labs research facility in New Jersey. After studying how microphones and speakers worked and noticing an anomaly in the then-new material Teflon, he invented the electret microphone, now used widely in cell phones and other electronics. He also co-founded the Association of Black Laboratory Employees, which helped advance careers of African American scientists in research. After retiring from Bell Labs, he was named a professor at Johns Hopkins University and continues to invent and mentor young African American scientists and engineers.
Real World Application
- Sound waves are a type of energy. The amplitude of a sound wave determines how loud it sounds, its volume. The overall energy of a sound wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude. If sound wave one has an amplitude that is 4 times the amplitude of sound wave two, how much more energy does the first wave have?
- In electret condenser microphones, acoustical signals, which are longitudinal “pressure” waves, vibrate a thin foil diaphragm. These movements continuously change the amount of energy stored (capacitance) inside the microphone, while a special material provides an embedded “permanent” charge to power the microphone. The resultant electrical signals match the audio input. What would happen to the output signal if the space between the diaphragm and the rest of the microphone was increased?
Group Discussion / Activity
- What would you like to ask Jim that wasn’t covered in the video?
- Jim talks about his education, from childhood through Temple University, and how the people who taught and supported him were very important in influencing the course of his life. How do you think his life would have been different if he hadn’t had those mentors? How do the people in your life—teachers, coaches, parents or guardians—influence your interests?
- Jim observes, “systemic racism is difficult to keep out of any system here in this country.” While at Bell Labs, he and several colleagues formed the Association of Black Laboratory Employees to raise awareness and improve the quality of life and work for African American scientists and engineers. What do you think they did, and what difficulties did they face? Do you think that would be different today, and if so, in what ways?
- Divide into groups of 3-5 students. Each group has 2 minutes to come up with an idea that they think could, in some way, improve the sound quality of music. After your 2-minute brainstorm, meet up with another group to share the ideas. After the first group shares, provide one challenging question about their idea, along with 3 things you like about their idea. Now swap rolls. Let the other group share out and your group will listen, provide one challenging question, and 3 things you like about their idea.
Video Project
- Create a video short: using the interview with Jim and other images you find online about microphones and new sound recording and transmission technologies, make a 1-minute video that would excite other students about science and technology. Decide whether it is for kids your age or for younger students.
Invention Challenge
Invent a way to distort sound.
- Explore It: Sound travels by vibrating the molecules it comes into contact with. Some sound technologies get used in ways their inventors never imagined. For example, Autotune was created to help singers stay on tune, but then some musicians used it to distort their voice.
- Create It: Using materials you can find around your house or classroom—such as a piece of paper or cardboard and tape—invent a way to amplify, distort, or muffle a sound.
- Which did you choose to do: amplify, distort or muffle the sound?
- How do the properties of the materials you selected make your invention work?
Invent an improvement to something that already exists that solves a problem in the way it works.
- Explore It: Seeing a chance to tweak an invention that already exists is a skill inventors practice every day. The ability to look at something you use, and think how you could make it better means you’re looking at the world in a different way.
- Create It:
- How did you choose the invention your innovation would be based on? Is it something in your life that frustrates you or you think could work better?
- Does your innovation change the materials? Allow people to use it who couldn’t before? Or let it solve more problems that it did before?