FREE ESSAY ON THE CHEMISTRY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

THE CHEMISTRY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Michael Shorrock
The chemistry of Photography
Summary:
Joseph-Nicephore Niepce took he word's first photographs in 1824. Many people don't know
that he was the person who invented photography; they think that a Frenchman named
Daguerre was the inventor but he got the idea from Niepce. Jacqueline Belloni, a chemist
at the University of Paris-South at Orsay, is doing research on "holes" in halide ions.
The problem with "holes" is that they gobble up light-generated electrons. Belloni
reasoned that the solution was to dope the film. The dopant would be a negatively charged
ion, like halide, so it could substitute for halide in the crystal lattice. Instead of
needing ten photons a crystal doped with formate does the job with two. A benefit to
consumers will be that it will make high-speed film less grainy and better quality. Rene
De Keyzer, a chemist at Agfa-Geveart helps fund Belloni's research, predicts Agfe will
have doped films on the market within four years. Film emulsions today are a million
times better at capturing photons but they still have a long way to go.
3 Things Learned: 
~$10 single use camera has 10 times better resolution than today's $1000 digital camera.
~There are 10 billion crystals in a frame of ordinary film.
~The first camera invented was a cubical wooden box about a foot on a side and the film
was a tin or stone plate coated in asphalt.
Response:
I think this article was interesting I never realized how complicated it is to develop a
photograph. I think it would be incredible to be able to see one of the first photo's
Niepce ever made.