1942 (negative); printed later

Tumblers

American, 1903 - 1990

A professor of electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Edgerton was relentlessly curious about how the world worked. In the 1930s he invented the stroboscope, an electronic device that emitted a quick succession of flashes that give the illusion of slow motion. Combined with a camera, the stroboscope enabled Edgerton to document the exact movements of fast-traveling objects (famously shared in a public demonstration of a bullet that was shot through an apple, entitled “Making Applesauce at MIT”). Many of his experiments, like this image, yielded not only scientific data but also surprisingly beautiful compositions.