The inventors of the CCD (charge-coupled-device) - the common image sensor in digital camcorders and cameras - were honored with a $500,000 award from the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Willard Boyle and George Smith will share the award, along with consumers’ eternal gratitude for giving us such a useful piece of technology. And how long did it take them to complete the invention that has revolutionized consumer electronics?

“It was after maybe an hour’s work,” Boyle recalled. “We went over to the blackboard and we had some sketching there. We went down to our models lab and made one.”

There you have it, folks. An hour’s work for a device that has changed the way we see the world.

You can read the article here.

[ via FresHDV ]