Ballpoint Pen
Intro
Most people use computers and tablets, but most of us still
use the ballpoint pen in our everyday lives.
A ballpoint pen is a fascinating because of how simple it looks but how complex
the creation of it was.
What are pens used
for?
Ballpoint pens are well-known all around the world. We all
use them and they are all used for different purposes. The majority of people
use pens for writing on a piece of paper, leather, wood or cloth. Some pens are
thin and have a clip on the pen so they can be portable and can clip onto
things. Other things pens are useful for is getting stuff out of small places.
For example, if you have some dirt in your nails, you can use the small end of
the reservoir (where the ink comes out) to reach under the nail and get the
dirt. Same with earwax in earphones, etcetera.
Parts of a
ballpoint pen
We all know that a pen has a “button” on the top of a pen
along with and ink holder. But do you know the rest? In a normal pen, there are
many different parts. On a retractable pen there are all the normal components
plus a button and a spring. On a non-retractable pen, there is an ink reservoir
which should be long and skinny. On the end of this reservoir, there is a tiny
ball that helps the flow of the ink even. You don’t normally know it is there
unless you look close enough. Next we have the tip of the pen. It should look
like a funnel with a small hole on the bottom to support the ink reservoir so
that it doesn’t wobble when you write. Everyone knows what the outer case of
the pen is. It is the case of the pen and it is usually see through. There is a
secret part inside a retractable pen that might not always be visible from the
outside. Of you pull a retractable pen apart, there should be a small white
plastic piece that should slot into the button and also hold the reservoir
straight under the button. This is called a ratchet. It help the button reach
that extra few millimetres so that the pen is correctly functioning.
The
invention of the ballpoint pen
The first ballpoint pen was created by John Loud in
1888. He was a leather tanner and wanted something to write on his leather
with. So he created the first ballpoint pen. Unfortunately though, the pen
leaked more than it should so they could not be sold to the public.
The next ballpoint
pen to come along was created by Ladislas Biro and his brother Georg. Georg was
a chemist so they could use the lab to help them formulate new inks and
reservoirs to create the perfect pen. So (once they created the pen) they went
on vacation and met an elderly man who just happened to be the president of
Argentina. They showed him the pen and the president urged them to set up a
factory in his country. Two years later World War Two broke out and they fled
to Argentina only stopping in Paris to patent their pen. Once in Argentina,
many investors wanted to help them produce their spectacular invention nick
named “The Biro” after the Georg and Ladislas Biro. The Biro was a failure
because the pen had to be held exactly vertical for the ink to come out of the
pen. But even then it was hard for the ink with that thickness to come out
evenly. But they kept working at it and devised a new model that focused on
capillsry action instead of being gravity based. This meant that it could be
held on an angle when used. They patented this one and started selling this one
a year later. But this one wasn’t perfect either, so they ran out of money
making lots of models. Later on a man named Milton Reynolds. He was a marketer
and was very successful in his invention of the ballpoint pen and became the
first man to ever sell a ballpoint pen successfully.
Conclusion
Pens are a useful tool to have that looks simple, but is
very complex at the same time. Pens are handy, useful and portable and are easy
to pull apart and reassemble.
By Jessica
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