
Paul Lauterbur, MRI inventor (6/May/1929 - 27/Mar/2007) - bootload
http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8954439
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bootload
The Economist on the April 4th, reported that Paul Lauterbur (6/May/1929 -
27/Mar/2007) passed away. Lauterbur discovered ...

 _'... how to get spatial information about atoms (showing the difference b/w
heavy water & ordinary water) in a magnetic field, was scribbled on a paper
napkin over dinner in a Big Boy restaurant in Pittsburgh, between two bites of
a hamburger ...'_

Hands up those who have had an MRI? It fits into this site about startups
because of the nature of his creativeness. Doing things that would by todays
standards label him as A) a terrorist (can't go mucking about with dangerous
chemistry sets) and B) dosed up on Ritalin (because of the low boredom
threshold).

 _'... as a teenager he built his own lab in the basement of his house,
entranced by the strange vials in his chemistry set and by the stink of
burning sulphur. ...'_

Hmm I remember doing that, burning sulphur. Had a lab under the house. My dads
vice held an old bent spoon where I could mix things up and burn them. It was
the first time I found a noxious gas burning sulphur, looking at the small
blue flame. Taking a small breath of the stuff gave me a bit of a fright as
the gas (SO2 or sulphur dioxide) literally sucked my breath away.

Reference

[0] wikipedia, 'Paul Christian Lauterbur'

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lauterbur>

