ATM Inventor Dies

-

ATM Inventor Dies

Indian born Scotsman John Shepherd-Barron, who invented the world's first ATM has passed away at the age of 84 after a brief illness.

ATMs changed the way the world went about doing their banking transactions. And the man credited with being the inventor of the world's first automated cash machine, John Shepherd-Barron, died in northern Scotland's Raigmore Hospital after a short illness. He was 84. Shepherd-Barron came up with the idea of an ATM when he was once locked outside his bank and could not complete the transaction he came there for. He thought about the cash dispenser by being inspired with the chocolate vending machines.

This is what he had to say in an interview with the BBC a couple of years back - "It struck me there must be a way I could get my own money, anywhere in the world or the UK. I hit upon the idea of a chocolate bar dispenser, but replacing chocolate with cash." Due to his idea and effort, Barclays PLC installed the world's first ATM in London on June 27, 1967. And as of today, according to the ATM Industry Association, around the world there are a little less than 2 million ATMs. In 2004, in recognition to his contribution towards the banking industry, he was awarded the Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

The machine Shepherd-Barron invented was a little different as compared to those of today. In those days there were no ATM cards. Special checks with chemical codes were needed to be placed in a drawer of the machine, after entering a personal identification number (PIN). Another drawer containing a £10 note would then pop open, and the customer could collect the money. Shepherd-Barron had initially planned to introduce 6 digit PINs, but his wife Caroline complained that 6 digits was too difficult to remember, and that he should make do with a 4 digit PIN. Shepherd-Barron told the BBC, "Over the kitchen table, she said she could only remember four figures, so because of her, four figures became the world standard."

Though not with us now in flesh and blood, Shepherd-Barron will be remembered forever, thanks to his invention of the ATM, the machine which revolutionized the way banking is done the world over.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Melting Points

-
Image
Most organic compounds have melting points below 200 ºC. Some decompose before melting, a few sublime, but a majority undergo repeated melting and crystallization without any change in molecular structure. When a pure crystalline compound is heated, or a liquid cooled, the change in sample temperature with time is roughly uniform. However, if the solid melts, or the liquid freezes, a discontinuity occurs and the temperature of the sample remains constant until the phase change is complete. This behavior is shown in the diagram on the right, with the green segment representing the solid phase, light blue the liquid, and red the temperature invariant liquid/solid equilibrium. For a given compound, this temperature represents its melting point (or freezing point), and is a reproducible constant as long as the external pressure does not change. The length of the horizontal portion depends on the size of the sample, since a quantity of heat proportional to the heat of fusion must be...
Read more

What Is Atomic And Molecular Orbitals

-
Image
A more detailed model of covalent bonding requires a consideration of valence shell atomic orbitals. For second period elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, these orbitals have been designated 2 s , 2p x , 2p y   & 2p z . The spatial distribution of electrons occupying each of these orbitals is shown in the diagram below.   Very nice displays of orbitals may be found at the following sites: J. Gutow, Univ. Wisconsin Oshkosh R. Spinney, Ohio State  M. Winter, Sheffield University The valence shell electron configuration of carbon is 2 s 2 , 2p x 1 , 2p y 1  & 2p z 0 . If this were the configuration used in covalent bonding, carbon would only be able to form two bonds. In this case, the valence shell would have six electrons- two shy of an octet. However, the tetrahedral structures of methane and carbon tetrachloride demonstrate that carbon can form four equivalent bonds, leading to the desired octet. In order to explain this covalent bonding,...
Read more

Uses OF Alkynes In Nature And Medicine

-
Alkynes in nature and medicine According to Ferdinand Bohlmann, the first naturally occurring acetylenic compound, dehydromatricaria ester, was isolated from an Artemisia  species in 1826 . Polyynes, a subset of this class of natural products, have been isolated from a wide variety of plant species, cultures of higher fungi, bacteria, marine sponges, and corals.  Some acids like  tariric acid  contains an alkyne group. Diynes and triynes, species with the linkage RC ≡ C-C ≡ CR' and RC ≡ C-C ≡ C-C ≡ CR' respectively, occur in certain plants ( Ichthyothere , Chrysanthemum ,  Cicuta ,  Oenanthe  and other members of the  Asteraceae  and  Apiaceae  families).  Some examples are  cicutoxin , oenanthotoxin ,  falcarinol  and  carotatoxin . These compounds are highly bioactive, e.g. as  nematocides .  1-Phenylhepta-1,3,5-triyne is illustrative of a naturally occurring triyne. Alkynes occ...
Read more