Basics of a Ballpoint Pen
The ballpoint pen was invented in 1888 by John L. Loud but perfected in 1943 by Hungarian brothers Laszlo and Georg Biro. Since its first widespread production in the late 1950s, over 100 billion ballpoint pens have been manufactured for sale.
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History
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The invention of the ballpoint pen arose from Loud's idea for a more convenient version of the fountain pen. While his patented idea for a ball-and-socket pen was landmark, the actual execution was not, as Loud's prototype used a thick ink that often leaked. At the onset of World War II, the Biro brothers introduced an improved model, which was quickly sold to the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Air Force. By 1945, the pens were available to the general public.
Components
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A ballpoint pen is constructed with an ink reserve that is located just under a tiny metal ball at the tip of the pen, hence the name "ballpoint." Attached to the reservoir, an ink cartridge holds the supply of ink in the body of the pen. When a writer moves the tip of the pen against paper, the ball shifts slightly upward in its socket, releasing the reservoir's ink onto the paper at a controlled rate.
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Materials
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That tiny ball inside the ballpoint pen was originally made of steel, but now is usually constructed of tungsten carbide, which forms a perfectly spherical ball and will interact with most surfaces. The actual points of a ballpoint are made of a copper- and zinc-alloy brass, although more expensive pens will use gold or silver. The type of ink used will also vary by price, but most manufactures seek an ink that is slow-drying in the reservoir but quick-drying once exposed to air.
Varieties
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Over time, improvements have been made to the quality of the ballpoint pen's metal ball, the reservoir and cartridge, the body of the pen and the ink. To prevent leakage, ballpoint pens offer retractable point systems or leak-proof caps. These changes have led scientists to invent refillable ink cartridge pens, multiple-cartridge pens that write in several ink colors, pens that write underwater and even pens that write in space.
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References
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