The work and inventions of about 600 Hungarian scientists, explorers and other geniuses, including the legendary figures of Tungsram, are presented interactively on a 6,000 m², 1.5-kilometer-long route in the framework of the Álmok Álmodói 20 – Világraszóló magyarok, világformáló találmányok (Dreamers of Dreams 20 – World-renowned Hungarians, world-shaping inventions) exhibition organised at Millenáris from the 15th of February.
The Dreamers of Dreams 20 was made for the 20th anniversary of the original Dreamers of Dreams exhibition and the opening of the Millenáris. Two decades ago, a new public park and community space emerged from the building of Ganz factory used in socialism in a brownfield investment, and in one year, 800 000 people visited the exhibition. This year’s event is not built primarily around individuals, but around 6 + 1 themes, in three of which – Agriculture, Energy and Industry and Medicine – Tungsram appears in many forms.
The huge amount of information provided by the exhibition is supported by more than 30 interactive elements, more than 150 digital and about 6.5 hours of projected content. Entering a huge incandescent luminaire, Tungsram’s contribution to the development of lighting and radio technology is revealed through original commercials and videos made for the exhibition (eg. cheap krypton gas production), posters, original incandescent lamps and radio tubes. The portraits of Tungsram’s internationally renowned researchers, such as Imre Bródy, Mihály Polányi and Egon Orován, creators of the krypton incandescent lamp and the economical production of krypton gas, or Ernő Winter, who plays a prominent role in improving the quality of radio tubes, bring it all closer to us.
For more, the curious visitor can read more about the 125 years history of Tungsram in the Industrial Bulletin (Ipari Közlöny) in the publication entitled ’The use of energy – not only – for lighting purposes’ and about the Hungarian Wolfram Lamp Factory Kremenezky János Rt. owned by Tungsram from 1931 to nationalisation and about it’s famous Orion radios and TVs. The materials were prepared by the staff of the MMKM Museum of Electrical Engineering and the curators of the exhibition together with the historian of Tungsram, the archive films are from the Hungarian National Film Archive, the posters are from the National Széchenyi Library, the objects are from the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport and the animated short films were made at the request of Millenáris.
The exhibition also features the internationally resonant Moon Radar experiment of February 6, 1946, led by Zoltán Bay of the Tungsram Research Laboratory, marking the contribution of Hungarian scientists to the development of space exploration and radar astronomy.
In addition to the brilliant imprints of the past, the exhibition pays tribute to the latest Tungsram capabilities, especially in the Agricultural area, where the Growth Cabinet of our Agritech business unit is located next to an artificial wheat field. The sophisticated, compact, hydroponic plant cabinet ensures the scheduled production of high-nutrition, safe food without sunlight and land (soil).
“The Agritech team is constantly monitoring the operation of the Growth Cabinet, as the device also includes a complex IT system developed by Tungsram. The light program required for the optimal development of the plants is also provided by the equipment, of course with LEDs developed by Tungsram, which had to be adapted to the opening hours of the exhibition and the external lighting conditions. The IT system provides constant feedback on the current status of the equipment. In case we need to intervene, we solve any easier problems remotely with the help of a computer. Occasional intervention on the spot may also be required, for example to replace water and nutrient supplies, or when the microgreens and lettuce have grown, become edible, and new ones need to be inserted. In this case, the members of the Agritech team will carry out the necessary interventions at the exhibition site. In extreme cases an unexpected event like a longer power outage can also occur. If it lasts longer than 30 minutes, the equipment must be shut down and restarted properly, with the help of the exhibition organizers,”
says Dr. János Ádám, Plant Manager of the R&D farm at Tungsram HQ.
Constant monitoring is indeed necessary as the Growth Cabinet can enjoy the curious looks of visitors for almost a year – the Dreamers of Dreams exhibition is open until January 2023. We thank all our participating colleagues for their many months of dedicated work to make a worthy tribute for Tungsram possible, and we encourage everyone to visit the Millenáris this year!
/Featured image: MTI/Balogh Zoltán/
