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This lecture, the final installment in Geoffrey G. Gouriet's 1972 Christmas Lectures series from The Royal Institution, explores futuristic technologies that were still in development at that time. Discover remarkable innovations including the viewphone (an early video calling device), optical fiber communications, and laser discs for video storage—technologies that were revolutionary concepts in the early 1970s. Watch as Gouriet conducts groundbreaking demonstrations, including a live broadcast from within the lecture theater and what he calls "a world first"—transmitting a color television signal through an optical fiber. This hour-long presentation from January 5, 1973, offers a fascinating glimpse into how accurately experts of the past envisioned our technological future, serving as both a historical document and a reminder of how far communications technology has evolved in the decades since.
