37 Weirdly Beautiful Old-School Science and Tech Photos

2 minute read
Like pale sea anemones, plaster casts of the hands of NASA astronauts -- made so that their space suits can be custom-fit for each individual -- seem to wave at nothing in Houston, Texas, in 1968.
Like pale sea anemones, plaster casts of the hands of NASA astronauts -- made so that their space suits can be custom-fit for each individual -- seem to wave at nothing in Houston, Texas, in 1968.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
By Ben Cosgrove

During its four-decade run, from the late 1930s to early 1970s, as one of the world’s premier weekly magazines, LIFE covered an utterly dizzying array of people and events. Best-known, of course, for its photographs and articles on World War II, the Space Race, the Vietnam War, Camelot, pop-culture icons like Marilyn Monroe and Sinatra and other major issues and world figures, from the very first LIFE also opened its pages to coverage of science and technology.

Staff photographers like Fritz Goro, Andreas Feininger, Yale Joel, J.R. Eyerman and others were justly celebrated for finding new and creative ways to illustrate the often-esoteric breakthroughs — and the scientists and engineers — transforming the world in the middle part of the last century. Often the magazine’s treatment of these issues and people was unreservedly admiring; at other times, LIFE cast a more skeptical eye on new developments, inventions and areas of research. But no matter how wry or laudatory its voice, the magazine’s ability to bring seemingly “unphotographable” concepts to light always helped to further the conversation around everything from space travel and atomic energy to the minuscule workings of human cells.

Here, LIFE.com presents a selection of photographs by some of history’s most innovative photographers — pictures that encompass the bizarre, heady and often beautiful worlds of science and technology as seen in the pages of LIFE.

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Like pale sea anemones, plaster casts of the hands of NASA astronauts -- made so that their space suits can be custom-fit for each individual -- seem to wave at nothing in Houston, Texas, in 1968.
Like pale sea anemones, plaster casts of the hands of NASA astronauts -- made so that their space suits can be custom-fit for each individual -- seem to wave at nothing in Houston, Texas, in 1968.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A photograph of the skull of a common owl in 1951. The prominent circular bone casing helps protect the bird's large eye.
A photograph of the skull of a common owl in 1951. The prominent circular bone casing helps protect the bird's large eye.Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A human fetus seen on the cover of the April 30, 1965, issue of LIFE.
A human fetus seen on the cover of the April 30, 1965, issue of LIFE.Lennart Nilsson—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Geneticist and biologist James Watson wins Nobel Prize for the co-discovery of the structure of DNA.
Pioneering geneticist and biologist James Watson studies a model of DNA in 1957. Along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, Watson won the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their 1953 co-discovery of the structure of DNA—the "codebook of life." Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
An Air Force pilot's head is measured for a flight helmet, 1954.
An Air Force pilot's head is measured for a flight helmet, 1954.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Spiritual teacher and mediation instructor Jack Gariss conducts a group meditation experiment on March 1, 1972.
Spiritual teacher and mediation instructor Jack Gariss conducts a group meditation experiment on March 1, 1972. Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A man-made lightening bolt strikes a metal rod atop a model courthouse, 1949.
A man-made lightening bolt strikes a metal rod atop a model courthouse, 1949.Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953) gazes at the heavens through the 100-inch Hooker telescope at California's Mt. Wilson Observatory in 1937.
Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953) gazes at the heavens through the 100-inch Hooker telescope at California's Mt. Wilson Observatory in 1937. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Admiral Hyman Rickover stands on the ladder leading into the nuclear reactor shell at the Shippingport power facility near Pittsburgh, Penn. in 1957.
Admiral Hyman Rickover stands on the ladder leading into the nuclear reactor shell at the Shippingport power facility near Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1957. Yale Joel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A pair of 90-day-old cow fetuses grow inside the amniotic sac in this photograph from 1965.
A pair of 90-day-old cow fetuses grow inside the amniotic sac in this photograph from 1965. Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A long exposure view of a Sikorsky S-51 helicopter on the ground at Anacostia Naval Air Station in Washington, DC in 1949. The striking "Slinky shape" is produced by light reflecting on the rotor blades and leaving a trail in the night sky.
A long exposure view of a Sikorsky S-51 helicopter on the ground at Anacostia Naval Air Station in Washington, DC, in 1949. The striking "Slinky shape" is produced by light reflecting on the rotor blades and leaving a trail in the night sky.Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A close up view of a praying mantis on a leaf.
A detailed photograph of a praying mantis as it sits on a leaf on September 1, 1939.Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Nurses tend to four young polio patients lying on beds inside an "iron lung" in 1938.
Nurses tend to four young polio patients lying on beds inside an "iron lung" in 1938. Hansel Mieth—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A handful of microelectronic parts published in the March 10, 1961 issue of LIFE.
A handful of microelectronic parts, from the March 10, 1961, issue of LIFE. Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A technician inspects a plaster model, created for traveling health exhibits, at the German Health Museum near Cologne, Germany in 1955.
A technician inspects a plaster model, created for traveling health exhibits, at the German Health Museum near Cologne, Germany in 1955. Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Workmen stand beside giganic pipe segments designed to divert a section on the Missouri River during the construction of Montana's Fort Peck Dam in 1936.
Workmen stand beside gigantic pipe segments during construction of Montana's Fort Peck Dam in 1936. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A scientist holds a chain attached to a hammer to demonstrate the magnetic power of the cyclotron (an early atom smasher) at Columbia University's Nevis Lab in Irvington, New York, in 1948.
A scientist holds a chain attached to a hammer to demonstrate the magnetic power of the cyclotron (an early atom smasher) at Columbia University's Nevis Lab in Irvington, New York, in 1948.Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A mounted razor blade struck by a laser beam during a laboratory experiment in Ann Arbor, Mich., 1962.
A mounted razor blade struck by a laser beam during a laboratory experiment in Ann Arbor, Mich., 1962.Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A gigantic cloud of radioactive dust rises from the desert floor in Nevada while seven miles away members of the press watch an A-bomb test, March 1953.
A gigantic cloud of radioactive dust rises from the desert floor in Nevada while seven miles away members of the press watch an A-bomb test, March 1953.J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Transplant patient George Debord examines his own former diseased heart in 1968.
Transplant patient George Debord examines his own former diseased heart in 1968. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A lathe drills a hole in a human hair stretched taut across a metal device.
A Northrop Aircraft technician uses a tiny lathe to drill a precise hole in a human hair in 1954.J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
American architect and designer Charles Eames operates his solar-powered "do nothing machine" in 1957.
American architect and designer Charles Eames operates his solar-powered "do nothing machine" in 1957.Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A camera attached above the launch pad captures the Saturn rocket as it lifts off carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon.
LIFE photographer Ralph Morse secured a camera above the launch pad to capture the historic launch of the Saturn rocket as it left the ground, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on their journey to the moon on July 16, 1969.Ralph Morse — Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Medical students in white lab coats participate in a experiment of the inner ear.
Medical students participate in an experiment testing the mechanism of the inner ear at the University of Michigan in 1950.Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
A man displays his green hand in front of his face while smoking a cigarette.
A man displays his hand coated with liquid crystals to show the effects of nicotine on the human body in 1968. The green coloration indicates his decreased blood circulation which is a direct result from the nicotine.Henry Groskinsky—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A dummy in a suit stands erect in the foreground with other figures behind to simulate a scene after a test of an atomic bomb.
Dummies, used to study the effects of an atomic bomb test, in a sunlit landscape on May 1, 1955.Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Albert Einstein, Princeton, 1948.
Albert Einstein, Princeton, 1948.Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Ralph Morse's 1955 photograph of Albert Einstein's office at Princeton, taken on the day Einstein died, is a study in controlled chaos: the outward expression of the archetypal genius at work.
Ralph Morse's 1955 photograph of Albert Einstein's office at Princeton, taken on the day Einstein died, is a study in controlled chaos: the outward expression of the archetypal genius at work.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Edwin Land, the president and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, demonstrates his company's "60-second film" in 1963.
Edwin Land, the president and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, demonstrates his company's "60-second film" in 1963. Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
The industrialist, aviator, and film producer Howard Hughes sits with an engineer inside the cavernous sea plane, "the Spruce Goose," in Los Angeles on November 6, 1947.
The industrialist, aviator, and film producer Howard Hughes sits with an engineer inside the cavernous sea plane, "the Spruce Goose," in Los Angeles on November 6, 1947. J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Margaret Bourke-White's too-close-for-comfort photo of a papier-mache model of the human skull and spinal cord illuminates that awfully thin line that occasionally exists between science exhibit and freak show.
Margaret Bourke-White's too-close-for-comfort photo of a papier-mache model of the human skull and spinal cord illuminates that awfully thin line that occasionally exists between science exhibit and freak show.Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
In Death Valley, California, "sailing stones" weighing up to 80 pounds sometimes appear to move many feet across flat, dry lake beds without any apparent outside forces driving them.Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
On August 16, 1960, 32-year-old U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger flew in a helium-balloon gondola to 102,800 feet (roughly 19 miles) above the Earth ... and jumped. His free-fall lasted 4 minutes and 36 seconds.
On August 16, 1960, 32-year-old U.S. Air Force Capt. Joe Kittinger flew in a helium-balloon gondola to 102,800 feet (roughly 19 miles) above the Earth ... and jumped. His free-fall lasted 4 minutes and 36 seconds.LIFE Magazine—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Dr. Walter P. Siegmund demonstrates a new invention, "fiber optics," 1960.
Dr. Walter P. Siegmund demonstrates a new invention, "fiber optics," 1960.Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Allyn Hazard tests his "moon suit mock-up" in a lava crater in the Mojave Desert for the April 27, 1962 issue of LIFE.
Allyn Hazard tests his "moon suit mock-up" in a lava crater in the Mojave Desert for the April 27, 1962 issue of LIFE. Fritz Goro—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A NASA scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland studies the chemicals that cause the tail of a firefly to light up.
A NASA scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland studies the chemicals that cause the tail of a firefly to light up.Henry Groskinsky—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Naval researchers test the effects of being upside-down for prolonged periods of time in an attempt to learn about the disorientation astronauts would likely experience on space flights, 1958.
Naval researchers test the effects of being upside-down for prolonged periods of time in an attempt to learn about the disorientation astronauts would likely experience on space flights, 1958.Grey Villet—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

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