The evolution of pens from dipping brushes to the ones that can write sans gravity 

In the tech-driven digital era of today, we hardly use a pen to write. Instead, we type. But till a few decades back, pen was the only tool to write and keep records of important information. Back then, pen was essential to do almost everything, be it creating literary masterpieces, documenting historical events or formulating crucial laws.  

Well, writing tools evolved from being as basic as quill pens to ballpoint pens and have had quite an interesting journey. The origin of pens dates back to 300 BCE when the Egyptians invented the reed pen to write on papyrus and parchment. They sharpened one end of a hollow tubular marsh grass or bamboo to resemble a pen's nib and filled it with writing fluid to write. Later, in 1st millennium BCE, the Chinese used a brush for writing. After centuries of using the reed pen, the Spanish people designed the quill pen somewhere between the 6th to 7th century by cutting the ends of feathers of birds like swans, turkeys, and geese, to create the pen's tip. Bird feathers were used for the quill pens, where in the straw like structure in the feathers worked like ink reservoir.  

Reed and feather pens were replaced in 1828 after John Mitchell from Birmingham made the first machine-made steel pen point for dip pens. However, it was frustrating to frequently dip a pen in ink as it did not have an ink reservoir and the pace of writing was very slow. This led to a milestone invention in the history of pens, fountain pens. Come, let’s explore the journey and evolution of pens.  
 

The first fountain pen 
Petrache Poenaru, a Roman inventor, invented and received a patent for fountain pen in 1827 in Paris, France. These pens had a barrel to store ink and a metal nib to write on the paper. One could easily tap on the ink source, because it was self-supplying, like a fountain. So, these pens were named as ‘fountain pens.’ Although this pen didn't require frequent ink dipping, the design had issues with the ink flow, which frequently led to no ink or excess ink flow while writing, causing blotting of ink on paper. In 1884, a three-channel ink-feed modern fountain pen was designed and patented by American inventor Lewis Edson Waterman, in New York city, USA. After this portable tool became popular throughout the 20th century, the fountain pen underwent several changes, including replaceable and refillable ink cartridges and bodies made of plastic, metal, and wood.  
 
Introduction of ballpoint pens!  
The credit for the invention of the amazing ballpoint pens goes to John J. Loud , an American inventor. He patented his invention in 1888. However, his pen design had some problems. Later on, an Argentine journalist named László Bró, a native of Hungary, began developing new pen designs in 1895. As he was familiar with the issue of ink smudging on paper, he chose to use quick-drying ink and a tiny metal ball that revolved at the pen's tip. This prevented ink from drying out and ensured that it is evenly distributed while writing! László, with his chemist brother György, patented this design in Paris in 1943. Referred to as ‘biro’; these ballpoint pens were a huge commercial success. People widely used fountain pens up until World War I. However, it was only after the 1960s that ballpoint pens started to overtake the dip and fountain pen industries. Contrary to fountain pens, the ballpoint pens could write on various surfaces, including cardboard, wood, underwater, and even at high altitudes, revolutionizing the history of pens. In fact, today, we have pens that can write even without gravity! 

 
The invention of space pen  
The ballpoint pens were functional only within the Earth's gravity. But they couldn’t be used to write in the zero gravity of space. So, researchers began to design a pen that could write in space. Paul C. Fisher, an American inventor, who initially, had worked with ball bearings in a factory of aeroplane propellers during World War II, began working in a pen factory as a pen innovator. Soon, he established his own company, and after years of experimentation. he finally designed and patented his first ‘Anti-Gravity' pen, the AG7 or the Space pen in 1966 at Lebanon, Kansas, U.S. This space pen could write at zero gravity, underwater, upside down, and at any angle. Fisher Space Pen Company began selling it with the name the Space Pen and Zero Gravity Pen. The zero-gravity pen was designed to drive the ink out by pressure rather than exposure to air. So, it could write even when there was no gravity! Made with tungsten carbide, this spill-proof pen is functional at -35°C to +120°C and had an unusual ink (thixotropic ink) that is solid when not in use, yet liquid, when you write. Amazing, isn’t it?