science

Vivex

Vivex is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Vivex rather than just read about it. In short: Vivex was an early colour photography process invented by the research chemist Dr. Douglas Arthur Spencer (1901 - 1979) and first used in 1931.

Key takeaways

Vivex belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Vivex to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Vivex from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vivex was an early colour photography process invented by the research chemist Dr. Douglas Arthur Spencer (1901 - 1979) and first used in 1931. It was produced by the British company Colour Photographs (British and Foreign) Ltd of Willesden, which operated the first professional colour printing service. The company was in business from 1928 until the start of World War II in 1939. Up until the war, the Vivex process accounted for 90% of UK colour print photography. Vivex was a wash-off relief process using three negatives, one for each primary colour. It was a subtractive process, using cyan, magenta, and yellow primaries. The three negative plates could be exposed in sequence using a special automated camera back (designed for plate cameras) or simultaneously via the company's own VIVEX Tri-Colour Camera. After processing, the three negatives were printed as bromide prints, these were bleached and used to produce Carbro images on cellophane. These were then assembled by hand, the cellophane being stripped away once each layer was aligned, to obtain the final print.

With other assembly processes of this type, where the image was built up from three exposures, getting the image in register was difficult. The cellophane supports did however allow the individual layers to be stretched somewhat, making the assembly easier. It also created the possibility of all manner of colour manipulation. A noted proponent of the Vivex process was Yevonde Middleton, who made use of Vivex's creative possibilities and whose work helped overcome public scepticism about the merits of colour photography.

References

See also A short history of colour photography (National Science and Media Museum blog)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vivex

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vivex claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Vivex before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Vivex ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Vivex

In research: Vivex appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Vivex in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Vivex is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Photographic processes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vivex outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Vivex in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vivex means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Vivex out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vivex in simple terms?

Vivex was an early colour photography process invented by the research chemist Dr. Douglas Arthur Spencer (1901 - 1979) and first used in 1931.

Why does Vivex matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Vivex?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Vivex.