James T. Russell invented the compact disk in the
late 1960's because he was unhappy with the sound
quality of his vinyl records.  He developed a system
that represented the binary 0 and 1 with dark and
light.  A laser then read the binary patterns and
converted them into an electronic signal.  The
electronic signal was then easily converted to an
audio transmission, thus, the first compact disk.  By
1985, Russell had 26 patents for his new technology,
and now we have digital music.

For more information about J.T. Russell and the
compact disk, check out:

     http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsR-Z/russell.html