Invention and Engineering

Ballpoint pen

A ballpoint pen is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a hard ball rolling in its point. The materials commonly used are steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. The design was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens. It is now the world's most-used writing instrument, with millions manufactured and sold daily. It has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸British Rail Class 16
• ▸Herbal medicine
• ▸Electroless nickel-phosphorus plating

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.