While several inventors worked on mechanical television, Philo Farnsworth is credited with inventing the first fully functional all-electronic television system. At just 21 years old, Farnsworth demonstrated a system that scanned images with a beam of electrons, rather than a rotating disk. This 'image dissector' allowed for much clearer and faster transmissions. Television fundamentally reshaped global culture, politics, and consumer behavior by bringing moving images and news directly into the home. It became the dominant medium for advertising and a powerful tool for social change, famously shown during the 1960 US Presidential debates and the moon landing. Farnsworth's electronic scanning method remained the standard for television technology until the transition to digital and LCD screens in the 21st century.