The Isolator (helmet)

The Isolator was first introduced in the July 1925 edition of "American Physical Society" magazine. Gernsback was affiliated with the magazine.[1][3] The helmet was first created using wood and felt.[4] The mouth of the helmet had a baffle for breathing and had three pieces of glass that so users could see outside of the helmet.[5] It was deemed successful, but Gernsback had estimated that it was only "75%" efficient and said it did not keep out all sounds[6] Gernsback re-designed the device without wood and cut white lines into the glass so users could see out of the helmet. Gernsback said that the new design was 90-95% efficient and kept out almost all sounds.[7][8][6] However, Gernsback also noted that the helmet could only be worn for about 15 minutes at a time as the user would become drowsy.[9][10] Gernsback then added an oxygen tank to assist the user with breathing while wearing the helmet.[6][11]

Gernsback later patented "The Isolator".[3] While Gernsback had deemed the item to be a "great investment", the item had disappeared by 1926 after only eleven helmets were created.[12]

The Isolator later inspired the Helmfon, which is also a noise blocking helmet.[13]