Ball point pen

A ball point pen is a writing instrument similar to a pencil in size and shape. The pens have an internal chamber filled with a viscous, dark colored ink that is dispensed at the tip during use by a small metal sphere (0.7 mm to 1.00 mm in diameter); the ink dries almost immediately after contact with paper. Inexpensive, reliable and maintenance free, they have largely supplanted the fountain-pen?. There are two basic types: disposable and re-fillable. Disposable pens are chiefly made of plastic and discarded when the ink is consumed; re-fillable pens are metal or plastic and tend to be higher in quality and price.

The ball point pen was invented by the Hungarian Ladislao (Laszlo) Josef Biro? and his brother Georg, a chemist. They obtained a patent on June 10, 1943 and made the first successful pens. They were first used by RAF Aircrew who found the pens performed better at high altitudes than fountain-pens?.

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