The Nobel Prize in Physics 2009 was awarded to Willard Boyle and George Smith for inventing the Charged Coupled Device (CCD), the image sensor that enabled digital cameras. Their invention sparked a revolution in photography and allowed images to be captured and shared digitally. While digital imaging created new opportunities, it also destroyed companies like Kodak that relied on film, as the industry rapidly shifted to the new technology. The CCD was originally developed for computer memory but proved better suited for imaging, finding early applications in space exploration.