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May 1997
TRINITY
Inside:
Radio Corporation of America
Solid State Valve
Texas Instruments’ Bombshell
Lord of the ICs
Light Valves |
Charts:
Shares of TI
Shares of IBM |
The Oscillation Valve
When the great Thomas Edison
fired up his first light bulb in 1879 he had no idea that he
had also stumbled on to the key to radio. His biggest problem
was his best clue. The carbon filaments burned out rather
quickly and, much to his annoyance, the inside of the bulb
would turn black. Somehow the substance of the filament was
transporting itself across space to the surface of the glass.
He went so far as to receive a patent for showing how a lamp
could measure the flow of electrical current, but he could see
no practical application for the discovery and proceeded no
further upon it. Known as the "Edison effect", the
overlooked movement of electrons (no one knew what they were
until 1897) was considered by Popular Science to be "Edison's
Magnificent Fumble."
This is reminiscent of Ben
Franklin's state of mind concerning electricity after he had
survived his daring experiment with a wet kite: "Chagrined
a little that we have hitherto been able to produce nothing in
this way of use to mankind."
Eight years after the light bulb,
Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of Clerk Maxwell's
electromagnetic spectrum. He had set up two wire loops (the
very first aerials) and sent an electrical spark across the
gap in one of them. As if by magic, a spark appeared in the
other loop across the room. An electromagnetic wave had put it
there at the speed of light.
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