Electrical Engineering - Excerpt: History of Electronic Invention

Author

Excerpt: History of Electronic Invention

Steve O'Keefe

2007-07-16, 5:25 pm

For those interested in the history of invention, I have permission to
share an excerpt from the new book, "Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing,"
a history of electricity by microchip designer Hans Camenzind.

Camenzind moves like a charged particle through the history of
electronic invention, sketching dozens of inventors, scientists,
engineers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, professors and others.

All the luminaries are here -- Franklin, Faraday, Morse, Bell, Tesla,
Edison, Marconi -- but Camenzind shines most when profiling lesser
lights who made big contributions.

The excerpt I'm distributing is about one such character: Lee de
Forest. Was he the "Father of Radio," as he proclaimed, or a fraud? He
helped develop the vacuum tube and rode it to three fortunes before
settling down with a Hollywood starlet to a life of relative
obscurity.

The excerpt is available at the URL below, along with more information
about author Hans Camenzind and his new book, "Much Ado About *Almost*
Nothing."

http://www.authorviews.com/authors/...ind/excerpt.php

STEVE O'KEEFE
for AuthorViews

Wayne Lundberg

2007-07-17, 1:25 pm

"Steve O'Keefe" <stevokeefe@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:1184612226.449826.148660@n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> For those interested in the history of invention, I have permission to
> share an excerpt from the new book, "Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing,"
> a history of electricity by microchip designer Hans Camenzind.
>
> Camenzind moves like a charged particle through the history of
> electronic invention, sketching dozens of inventors, scientists,
> engineers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, professors and others.
>
> All the luminaries are here -- Franklin, Faraday, Morse, Bell, Tesla,
> Edison, Marconi -- but Camenzind shines most when profiling lesser
> lights who made big contributions.
>
> The excerpt I'm distributing is about one such character: Lee de
> Forest. Was he the "Father of Radio," as he proclaimed, or a fraud? He
> helped develop the vacuum tube and rode it to three fortunes before
> settling down with a Hollywood starlet to a life of relative
> obscurity.
>
> The excerpt is available at the URL below, along with more information
> about author Hans Camenzind and his new book, "Much Ado About *Almost*
> Nothing."
>
> http://www.authorviews.com/authors/...ind/excerpt.php
>
> STEVE O'KEEFE
> for AuthorViews
>
Thank you Steve, what a great story that of Lee de Forest... so typical of
those long gone days of continuous trips to the patent office and robber
baron financing. Bottom line, I believe a fellow by the name of Armstrong
actually made the vacuum tube work in the world of radio. Que no?

Salmon Egg

2007-07-17, 5:25 pm

On 7/17/07 8:55 AM, in article
AD5ni.327848$p47.121250@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net, "Wayne Lundberg"
<Waynelund@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> Thank you Steve, what a great story that of Lee de Forest... so typical of
> those long gone days of continuous trips to the patent office and robber
> baron financing. Bottom line, I believe a fellow by the name of Armstrong
> actually made the vacuum tube work in the world of radio. Que no?

If you liked that excerpt, look at Empire of the Air and The Continuous
Wave. I do not remember the names of the authors.

The people at Perham Foundation have a more favorable vie of de Forest.

My own opinion of de Forest is rather. This shows up in regard to the
controversy between de Forest and Edwin Armstrong. Armstrong understood his
circuitry. Most of the time, de Forest had no clue. His theory behind the
audion seems crazy. It amazes me that de Forest was able to obtain a
doctorate.

Bill
-- Support the troops. Impeach Bush. Oh, I forgot about Cheney.

Spurious Response

2007-07-18, 3:25 am

On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:55:13 GMT, "Wayne Lundberg"
<Waynelund@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>
>"Steve O'Keefe" <stevokeefe@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
>news:1184612226.449826.148660@n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>Thank you Steve, what a great story that of Lee de Forest... so typical of
>those long gone days of continuous trips to the patent office and robber
>baron financing. Bottom line, I believe a fellow by the name of Armstrong
>actually made the vacuum tube work in the world of radio. Que no?
>

Meucci invented the telephone, and Bell stole it.

http://www.italianhistorical.org/MeucciStory.htm

James White

2007-07-18, 8:25 pm

Gee, I wonder why the whole piece does everything by assertion without
presenting a single piece of evidence? Could it be the majority of the story
is a fabrication made around some tiny kernels of fact? I'm much more
inclined to believe that Meduci's device was essentially a
tin-can-telephone, only using copper wire instead of string, and he should
NOT get any credit for inventing anything since many other folks were
simultaneously working on the same telephone "idea" And that Bell was the
one who actually figured out how do, AND DID, one that actually worked.

--

James E. White
Inventor, Marketer, and Author of "Will It Sell? How to Determine If
Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a
Patent)" Info Sites: www.willitsell.com www.inventorhome.com,
www.idearights.com www.taletyano.com www.booksforinventors.com
[Follow sig link for email address. Replies go to spam bit-bucket]

Spurious Response

2007-07-18, 8:25 pm

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:34:42 -0400, "James White"
<useSig4email@willitsell.com> wrote:

>Gee, I wonder why the whole piece does everything by assertion without
>presenting a single piece of evidence? Could it be the majority of the story
>is a fabrication made around some tiny kernels of fact? I'm much more
>inclined to believe that Meduci's device was essentially a
>tin-can-telephone, only using copper wire instead of string, and he should
>NOT get any credit for inventing anything since many other folks were
>simultaneously working on the same telephone "idea" And that Bell was the
>one who actually figured out how do, AND DID, one that actually worked.

That's because A: you didn't even read the goddamned article, and b:
you don't know a goddamned thing about it.

Bell STOLE the whole goddamned thing from Meucci, and the fact that you
give him credit for "figuring something out" further proves that you do
not know a damned thing about what happened at the time.

You are pretty fucking pathetic, actually.

Next time, actually read the fucking article. Then you MIGHT have a
right to spew horseshit, but it will STILL be touted as such, and rightly
so.

Spurious Response

2007-07-18, 8:25 pm

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:34:42 -0400, "James White"
<useSig4email@willitsell.com> wrote:

>
>Gee, I wonder why the whole piece does everything by assertion without
>presenting a single piece of evidence?

You're an idiot. Meucci's achievements of the time are quite well
documented, idiot.

> Could it be the majority of the story
>is a fabrication made around some tiny kernels of fact?

Could it be that you are so full of shit that your eyes are brown, and
there is a foul stench emanating from your ears?

Those are tiny kernels of shit rolling out of your ears. We call them
dingleberries. The bacteria in your dingleberries have more brains than
you do.

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