Archive for October 2008
You are browsing the archives of 2008 October.
1595 – microscope
While optics and the principles of magnification had been studied for hundreds of years, the first real microscope was crafted by three lensmakers in Holland around 1595. PRECURSOR: SUCCESSOR: 1608 – telescope 1632 – van Leeuwenhoek
1769 – steam engine
The first primitive steam engines were invented by Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen and used to pump water from mines. In 1769, James Watt filed a patent for his improvements to the design of the steam engine which included; oil lubrication, insulation of the cylinder, and a separate condensing chamber. These improvements greatly increased the [...]
1873 – electromagnetic waves
In 1873, James Clerk Maxwell published a textbook called, “A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism” which compiled all known electromagnetic theory at that date including some of his previous work on equations related to electricity and magnetism. Maxwell theorized that light was an electromagnetic wave and tied together light, electricity and magnetism which had been [...]
1913 – quantum theory
In 1913, Neils Bohr introduced a new model of the atom that included electron orbitals tied to levels of energy. Understanding Quantum Physics 01/04 – [youtube.com] Quantum Physics is the branch of Science that studies and describes reality at the atomic (molecules and atoms) and the subatomic (electrons, protons, and even smaller particles) level of [...]
1906 – amplifier tube
In 1906, Lee de Forest invented a device he called the “audion” that became the first crude forerunner of an electronic amplifier. He added a third wire to a two electrode vacuum tube, changing the diode into a triode. The 1906 version, called the audion, had the third wire wrapped around the outside of the [...]
