Dawn of the Electronic Age: Electrical Technologies in the Shaping of the Modern World, 1914 to 1945 / Edition 1 available in Paperback
Dawn of the Electronic Age: Electrical Technologies in the Shaping of the Modern World, 1914 to 1945 / Edition 1
- ISBN-10:
- 0470260653
- ISBN-13:
- 9780470260654
- Pub. Date:
- 03/30/2009
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Dawn of the Electronic Age: Electrical Technologies in the Shaping of the Modern World, 1914 to 1945 / Edition 1
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$83.95Overview
Much of the infrastructure of today's industrialized world arose in the period from the outbreak of World War I to the conclusion of World War II. It was during these years that the capabilities of traditional electrical engineering—generators, power transmission, motors, electric lighting and heating, home appliances, and so on—became ubiquitous. Even more importantly, it was during this time that a new type of electrical engineering—electronics—emerged. Because of its applications in communications (both wire-based and wireless), entertainment (notably radio, the phonograph, and sound movies), industry, science and medicine, and the military, the electronics industry became a major part of the economy.
Dawn of the Electronic Age explores how this engineering knowledge and its main applications developed in various scientific, economic, and social contexts, and explains how each was profoundly affected by electrical technologies. It takes an international perspective and a narrative approach, unfolding the story chronologically.
Though a scholarly study (with sources of information given in endnotes for engineers and historians of science and technology), the book is intended for the general public. Ultimately, it tells the story of the development of a new realm of engineering and its widespread applications during the remarkable and tragic period of two world wars and the decades in between.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780470260654 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Publication date: | 03/30/2009 |
| Pages: | 560 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d) |
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Table of Contents
Introduction 11. The Great War and Wireless Communications 11
1.1 Land-Bound Communications 11
1.1.1 The Battle of Tannenberg and the Electron Tube 11
1.1.2 The Telegraph 15
1.1.3 The Telephone and the Battle of Neuve Chapelle 17
1.1.4 Ground Telegraphy 20
1.2 Communication Through the Ether 21
1.2.1 Origins of Wireless Telegraphy 21
1.2.2 Wireless at Sea 24
1.2.3 Wireless on Land and in the Air 26
1.3 Eavesdropping 30
1.3.1 Military Intelligence 30
1.3.2 Cryptology and the Zimmermann Telegram 34
1.4 The Art and Science of Radio 37
1.4.1 The Manufacture of Electron Tubes 37
1.4.2 The Science of Electron Tubes 40
1.4.3 Radio Engineers 43
2. Electrical Technologies in Total War 47
2.1 Remote and Automatic Control 47
2.1.1 The Battle of Jutland and Electrical Technology at Sea 47
2.1.2 Fire Control and Analog Calculation 51
2.1.3 Gyroscopic Control 54
2.1.4 Sound Ranging and Other Systems of Control 58
2.2 Military Research and Development 62
2.2.1 Research Against the Submarine Threat 62
2.2.2 A War of the Engineers 66
2.2.3 Institutionalizing Military R&D 69
2.3 Mobilization for Total War 72
2.3.1 A War of Attrition 72
2.3.2 Electrical Technology and Mobilization 75
2.3.3 The War for Minds 77
2.3.4 The Legacies of World War I 78
3. Electrification in the Interwar Period 83
3.1 Lenin’s Program of Development Through Electric Power 83
3.1.1 “Communism is Soviet Power Plus the Electrification of the Whole Country” 83
3.1.2 The State Adopts an Electrification Plan 85
3.1.3 Engineers Gain in Status 87
3.2 Generators, Power Lines, and Motors 88
3.2.1 Generating Electric Power 88
3.2.2 Transmitting Electric Power 90
3.2.3 Using Electric Power 92
3.2.4 Interconnecting Power Networks 94
3.3 Power Engineering 97
3.3.1 The Science of Power Engineering 97
3.3.2 Network Analyzers 99
3.3.3 The Business of Power Engineering 101
3.4 Technology Transfer to the Soviet Union 102
3.4.1 Transfer of Technology from One Country to Another 102
3.4.2 The Soviet Context 104
3.4.3 The GOELRO Projects 105
3.4.4 Soviet Electrification in the 1930s 107
3.5 Worldwide Dissemination of Technology 109
3.5.1 Third World Industrialization 109
3.5.2 Electrification of Brazil 110
3.5.3 An International Arena for Power Engineering 114
3.6 Rural Electrification 115
3.6.1 The Soviet Countryside Electrified 115
3.6.2 The Tennessee Valley Electrified 117
3.6.3 Rural Life Transformed 118
4. The Jazz Age and Radio Broadcasting 121
4.1 Radio in the Twenties 121
4.1.1 The Battle of the Century 121
4.1.2 The Radio Craze 123
4.1.3 Sports, Music, and Drama 125
4.1.4 Ballyhoo, Politics, and Religion 128
4.1.5 Synergy of Radio and Culture 130
4.2 The Establishment of Broadcasting in the United States 132
4.2.1 Radio Amateurs 132
4.2.2 The Formation of RCA 134
4.2.3 The Beginning of Regular Broadcasting 137
4.2.4 Advertisements and Networks 138
4.2.5 Government Regulation 142
4.3 The Establishment of Broadcasting in Other Countries 143
4.3.1 The British Broadcasting System 143
4.3.2 Broadcasting in Other European Countries 146
4.3.3 Broadcasting in Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas 148
4.3.4 International Cooperation 151
4.4 Radio Engineering 152
4.4.1 Electron Tubes 152
4.4.2 Edwin Howard Armstrong 154
4.4.3 Interference 156
4.4.4 Advancing the Radio Art 158
4.5 How Good is this Radio? 161
4.5.1 Quantification in Radio Engineering 161
4.5.2 Standardization of Measures of Receiver Performance 165
4.6 Radio’s Golden Age 168
4.6.1 A Radio in Every Home 168
4.6.2 The Expansion of Programming 171
4.6.3 Educational and Other Uses of Radio 173
4.6.4 The Social Impact of Radio 175
5. Postwar Recovery and the Great Depression: Electrical Technologies in Industry and Commerce 179
5.1 Electrifying the Factory 179
5.1.1 Electric Motors in Manufacturing 179
5.1.2 Electrochemistry and Electrometallurgy 181
5.1.3 Electrification of Industry 184
5.1.4 Electrical and Electronic Control of Machines 187
5.1.5 Mass Production and Popular Culture 194
5.2 Processing Information 196
5.2.1 Information-Intense Businesses 196
5.2.2 International Business Machines 201
5.3 Electrifying Transportation 206
5.3.1 Streetcars and Subways 206
5.3.2 The Diesel-Electric and Turboelectric Drives 207
5.3.3 Automobiles, Aircraft, and Elevators 210
5.3.4 Control in Transportation 213
5.4 Fostering Economic Growth 217
5.4.1 Postwar Recovery and Electrification 217
5.4.2 New Products and Industrial Research-and-Development 221
5.4.3 The Great Depression and the Economic Infrastructure 225
6. Electrical Technologies and the Consumer Culture 229
6.1 Electricity in the Home 229
6.1.1 Electric Lighting 229
6.1.2 The Modern Kitchen 234
6.1.3 Cleanliness and Comfort with the Aid of Appliances 238
6.2 Mass Entertainment 243
6.2.1 Music for the Masses 243
6.2.2 Movies 250
6.2.3 A Common Culture 259
6.3 The Consumer Culture 264
6.3.1 A Plethora of Consumer Goods 264
6.3.2 Standardization 268
6.3.3 The Americanization of National Cultures 271
7. Communication Technologies in Democratic and Totalitarian Countries 279
7.1 New Communication Technologies 279
7.1.1 The 1936 Olympic Games: Technology in the Service of Propaganda 279
7.1.2 New Types of Wire Communications: Teletype and Phototelegraphy 280
7.1.3 Distant Vision: Television 283
7.1.4 Convenient Recording of Sound: Magnetic Recording 287
7.1.5 Avoidance of Static: FM Radio 288
7.2 Telephone Technologies and Services 290
7.2.1 Providers of Telephone Service 290
7.2.2 The Negative-Feedback Amplifier 294
7.2.3 Increased Transmission Capacity 295
7.2.4 Automatic Switching 298
7.2.5 Social Impact of the Telephone 302
7.3 Technology, Politics, and Governance 304
7.3.1 Radio and Politics 304
7.3.2 Cinema and Politics 310
7.3.3 Outdoor Lighting and Public-Address Systems 312
7.3.4 Governments and Information Processing 315
7.3.5 Society and Communications 316
8. Electrical Engineering in an Age of Science 321
8.1 An Age of Science 321
8.1.1 1932, The Year in Science 321
8.1.2 Science Shaped by Technology 324
8.1.3 Facilities for Research 327
8.2 Measuring and Imaging Instruments 328
8.2.1 Measuring Instruments 328
8.2.2 Imaging Devices 335
8.2.3 Means of Manipulation 337
8.2.4 Medical Technology 339
8.3 Calculating Machines 342
8.3.1 Growth of Applied Mathematics 342
8.3.2 Digital Computers 343
8.3.3 Analog Calculators 346
8.4 The Profession of Electrical Engineering 348
8.4.1 The Image of the Electrical Engineer 348
8.4.2 Societies, Journals, and Standards 350
8.4.3 Education 354
8.4.4 Engineering Science 355
9. World War II and Electrical Technology 359
9.1 The World War Resumed 359
9.1.1 Renewal of War 359
9.1.2 Mobilizing for War 361
9.1.3 Propaganda 364
9.2 Electrical Technology in Battle 371
9.2.1 On Land 371
9.2.2 At Sea 378
9.2.3 In the Air 382
9.3 Control Systems and Computers 385
9.3.1 Guided Missiles 385
9.3.2 Control Systems 388
9.3.3 Computers 390
9.4 The Battle of the Atlantic, Codebreaking, and Sonar 397
9.4.1 The Battle of the Atlantic 397
9.4.2 Codebreaking 401
9.4.3 Sonar 408
10. Radar, the Weapon That Decided the War 413
10.1 The Battle of Britain 413
10.1.1 Operation Sea Lion 413
10.1.2 Technical Developments 418
10.1.3 Variety of Radars 425
10.2 Radar Countermeasures 430
10.2.1 Detecting, Jamming, and Changing Frequency 430
10.2.2 Chaff, Coating, and Active Deception 433
10.3 The Proximity Fuse 436
10.3.1 A New Weapon 436
10.3.2 The New Weapon in Combat 439
10.4 The Radar-Computer Combination 442
10.4.1 Fire Control 442
10.4.2 Bombing Systems 446
10.5 Electronic Navigation 449
10.5.1 Navigational Systems for Strategic Bombing 449
10.5.2 Radio and Radar Applied to Navigation 452
10.5.3 The Identification Problem 455
10.6 Government-Industry-Academia Collaboration 456
10.6.1 Technology by Command 456
10.6.2 Radar’s Legacy 462
Conclusion: Dawn of the Electronic Age 469
Notes on the Illustrations 477
Sources 479
Index 513
What People are Saying About This
'The volume provides a broad spectrum of nearly 700 (mostly secondary) references and enough background material for dozens of student papers.? (CHOICE, October 2009)
"Many readers will appreciate the way in which Nebeker explains how the technologies worked without using complicated mathematics.... Throughout there are excellent quotes from engineers, scientists and historians giving fantastic insight into their thoughts." (Engineering and Technology, June 2009)
"The Dawn of The Electronic Age is easily one of the most interesting books I have read in some time." (BlogCritics, June 2009)