In the garden of science and technology in the 20th century, the flower of electronic technology stands proudly in the wind and is particularly eye-catching. It is precisely because of it that we have radios, televisions, automatic controls, and radio communications. Aircraft can fly better in the blue sky and ships can sail across the ocean better... Electronic technology has supported a large number of The development of high-precision technologies, including aerospace technology, automation technology, laser technology, electronic computer technology, nuclear energy technology, etc. It is difficult for people to imagine how dull human society would be without electronic technology in the garden of science and technology.
The development of electronic technology has gone through stages such as diodes, transistors, transistors, integrated circuits, large-scale integrated circuits and very large-scale integrated circuits. Among them, the invention of the triode is of great significance in the history of the development of electronic technology. It serves as a link between the past and the future. It was precisely because of the invention of the triode that an epoch-making leap occurred in the development of electronics. Therefore, we have no reason not to express our deep respect for the American inventor Lee DeForest, the inventor of the triode.
On August 26, 1873, DeForest was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA. However, although he was born in Iowa, he spent his childhood and youth in Alabama because his father was the principal of a black school in Alabama, and he grew up with his father. aldult.
The triode invented by De Forest played an extremely important role in the development of radio technology. Compared with diodes, in addition to being used for rectification and detection, what is particularly eye-catching is its amplification function. This is a very useful new feature. If several transistors are used at the same time, the weak current received can be amplified to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times. Therefore, the invention of the triode opened the way for radio communications and broadcasting. It not only expanded the use distance of radio transceivers, but also made radios and a variety of electrical equipment a reality. Its emergence changed the face of the radio world, so De Forest praised the triode as "the crown of the air empire."
The "Crown" was invented, but its inventor was left empty-sleeved and penniless because of his invention. The triode was successfully developed, but De Forest was already in dire straits. In order to promote his invention to the society, he began a difficult "sales" process.
Just like other new things, after the triode was invented, it was not quickly accepted and recognized by society. DeForest took his invention to several major electrical companies in the United States, hoping to persuade them to fund this new invention. However, those companies saw his poor appearance and did not believe that he would invent such an important thing. Not only did they not provide him with the necessary funding, but on the contrary, they regarded him as a charlatan who was cheating on technology. In order to persuade them, De Forest couldn't help but reveal his eagerness in his words. Coupled with his tattered clothes, this aroused their suspicion even more. Later, in order to raise funds for the invention, De Forest used less than authentic emails, so the companies that were suspicious of him reported him to the police as a "liar". This outstanding inventor inexplicably became a suspect of "open fraud".
One day in the spring of 1906, a New York district court held a public trial for fraud. The prosecutor accused him of "open fraud" and said that his company's property was an incandescent lamp and other strange things. The device, with a strange name like a triode, was actually worthless, but he used it to deceive people everywhere in an attempt to defraud people of their money.
Faced with the prosecutor's accusations, DeForest stood in the dock and defended himself bravely and passionately. He took advantage of this opportunity to introduce in detail his invention and the principles, performance and functions of the triode to the judges, reporters and ordinary people. His words impressed the judge and conquered the audience. The court acquitted him, and the spectators learned the value of the triode. The next day, many newspapers reported the news, and the names of Triode and De Forest began to be known to more and more people.
In June 1906, the vacuum triode invented by De Forest obtained a patent, and more and more people began to pay attention to his invention.
In 1910, he adopted the sound modulation system of the American inventor Fessenden and used his own triode to play the singing voice of the singer Enrico Caruso. In 1916, he established a radio station to broadcast news. However, like many inventors, he was not successful in business. He was often involved in lawsuits, and his money often went in with his left hand and out with his right hand. Although he had world-famous inventions, he was often in financial embarrassment. Later, he realized this and simply sold the patent rights of this invention to the American Telephone and Telegraph Company for US$390,000. He used the money to engage in his favorite inventions. Objectively speaking, he did not charge a high price for his invention. Because since then, his triode has dominated the $90 billion electronics industry and maintained its status as an invention for an entire generation. It was not until the advent of the transistor that the triode was eclipsed.
After the value of the triode was widely recognized by society, De Forest did not stop his pursuit of scientific and technological inventions. In the early 1920s, De Forest developed a "glow lamp" that converted sound waves into an electric current that varied in the same pattern. The change in current causes a change in the brightness of the bulb, which can be photographed together with a moving film, creating a sound track of changing brightness on one side of the film. When this kind of moving film is shown, the reverse process is followed to restore the sound changes recorded in the sound track. This will allow you to show movies with sound. You know, the movies that people could see at that time were all silent, and De Forest's invention laid the foundation for the emergence of sound movies. In 1923, De Forest demonstrated his first talking picture, and within five years, talkies became popular.
De Forest made many inventions in his life, the most important of which was the triode. Because of his invention of the triode and its important role in the radio industry, he is sometimes called the "Father of Radio." He also prided himself on this and once wrote an autobiography with this title. However, this title is not unique to him. Fleming who invented the diode, Marconi who invented the radio transceiver, and even Popov in Russia are all qualified to enjoy this title. Therefore, Asimov, the famous American popular science writer, wrote in a humorous tone: "There is no doubt that few people have found so many fathers."
On June 30, 1961, Germany Forrest passed away in Hollywood, California, at the age of 88. The triode he invented laid the foundation for the modern electronics industry, enabled the rapid development of radio technology, and also paved the way for the future information revolution. DeForest deserves a lot of credit for all of this.