John Ambrose Fleming

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John Ambrose Fleming

Sir John Ambrose Fleming (born November 29, 1849 in Lancaster , Lancashire , † April 18, 1945 in Sidmouth , Devon ), sometimes also called Ambrose J. Fleming, was a British electrical engineer and physicist . His parents were James and Mary Anne Fleming, John had six younger siblings.

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John Ambrose Fleming was educated at University College School in London and University College London . He worked as a lecturer at various universities, including the University of Cambridge , the University of Nottingham and University College London. Fleming was a consultant to the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company , Swan, Ferranti, Edison Telephone and later the Edison Electric Light Company. In 1892 he submitted an important work on the theory of the transformer to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in London .

On November 16, 1904, Fleming applied for a patent in England entitled "Improvements in Instruments for Detecting and Measuring Alternating Electric Currents" , in which he described a "two-electrode radio rectifier". While looking for a better radio wave detector, he discovered that the Edison effect could be used to detect signals.

Illustration from his patent for the electron tube

He himself called his invention Oscillation Valve ("vibration valve "). The patent number GB190424850 was granted to him on September 21, 1905. His invention was also known under the names kenotron, electron valve , vacuum diode , electron tube or Fleming valve. This invention is often viewed as the beginning of the electronics age.

In 1906, the American inventor Lee de Forest developed an amplifying high-frequency tube detector called an audion ( triode ) by adding a control grid as a third electrode. This meant that Fleming him the imitation accused. De Forest's triode was later used to amplify electrical signals.

Fleming made contributions in the fields of photometry , wireless telegraphy and electrical measurement technology . In 1929 he was knighted and in 1933 he received the IRE Medal of Honor from the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) .

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