Alexander Meissner (in German: Alexander Meißner) (September 14, 1883 – January 3, 1958) was an Austrian engineer and physicist. He was born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
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and died in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
His field of interest was:
antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
design,
amplification and detection advanced the development of radio
telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
. In March 1913 he discovered the principle of
positive feedback
Positive feedback (exacerbating feedback, self-reinforcing feedback) is a process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance. That is, the effects of a perturbation on a system include an increase in the ...
independently of
Edwin Armstrong
Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890 – February 1, 1954) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who developed FM (frequency modulation) radio and the superheterodyne receiver system. He held 42 patents and received numerous awa ...
, and by applying positive feedback to
vacuum tube
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied.
The type kn ...
amplifier
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
s, Meissner co-invented the
electronic oscillator
An electronic oscillator is an electronic circuit that produces a periodic, oscillation, oscillating electronic signal, often a sine wave or a square wave or a triangle wave. Oscillation, Oscillators convert direct current (DC) from a power supp ...
,
[, in German. The patent does not mention Meissner; the patent was issued to the Gesellschaft für Drahtlose Telegraphie mbH (Corporation for Wireless Telegraphy).
* See also: Meissner, Alexander.]
"Production of waves by cathode ray tubes"
U.S. Patent No. 1,924,796. (filed: 16 March 1914; issued: 29 August 1933). which became the basis of radio transmission by 1920 and has innumerable uses today. The inductively-coupled oscillator circuit he invented is today known as the
Meissner oscillator
The Armstrong oscillator (also known as the Meissner oscillator) is an electronic oscillator circuit which uses an inductor and capacitor to generate an oscillation. It is the earliest oscillator circuit, invented by US engineer Edwin Armstrong ...
.
References
External links
* http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9051845/Alexander-Meissner
1883 births
1958 deaths
Scientists from Vienna
Austrian physicists
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
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