William David Coolidge

William David Coolidge (Hudson, MA, October 23, 1873–Schenectady, New York, February 3, 1975) was an American physicist, who made major contributions to X-ray machines. He was the director of the General Electric Research Laboratory and a vice-president of the corporation.

He studied electrical engineering from 1891 till 1896 at MIT, and received his doctorate from the University of Leipzig. From 1899 to 1905 he was a research assistant to Arthur A. Noyes of the Chemistry Department at MIT.

Coolidge went to work as a researcher at General Electric new research laboratory in 1905, where he conducted critical experiments that led to the use of tungsten as filaments in light bulbs. In 1913 he invented the Coolidge tube, an improved cathode for use in X-ray machines that allowed for more intense visualization of deep-seated anatomy and tumors. The Coolidge tube, which also utilized a tungsten filament, was a major development in the then-nascent medical specialty of radiology, and its basic design is still in use.

Coolidge was awarded the AIEE Edison Medal in 1927 For his contributions to the incandescent electric lighting and the X-rays art. He rejected this prestigious award in 1926 on the basis that his ductile tungsten patent was invalid. In 1975 he was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, shortly before his death at age 101.

Patents

• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , Coolidge tube
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray tube"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "Stereoscopic x-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray tube shield"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray device"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus and method"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray device"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray anode"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray tube"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray tube"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray device"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent  , "X-ray device"

External links

• National Academy of Sciences Memorial Biography of Coolidge
• The Cathode Ray Tube site
• William Coolidge's Case File at The Franklin Institute with info about his 1926 Franklin Award for the x-ray tube
• IEEE History Site Wiiliam D. Coolidge

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