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Frank Wilfred Jordan was a British physicist who together with William Henry Eccles invented the so-called "flip-flop" circuit in 1918.[1][2] This circuit became the basis of electronic memory in computers.
Jordan received his secondary education at the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury, Kent, England.[3] From 1899 to 1904, he was a student at the Royal College of Science,[4] from which he graduated with an Associateship in physics and a master of science degree.[5][6] In 1912 he was a "lecturer in physics", presumably at the Royal College of Science.[7] In 1918 he was an "electrician" at City and Guilds Technical College.[8] There is little else known about him.
This flip-flop circuit became the most important circuit in computer technology for it can be given a large number of different actions.
Footnotes
- ^ William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in ionic relays" British patent number: GB 148582 (filed: 21 June 1918; published: 5 August 1920). Available on-line at: http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=GB148582&F=0&QPN=GB148582 .
- ^ W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (19 September 1919) "A trigger relay utilizing three-electrode thermionic vacuum tubes," The Electrician, vol. 83, page 298. Reprinted in: Radio Review, vol. 1, no. 3 , pages 143–146 (December 1919).
- ^ University of London General Register: part 3 (May 1, 1901), page 341.
- ^ Currently (2008) the Royal College of Science is a constituent college of the Imperial College London.
- ^ Register of Old Students and Staff of the Royal College of Science (1936), page 33. Here Jordan is listed as having been a "Lecturer in Physics and Mathematics, Municipal College, Portsmouth."
- ^ On page 225 of the following article, Jordan is described as "Mr. F. W. Jordan, B. Sc., Teacher in Training in the Department of Astronomical Physics, Royal College of Science." See: A. Fowler (1904) "The spectrum of Antarian stars in relation to the fluted spectrum of titanium," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, vol. 73, pages 219–225.
- ^ See following patent: Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements relating to radiometers, thermogalvanometers, and the like" British patent number: GB 191226631 (filed: 1912; published: 20 November 1913).
- ^ See first page of the following patent: William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in ionic relays" British patent number: GB 148582 (filed: 21 June 1918; published: 5 August 1920).
Publications
- F. W. Jordan (1912) "An improved Joule radiometer and its applications," Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, vol. 25, pages 66–73.
- F. W. Jordan (1913) "A new type of thermogalvanometer," Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, vol. 26, pages 165–171.
- F. W. Jordan (1914) "Some novel laboratory experiments," Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, vol. 27, pages 461–476.
- W H Eccles and F W Jordan (1918) "A small direct-current motor using thermionic tubes instead of sliding contacts," Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, vol. 31, pages 151–153.
- W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (19 September 1919) "A trigger relay utilizing three-electrode thermionic vacuum tubes," The Electrician, vol. 83, page 298. Reprinted in: Radio Review, vol. 1, no. 3 , pages 143–146 (December 1919).
- W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (1919) "A method of using two triode valves in parallel for generating oscillations," The Electrician, vol. 8, no. 3, page 299.
- W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (1919) "Sustaining the vibration of a tuning fork by a triode valve," The Electrician, vol. 8, no. 2, page 704.
- F. W. Jordan (1919) "A method of measuring the amplification of a radio-frequency amplifier," Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, vol. 32, pages 105–115.
- W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (1920) "A method of amplifying electrical variations of low frequency," The Electrician, vol. 8, no. 5, page 176.
Patents
- Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements relating to radiometers, thermogalvanometers, and the like" British patent number: GB 191226631 (filed: 1912; published: 20 November 1913).
- William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improved method of generating electric oscillations" British patent number: GB 149018 (filed: 20 March 1918; published: 12 August 1920).
- William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in applications of thermionic valves to production of alternating currents and relaying" British patent number: GB 155854 (filed: 17 April 1918; published: 6 January 1921).
- William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in ionic relays" British patent numbers: GB 148582 (filed: 21 June 1918; published: 5 August 1920) and GB 149702 (field 21 June 1918; published: 26 August 1920).
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