Consumer Electronics

a lemon cell or a vinegar cell are simple one cell wet cell batteries you can male at home. for either you will need a piece of copper foil and a piece of zinc foil to use for the two plates.

lemon cell

1. slice lemon in half
2. in one half of the lemon insert the copper & zinc foil plates so they don't touch

vinegar cell

1. pour vinegar into a small beaker or glass
2. hang the copper & zinc foil plates the edge of the beaker or glass so they are in the vinegar but do not touch

try some other liquids in a beaker or glass like the was used for the vinegar cell. the ones that make operating electric cells are called electrolytes. some suggestions are:

• baking soda solution
• salt solution
• sugar solution
• orange juice
• liquid detergent
• hot water
• ice water
• cola
• etc.

if you are using the same beaker/glass and/or plates with different liquids, be sure to wash, rinse, and dry them between experiments.

living in a high-tech age, it's easy to forget that "technology" didn't always mean iPods, DVD and the Internet. For thousands of years, it was the means by which people secured food and shelter, established social order and shaped and sustained their cultures.

W. Bernard Carlson, professor of science, technology and society at the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science, believes that students don't learn enough about the vital interaction of technology, culture and history. So, he decided to do something about it. The result is the seven-volume "Technology in World History," just published by Oxford University Press, for which Carlson served as editor in chief.

"Along with language, religion and social structure, technology is part of the culture of a given people and perhaps more than any other element, is used to shape and illustrate a society's values and beliefs," Carlson said. "While all cultures have technology, every culture uses technology differently."

Unlike other histories of technology, this set is organized by different cultures, rather than by different technologies. Instead of one chapter devoted to metalworking through the ages, Carlson and his co-authors looked at metalworking in the context of different societies at different times. Which metal was worked and why? What was it used to make? How did the manufactured items both reflect and shape their society?

The history begins with the Stone Age and ends with the global economy. It defines technology broadly, exploring not only traditional topics - agriculture, industrialization, transportation, navigation and computers - but also medicine and pharmacology, warfare, timekeeping, and domestic and fine arts. The chapters touch on incremental, but significant, advances as well as revolutionary breakthroughs.

Unlike many histories of technology that focus on Europe and the United States, these volumes delve into non-Western societies and their contributions to the world's technological knowledge through the ages. Designed to serve both world history and science curriculums, they explore the history and technology of 18 different cultures, including China, the Islamic Empire, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific, the Maya and the Aztecs.

The books - which include timelines and more than 600 illustrations, including photographs, maps and diagrams - are designed for public and school libraries.

"One of the goals of the cross-cultural approach is to move readers beyond Western assumptions about technology," Carlson said. "Non-Western cultures may view technology in different ways. It's not just the means to pursue material and economic goals - creating wealth, maintaining military power, improving health and providing entertainment. People may also use technology to pursue non-economic goals, such as sustaining the social order and expressing cultural meaning."

An expert on the role of technology and innovation in American history, Carlson received his doctorate in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania. His publications include "Innovation as a Social Process: Elihu Thomson and the Rise of General Electric, 1870-1900" (Cambridge University Press, 1991; paper reprint 2002). With support from the Sloan Foundation, he is currently completing a biography of the inventor Nikola Tesla.

Washing Machine Milestones

The first British patent under the category of Washing and Wringing Machines was issued in 1691. A drawing of an early washing machine appeared in the January 1752 issue of "The Gentlemen's Magazine," an English publication. In 1782 Henry Sidgier was issued a British patent for a rotating drum washer.

The first United States Patent titled "Clothes Washing" was granted to Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire in 1797. Fire destroyed the patent office and no description of the device exists so it is not known what kind of washing device Briggs "invented." The electric washing machine was first mass produced in 1906. It is not known who first invented the electric washer. Alva J. Fisher has been incorrectly credited with the invention of the electric washer. The US patent office shows at least one patent issued before Mr. Fisher's US patent number 966677 (e.g. Woodrow's US patent number 921195). Dryer History

Contrary to Internet rumors, the first tumble dryer was not invented by American George T. Sampson. A hand-cranked version was created in 1799 by a Frenchman named Pochon. Sampson's United States patent (number 476,416), which he received on June 7, 1892, was for an improved rack for holding wet clothes near a heat source. Electric tumble dryers appeared in the 20th century. http://www.answers.com/topic/washing-machine?cat=technology http://www.answers.com/topic/clothes-dryer-1

L = 49 dB SPL (Sound pressure level) is a sound pressure of p = 0.005636766.

The sensed loudness is a psycho acoustical quantity.

Telephones - 1876

The Gallows Telephone - Alexander Bells first attempt to produce a speaking telephone Failed.

The Centennial Transmitter -This instrument was a more refined version of the original Gallows Model. The hinged armature was replaced with an iron disk glued directly to the parchment diaphragm, which improved the instrument's performance.Worked

AT A GLANCE:

Probably no means of communication has revolutionized the daily lives of ordinary people more than the telephone. The actual history of the telephone is a subject of complex dispute. The controversy began with the success of the invention and continues today. Some of the inventors credited with inventing the telephone include Antonio Meucci, Philip Reis, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell. Bell's experiments with his assistant Thomas Watson finally proved successful on March 10, 1876, when the first complete sentence was transmitted: "Watson, come here; I want you.".

THE STORY

RELATED INFO

BOOKS

VIDEOS

WEB SITES

QUOTATIONS

HOW IT WORKS

DID YOU KNOW?

Invention:

telephone on March 10, 1876

Definition:

noun / tel·e·phone

Function:

An instrument which converts sound, specifically the human voice, to electrical impulses of various frequencies and then back to a tone that sounds like the original voice.

Patent(s):

174,465 (US) issued March 7, 1876 filed February 14, 1876

161,739 (US) issued April 6, 1875 filed March 6, 1875

Inventor:

Alexander Graham Bell

Criteria;

First practical. Modern prototype. Entrepreneur.

Birth:

March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland

Death:

August 2, 1922, at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada

Nationality:

American

Milestones:

1831 Michael Faraday proved that vibrations of metal could be converted to electrical impulses

1861 Johann Philip Reis built a apparatus that changed sound to electricity and back again to sound

1871 Antonio Meucci filed his patent caveat (notice of intention to take out a patent)

1874 A. G. Bell while working on a multiple telegraph, developed the basic ideas for the telephon

1875 Bell files first patent for improved telegraphy

1876 Bell and Watson transmit the first complete sentence

1876 Bell files patent application on February 14,. patent issues March 7

1876 Elisha Gray filed his patent caveat (notice of intention to take out a patent) on February 14,

1877 formed Bell Telephone Company to operate local telephone exchange operation

1877 first city exchange installed in Hartford, Connecticut

1879 irst exchange outside the United States was built in London, England

1880 invented the photophone, which transmits speech by light rays

1882 acquired a controlling interest in the Western Electric Company, Elisha Gray's company

1883 irst exchange linking two major cities was established between New York and Boston

1885 formed American Telephone and Telegraph Company to operate the long distance network.

1888 coin operated pay telephone was patented by William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut

1891 first automatic telephone exchange was patented by Almon Strowger of Kansas City

1921 The Detroit Police Department, began experimentation with one-way vehicular mobile service.

1928 Detroit Police commenced regular one-way radio communication with all its patrol cars.

1933 Bayonne, NJ Police Department initiated regular two-way communications with its patrol cars

1936 Alton Dickieson, H.I. Romnes and D. Mitchell begin design of AT&T's mobile phone system

1940 Connecticut State Police began statewide two-way, on the frequency modulated (FM)

1941 FM mobile radio became standard throughout the country following the success in Connecticut

1946 A driver in St. Louis, Mo., placed a phone call,it was the first AT&T mobile telephone call.

1948 wireless telephone service was available in almost 100 cities and highway corridors.

1947 cellular telephone service conceived by D.H. Ring at Bell Labs, but the technology didn't exist

1962 The first commercial touch-tone phones were a big hit in their preview at Seattle World's Fair.

1970 commercial Picture phone service debuted in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1971 Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel of AT&T applied computers and electronics to make it work.

1973 Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first cellphone call to his rival Joe Engel of AT&T Bell Labs

1978 AT&T conducted FCC-authorized field trials in Chicago and Newark, N.J.

1979 the first cellular network was launched in Japan.

1982 FCC granted commercial licenses to an AT&T subsidiary, Advanced Mobile Phone Service

1983 AMPS was then divided among the local companies as part of the planning for divestiture

1983 Illinois Bell opened the first commercial cellular system in October

phone, telephone, bell, Alexander graham bell, alex bell, bell telephone company, at&t, bell labs, western electric, Antonio Meucci, Philip Reis, Elisha Gray, invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts.

The Story:

Probably no means of communication has revolutionized the daily lives of ordinary people more than the telephone. Simply described, it is a system which converts sound, specifically the human voice, to electrical impulses of various frequencies and then back to a tone that sounds like the original voice. In 1831, Englishman Michael Faraday (1791-1867) proved that vibrations of metal could be converted to electrical impulses. This was the technological basis of the telephone, but no one actually used this system to transmit sound until 1861. In that year, Johann Philip Reis (1834-1874) in Germany is said to have built a simple apparatus that changed sound to electricity and back again to sound. A crude device, it was incapable of transmitting most frequencies, and it was never fully developed.

A practical telephone was actually invented independently by two men working in the United States, Elisha Gray and Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell. Incredibly, both men filed for a patent on their designs at the New York patent office on February 14, 1876, with Bell beating Gray by only two hours! Although Gray had built the first steel diaphragm / electromagnet receiver in 1874, he wasn't able to master the design of a workable transmitter until after Bell had. Bell had worked tirelessly, experimenting with various types of mechanisms, while Gray had become discouraged

According to the famous story, the first fully intelligible telephone call occurred on March 6, 1876, when Bell, in one room, called to his assistant in another room. "Come here, Watson, I want you."

Watson heard the request through a receiver connected to the transmitter that Bell had designed, and what followed after that is a history of the founding of the Bell Telephone Company (later AT&T), which grew to be the largest telephone company in the world.

The first telephone system, known as an exchange, which is a practical means of communicating between many people who have telephones, was installed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1877, and the first exchange linking two major cities was established between New York and Boston in 1883. The first exchange outside the United States was built in London in 1879. The exchange involved a group of operators working at a large switchboard. The operators would answer an incoming telephone call and connect it manually to the party being called. The first automatic telephone exchange was patented by Almon Strowger of Kansas City in 1891 and installed in 1892, but manual switchboards remained in common use until the middle of the twentieth century

How a telephone works.

The very simplest working telephone would look like this inside:

It consists of 3 parts:

A switch to connect and disconnect the phone from the network. This switch is generally called the hook switch. It connects when you lift the handset.

A speaker, which is generally a little 50 cent 8-ohm speaker of some sort.

A microphone. In the past, telephone microphones have been as simple as carbon granules compressed between two thin metal plates. Sound waves from your voice compress and decompress the granules, changing the resistance of the granules and modulating the current flowing through the microphone

DID YOU KNOW?

• Patent No. 174,465 US issued March 7, 1876 to A. Graham Bell for the Telegraphy
• In the first month of the Bell Telephone Company's existence in 1877, only six telephones were sold!
• When Bell's patent was sixteen months old, there were 778 telephones in use.
• Fifteen years after its invention in 1876, there were five million phones in America. Fifteen years after the invention of cellular phones, more than 33 million wireless phones were in the U.S.
• During the depths of the Depression, telephones in use fell from 16 to 13 per 100 populations and by the late 1970's the number had surpassed 75 per 100 population.
• It took the telephone 75 years and television 13 years to acquire 50 million users. It has taken the Internet five years. Today, more than 500 million people around the world are connected to the Internet.
• In 1878, Rutherford B. Hayes was the first US president to have a telephone installed in the White House. And to whom did the commander-in-chief place his first call? Alexander Graham Bell, of course, who was waiting for the call some 13 miles away from the White House. The president's first words were said to have been, "Please speak more slowly."
• When Alexander Graham Bell died on August 4, 1922, millions of phones went dead. In Bell's honor, all phones served by the Bell System in the USA and Canada went silent for one minute.

Also in the early 50's les paul's invention was marketed by Gibson guitar corp. and hence named the 'les paul' the amp is also known to come from here.