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New Music for an Old World
The article was written in 1906 and highlights the unique and extraordinary aspects of the Dynamophone (also called the Telharmonium) from the authors perspective. Numerous photos are in…
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Lee de Forest – Audion
On 25 October 1906 Lee de Forest submitted a patent application on a "Device for amplifying feeble electrical currents", which included the first form of the 3-electrode Audion. The device and…
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Multimedia
Edwin H. Armstrong, Radio Pioneer – FM Radio and the Later Years
By the 1930s, millions of people around the world listen to news, sports, and their favorite shows on their AM (Amplitude Modulation) radios. But technological problems persi…
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Edwin H. Armstrong, Radio Pioneer – World War I and the Superhet Circuit
After graduating from Columbia University, Armstrong works there as a lab assistant and then serves as an officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I. While in the army, Arm…
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Edwin H. Armstrong, Radio Pioneer – The Early Years and Regeneration
From an early age, Edwin H. Armstrong is intrigued with wireless technology and decides to become an inventor. In 1912, as a senior in college, he makes a major breakthrough in wireless …
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Inquiry Unit
Information Theory
One of the traits that makes humans unique from other animals is our consciousness, the fact that we can remember concrete ideas, both actual memories and abstract thoughts. These brain activities are…
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A Mathematical Theory of Communication
Information Theory Inquiry Unit
Parts I & II By C.E. Shannon Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. With this paper, Claude Shannon provided the theoretical foundation for communication engineering. It describes how inform…
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Quipu
Information Theory Inquiry Unit
Quipus, or Khipus, were used by civilizations of the Andes, such as the Incas and were a means of recording information. The lengths of the chords, colors, and knots were used to record numeri…
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Claude Shannon
Information Theory Inquiry Unit
Often noted as "the father of information theory". "The American mathematician and computer scientist who conceived and laid the foundations for information theory. His theories laid the ground…
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The Antikythera Mechanism
Information Theory Inquiry Unit
An Ancient Greek bronze hand-powered mechanical device that calculated astronomical positions, is described as the oldest known example of an analogue computer. In 1900, off the coast of Antiky…
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