EDGAR T LARNER Television Pioneer

The Alternating Current, and biographies of those instrumental in its development .

Edgar published his first major work in 1908. This was the Principles of the Alternating currents: a guide for students. He was following on from the major work done by Michael Faraday, Humprey Davy and Nikola Tesla.

Sir Humprey Davy, Michael Faraday, Nikola Tesla and Edgar T Larner all championed the alternating current. Tesla was the pioneer who first used it for radio transmission.

Short Biographies of the A.C. Pioneers:

Sir Humprey Davy

Major Contributions to our knowledge:

Davy had concluded that the production of electricity in simple electrolytic cells resulted from a chemical action and that a chemical combination occurred between substances of opposite charge. He therefore reasoned that electrolysis, the interactions of electric currents with chemical compounds, offered the most likely means of decomposing all substances to their elements. These views were further explained in 1806 in his lecture "On Some Chemical Agencies of Electricity," for which, despite the fact that England and France were at war, he received the Napoleon Prize from the Institut de France (1807). This work led directly to the isolation of sodium and potassium from their compounds (1807) and of the alkaline-earth metals from theirs (1808). He also discovered boron (by heating borax with potassium), hydrogen telluride, and hydrogen phosphide (phosphine). He showed the correct relation of chlorine to hydrochloric acid and the untenability of the earlier name (oxymuriatic acid) for chlorine; this negated Lavoisier's theory that all acids contained oxygen. He explained the bleaching action of chlorine (through its liberation of oxygen from water) and discovered two of its oxides (1811 and 1815), but his views on the nature of chlorine were disputed. He was not aware that chlorine is a chemical element, and experiments designed to reveal oxygen in chlorine failed.

In 1810 and 1811 he lectured to large audiences at Dublin (on agricultural chemistry, the elements of chemical philosophy, geology) and received £1,275 in fees, as well as the honorary degree of LL.D., from Trinity College. In 1812 he was knighted by the Prince Regent (April 8), delivered a farewell lecture to members of the Royal Institution (April 9), and married Jane Apreece, a wealthy widow well known in social and literary circles in England and Scotland (April 11). He also published the first part of the Elements of Chemical Philosophy, which contained much of his own work; his plan was too ambitious, however, and nothing further appeared. Its completion, according to a Swedish chemist, J.J. Berzelius, would have "advanced the science of chemistry a full century." (with grateful thanks to the Royal Institution, Abermarle St, London)

Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday came from a poor family living in London. He was born in 1791 and from an early age he had a enquiring mind and was curious about everything. When he reached 13, he started work as a messenger boy for a booking business in London. He would read every book which he came across and wanted to write his own book. He had become interested in the concept of force (energy). As he had began reading at an early age and his later experiments regarding energy he made important discoveries in his life. He eventually qualified as a physicist and chemist.

In 1821 he constructed two devices to produce what he termed electromagnetic rotation, this is best described as “the continuous circular motion from the circular magnetic force around a wire”. In 1831 he started a series of experiments in which he discovered electromagnetic induction. These experiments form the basis of modern electromagnetic technology.

In this year (1831), he used his "induction ring", to make one of his greatest discoveries - electromagnetic induction: or the "induction" or generation of electricity in a wire by means of the electromagnetic effect of a current in another wire. The induction ring was the first electric transformer. Later in the same year during a series of experiments he discovered magneto-electric induction: the production of a steady electric current. Faraday did achieve this by attaching two wires through a sliding contact to a copper disc. By rotating the disc between the poles of a horseshoe magnet, he managed a continuous direct current. This was the first proper generator. It was from Faraday’s experiments came the devices that led to the modern electric motor, generator and transformer.

Faraday continued these electrical experiments. In the next year (1832), he proved that the electricity induced from a magnet, voltaic electricity produced by a battery, and static electricity was all the same. He also did significant work in electrochemistry, stating the First and Second Laws of Electrolysis. This laid the foundations for what we now called electrochemistry.

To be continued..(partial data fro the Institution of Electrical Engineers-IEE).

Nikola Tesla Without the genius of the Serbian Tesla, you would not be reading this. It was his development of the Alternating Current together with his sponsor George Westinghouse which brought electricity to the world not Edison. He also often cited how he was inspired by Faraday. Although he was born in Croatia, his father was a Serbian Orthodox Priest, and his mother was also a Serb, so Tesla was also a Serb. A recent advertisent for Roberts Radio called Tesla, a Croat. Such simple mistakes have caused wars in the Balkans, advertisment agencies should know better . 2006 is the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth.

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Although Guglielmo Marconi is credited with inventing the radio, it should be remembered that it was the technology developed by Tesla that made Marconi's work possible. So in fact Nikola Tesla should be credited as inventor of the radio.

I am pleased that Beograd (Belgrade) Airport was re named in 2006, as Nikola Tesla International, after Serbia's most famous son.

As part of the celebrations for the 150th universary of the birth of the scientist Nikola Tesla, on 10. July 2006 at Belgrade Airport "Nikola Tesla" a monument dedicated to this great man was unveiled. In the presence of numerous guests, Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining: Mr. Radomir Naumov has officially uncovered the monument of Nikola Tesla, sculpture of Mrs. Drinka Radovanović.

The monument is 3,10 meters high, weighing about 1.000 kilograms, cast in bronze and patented

Picture Credit: Politika, Beograd, Republic of Serbia

The Nikola Telsa museum is a great resource and an entertaining web-site: http://www.yurope.com/org/tesla/ (in both Serbian and English)

A good source for pictures, graphics and patents and how the US Government hampered Telsa's work is to be found at: http://members.tripod.com/RandyHiatt/Teslapage.html#info%20sources

Tesla memorial Society of New York, USA http://www.teslasociety.com/index.html

another good resource is : http://www.nikola-tesla.com/

A new Tesla dedicated site (webmaster D Boksan-Cullen) will be launch in February 2007.

The Tesla Wardenclyffe Project http://www.teslascience.org/pages/front_el.htm

A great links page for Tesla related articles and sites is:

http://www.tezla.com/tesla/coilers.htm

A comprehensive biography on Nikola Tesla is planned, and will take over a year to complete. More details from Desmond Boksan-Cullen, Webmaster = boksan-cullen@bcs.org