Edwin Howard Armstrong, Inventor of FM Radio

Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890–February 1, 1954) was an American inventor and one of the great engineers of the 20th century. He is best known for developing the technology for FM (frequency modulation) radio. Armstrong won numerous patents for his inventions and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1980. Fast Facts: Edwin Howard Armstrong Known For: Armstrong was an accomplished inventor who developed the technology for FM radio.Born: December 18, 1890 in New York, New YorkParents: John and Emily ArmstrongDied: February 1, 1954 in New York, New YorkEducation: Columbia UniversityAwards and Honors: National Inventors Hall of Fame, Institute of Radio Engineers Medal of Honor, French Legion of Honor, Franklin MedalSpouse: Marion MacInnis (m.  1922-1954) Early Life Armstrong was born in New York City on December 18, 1890, the son of John and Emily Armstrong. His father was an employee of Oxford University Press, while his mother was deeply involved in the Presbyterian Church. When he was still very young Armstrong became afflicted with St. Vitus Dance—a muscular disorder—which forced him to be home-schooled for two years. Education Armstrong was only 11 years old when Guglielmo Marconi made the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission. Enthralled, the young Armstrong began studying radio and building homemade wireless equipment, including a 125-foot antenna in his parents backyard. His interest in science and technology took Armstrong to Columbia University, where he studied at the schools Hartley Laboratories and made a strong impression on several of his professors. He finished college in 1913 with a degree in electrical engineering. Regenerative Circuit The same year he graduated, Armstrong invented the regenerative or feedback circuit. Regeneration amplification worked by feeding a received radio signal through a radio tube 20,000 times per second, increasing the power of the received radio signal and allowing radio broadcasts to have a greater range. In 1914, Armstrong was awarded a patent for this invention. His success, however, was short-lived; the following year another inventor, Lee de Forest, filed several applications for competing patents. De Forest believed that he had developed the regenerative circuit first, as did several other inventors who became involved in the legal dispute that lasted many years. Although an initial case was resolved in Armstrongs favor, a later decision ruled that De Forest was the true inventor of the regenerative circuit. This was Armstrongs first experience with the legal system that would later cause him so much turmoil. FM Radio Armstrong is most commonly known for inventing frequency modulation, or FM radio, in 1933. FM improved the audio signal of radio by controlling the static caused by electrical equipment and the earths atmosphere. Prior to this, amplitude modulation (AM) radio had been extremely susceptible to such interference, which was what prompted Armstrong to investigate the problem in the first place. He conducted his experiments in the basement of Columbia Universitys Philosophy Hall. In 1933, Armstrong received U.S. patent 1,342,885 for a Method of Receiving High-Frequency Oscillations Radio for his FM technology. Again, Armstrong was not the only one experimenting with such technology. Scientists at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) were also testing frequency modulation techniques to improve radio transmissions. In 1934, Armstrong presented his latest finding to a group of RCA officials; he later demonstrated the power of the technology using an antenna at the top of the Empire State Building. RCA, however, decided not to invest in the technology and instead focused on television broadcasting. Armstrong had not lost faith in his discovery, though. He continued to refine and promote FM radio technology, first by partnering with smaller companies such as General Electric and then by presenting the technology to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Unlike the RCA officials, those at the FCC presentation were impressed by Armstrongs demonstration; when he played them a jazz recording over FM radio, they were struck by the clarity of the sound. Improvements to FM technology over the 1930s made it more and more competitive with existing technologies. In 1940, the FCC decided to create a commercial FM service, which launched the following year with 40 channels. However, the outbreak of World War II limited the resources that could be put toward new radio infrastructure. Conflicts with RCA—which was still using AM transmissions—also prevented FM radio from taking off. It was not until after the war that the technology began to win popular support. In 1940, RCA, seeing that it was losing the technological race, tried to license Armstrongs patents, but he refused the offer. The company then developed its own FM system. Armstrong accused RCA of patent infringement and began litigation against the company, hoping to win damages for lost royalties. Death Armstrongs inventions made him a rich man, and he held 42 patents in his lifetime. However, he also found himself embroiled in protracted legal disputes with RCA, which viewed FM radio as a threat to its AM radio business. Much of Armstrongs time, as a consequence of the litigation, was devoted to legal matters rather than work on new inventions. Struggling with personal and financial problems, Armstrong committed suicide in 1954 by jumping to his death from his New York City apartment. He was buried in Merrimac, Massachusetts. Legacy In addition to frequency modulation, Armstrong is also known for developing a number of other key innovations. Every radio or television set today makes use of one or more of his inventions. Armstrong even invented the superheterodyne tuner that allowed radios to tune into different radio stations. During the 1960s, NASA used FM transmissions to communicate with its astronauts while they were in space. Today, FM technology is still used throughout the world for most forms of audio broadcasting. Sources Sterling, Christopher H., and Michael C. Keith.  Sounds of Change: a History of FM Broadcasting in America. University of North Carolina Press, 2008.Richter, William A.  Radio: a Complete Guide to the Industry. Lang, 2006.

Solution For Contemporary Economic Issues Essay - 1371 Words

Solution for Contemporary Economic Issues The economic globalization is known as the growing scale of cross-border trade of goods and services, communication, and transportation because of Strengthening economies of a group of countries (Shangquan, 2000). Recently, many countries have encountered new types of economic problems, which is related to economic globalization. To master these problems, economists adopted two general types of economic theories. The first theory is protectionism, which is a philosophy to protect local markets from foreign competition by putting barriers, such as high tariffs. The second theory is known as trade liberalization. The clue of this theory is to encourage countries to stimulate international trade by reducing restrictions between countries. Today, adopting trade liberalization theory is more practical strategy for many countries because it supports the economic growth through stimulating free movement of labor, free trade and outsourcing jobs. The free movement of labor encourages countries to develop their economic renaissance. Pettinger, an economics professor at Greenes College, points out in his article Free Movement of Labor, that many jobs; such as cleaning or some construction jobs, usually are not popular among local people (2012). In Saudi Arabia, almost all workers in cleaning and most of workers in the field of construction are not local workers. Filling high-skill jobs such as research, medicine, and engineering by localShow MoreRelatedProblems Faced By The New Industrial City1586 Words   |  7 PagesContemporary cities face major problems and certain technologies are employed to address these issues. However, while the technological advancement in these cities resolves the problems to a certain extent, further problems are also created. This essay will argue that this requires a continuous need for constant technological solutions to be created to solve the continual influx of problems. 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Mise-En-Scene in Taxi Driver Free Essays

Taxi Driver is about Travis Bickle, a â€Å"sick† taxi driver who is both a prophet and/or a mad man. We are never allowed to know what the movie itself thinks of him, we are never told to love him or hate him and the movie never states whether he is ethically right or wrong. This movie is not about the answers to the problems of the society. We will write a custom essay sample on Mise-En-Scene in Taxi Driver or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is just about the questions and unknowns. It is just an interesting journey in the modern society that could make people discuss about Travis hours and hours. Talking with other people, I was amazed how people can think of him in different ways. Some say he is â€Å"sick†, some say he is their â€Å"prophet†. The fast cuts in the editing (when he practices with the guns) make us enter in his state of mind. But also, some long takes force us to analyze and understand what happened (Very high-angle takes that Scorsese calls â€Å"Priest shots† after the massacre. ). The movie switches dynamically between these styles, which leaves the audience an infinite ways of thinking about the Travis. This is beyond doubt not a journey like Odysseus where the hero always moves forward. In Taxi Driver the hero’s journey is always around the same circle. He does not meet any new people or experience new situations. Same people turn around him, or maybe he turns around the same people and he repeatedly recognizes similar concepts in them. In a realistic movie the fact that he meets with those people so many times and in so many different places would be a mistake. However, this is not a realistic movie. Palantine who was already around him (thanks to the posters and Betsy) gets into his car (which is highly unlikely to happen); he sees Iris in many different unrelated places (three times); Scorsese appears in the movie twice (the unknown one of these is in the scene where we first see Betsy. He is also watching her in the back. ). Also different people reminds him of similar concepts: Betsy and Iris are both woman who are to be saved from the lives they are stuck in, and he sees many different people who cannot communicate with him. This circle with Travis in its center is also represented in the camera movements: either the camera is traveling around him or it is panning to show the panorama of the New York life through his eyes. Moreover, in two different scenes the camera and Travis make the other 180 degrees of the circle and meet at the same place. These formal elements help us understand and feel how Travis is also encircled and alone in that sick world. The fact that this is not a realistic movie is also proved by some of the elements in the narrative. First of all, Travis is described as someone who never sleeps, and we really never see him sleeping. Secondly, the time gaps between the shots (sometimes a week, or maybe a month: after he first signs up for the job, the next shot is in his apartment, and he describes his daily routine. ) also prove that this is a stylized movie. Lastly, although he is almost illiterate (- Education? – Yes, some, you know, here and there! ), he has a diary and we hear him telling us what he is writing. He sometimes even becomes poetic. All of these are almost implausible for an ordinary taxi driver. As a final point about the realism, I think the appearance of Scorsese himself is to remind us that â€Å"this is just a movie† and that we should not get into the story too much. I think he appears at a very important point, when everything starts to boil and the audience risks to be caught in Travis’ delirium too much. Travis’ alienation and loneliness is one of the most underlined ideas in the movie. Even when he is with other people he is very seldom shown as having a real communication with them. One very interesting shot is when he first sits in the cafe with his friends. He sits on the other side of the table and they are on the other sides of the frame. They seem like they are very far apart from each other. Also, when Travis talks with other people (except Iris and Betsy) he never looks at them. There are even some shots where we see what he is looking at, which shows his disconnection with those people. Naturally, for a person so disconnected to the society â€Å"exchanges† are very important. It could be an exchange of a gun or a paper or feelings. Scorsese emphasizes these using some unusual high angles, looking at the action from above. It happens four times in the movie: in the taxi office, in the movie theater, in the gun exchange, and most importantly when he first declares his love to Betsy in the campaign headquarters. In the last one, there is only a shot of the desk from above and the camera is panning in a strange way with no obvious reason. However, we know from the two other scenes that this shot underlines the â€Å"real exchange† of feelings between Travis and Betsy. Furthermore, in one of the best shots of the movie, after his useless and empty talk with Wizard the camera just stands and watches his cab going away and fading in the streets while Wizard is looking at him. The scene announces his detachment from the people and the society. As Taxi Driver is not moving forward as a movie, there is no reason for an obvious change in style. The dizziness of the colors and the fact that the background is often out-of-focus in the whole movie reminds us that there is no way to see the society in a sharper way and finding solutions. We are almost lost in it. Very shiny colors, especially reds, blues and greens, form the main palette of the movie. However, there are some slight changes of colors. For example, in the scenes where he continues his relationship with Betsy, a peaceful green dominates the screen. In the scenes leading to the final massacre, red becomes the leading and threatening color. Again, after that, green again becomes the main color as the scenes have a feeling of calm in them. Moreover, the Sport’s street is darker than many of the places in the movie suggesting a mystical feeling, which prepares us to the climax that happens there. Other important things I want to note about the mise-en-scene are the costumes and the hairs. Travis often changes the way he is dressed and his hairstyle according to the situation. He becomes a very nice-looking guy when he is going to meet with Iris or Betsy. He wears his nice shirts brushes his hair. When he is going to show his anger or his dark side he either wears his marine or leather coat and leaves his hair as it is or even, at the end, shaves it. These changes show the instability of his personality and the two opposite characters of Travis Bickle, a prophet and a sick guy. When he looks nice, we tend to like him; when he looks crazy, we are afraid. Furthermore, the costumes and the hairstyles help Scorsese call attention to one of the most important parallelisms of the Taxi Driver that I already mentioned. Betsy often wears red clothes as Iris does when they meet with Travis. In addition, they are both blondes. That forces us to understand the parallelism between them; according to Travis they are both to be saved from the lives they are stuck in. The climax of the film is obviously the massacre as it is probably the most intense and shocking scene of the film. It is shot and edited as if it was a dream and we are never sure whether it really happens or whether it is just Travis’ imagination. The only thing we know for sure is that it is the explosion of his unexpressed feelings toward the society and the manifestation of his hate against the people. The use of red and some unusual high angles stress the dreamy quality of the scene. Sport’s reappearance and Travis’ survival despite the shot that just missed his throat are out of our worst nightmares. Again, Scorsese does not expect us to believe in it. He just wants us to meditate in what happened. The following scenes also have the same dreamy mood. The greens dominate the night scenes and an interesting peacefulness is expressed with the very slow panning of camera and the tender voice of Iris’ father. Also the fact that Travis got away without going into prison and Betsy’s way of looking that shows her admiration for him make the scene seem like a wonderful dream. At the very end, although Travis is again driving the car, his face is lightened very strongly in a way we are not used to in the movie (It was always dark! ). Is he enlightened? Is he a prophet? However, suddenly, something happens and his face seems red in the mirror, but he fixes it. Is he a lunatic? Is he dead or dreaming? You won’t find the answer to these questions in this movie. How to cite Mise-En-Scene in Taxi Driver, Essay examples

Widow of Ephesus free essay sample

The Widow of Ephesus Written by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, â€Å"The Widow of Ephesus,† is a story of love, devotion, and betrayal. This story takes place on the coast of Asia, in the city of Ephesus. One of the main characters in this story, the widow, is grieving over her husbands dead body when a soldier abandons his post to aid her. There are later versions of this story, in which all begin the same way. However, their details and conclusions are different and unique. When comparing the original story to the first alternate version, â€Å"Here it is Told of a Gentleman Whom the Emperor Had Hanged,† one might note many differences.In the original story, the widow never alters her husbands dead corpse in any way. However, in the alternate version, the widow breaks off her husbands tooth in order to match that of the missing body, which the Knight was supposed to be guarding (Novellino, para. We will write a custom essay sample on Widow of Ephesus or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 5). Another difference between the two stories is the title in which the guard possesses. The first story depicts him as a soldier, where as the second story describes him as a Noble Knight. This difference suggests the different settings of time and place between the two stories. One other notable difference is the conclusion of each story.The first story never tells whether or not the widow and the soldier continue their love affair, but the second story tells, â€Å"Then the Knight, seeing what she had done with her husband, said, â€Å"Lady, since you showed so little regard for one towards whom you professed such love, so would you have even less regard for me. † Then he left her, went about his business, and she remained behind in shame† (Novellino, para. 10). In our next alternate version, â€Å"The Perfidious Widow,† differences immediately arise between it and the original story. As in the previous story, our guard carries a different title.In this one, he is referred to as a Captain instead of a Noble Knight or Soldier (Rapporport, para. 2). In addition, the Captain in this story tells the Widow that he is going to run instead of committing suicide. Also, the hair of the dead husbands corpse is plucked out to match that of the corpse which was stolen from the gallows, instead of a tooth extracted. Another difference is that the Widow is not accompanied by a handmaiden. In this story, the Captain hears the Widow crying in the distance, whereas in the previous story, he travels to a nearby Abbey to look for another corpse to replace his missing one.Finally, in the end of this version, the Captain does not leave the Widow and cause her shame. Our final story, â€Å"A Widow Digs Up Her Deceased Husband and Hangs Him on the Gallows,† even more differences arise. In the opening of this story, it is said, â€Å"Now and then there are Widows who are not only happy that their husbands have died, but even those who fail to protect their dead husbands bodies beneath the earth in order to quickly gain another husband,† (Petzoldt, para. 1). Then, the story goes to tell how the widow â€Å"bemoaned,† (para. ) her husbands death many days. This is different from all the other stories, as they never allude that the Widow is happy her husband is dead. In this version, not just one tooth is knocked out, but all of the teeth of the dead husband are knocked out to match the corpse of the man missing from the gallows. There are similarities to the first version we studied, â€Å"Here it is Told of a Gentleman Whom the Emperor Had Hanged,† in that the Widow is basically tricked into giving the dead husbands body in exchange for the missing body the guard lost.