Author_Institution :
Dept. of Sci. & Technol. Studies, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, USA
Abstract :
On August 2, 1927, Harold Black, a young Bell Labs engineer just six years out of college, invented the negative-feedback amplifier. Negative feedback soon allowed the Bell system to reduce overcrowding of lines and extend its long-distance network by means of carrier telephony. It enabled the design of accurate fire-control systems in World War II, and it formed the basis of early operational amplifiers, as well as precise, variable-frequency audio oscillators. The invention, its development, the role it played in the founding of the Hewlett-Packard company, and the themes it illustrates in the history of technology are discussed.<>
Keywords :
amplifiers; history; Harold Black; Hewlett-Packard company; history; negative-feedback amplifier; operational amplifiers; variable-frequency audio oscillators; Coils; Educational institutions; Electron tubes; Feedback amplifiers; Maxwell equations; Negative feedback; Rivers; Telephony; Vacuum systems; Vacuum technology;
