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Vacuum-tubes

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scope Note: Cathode ray tubes; Diodes; Getters; Klystrons; Magnetrons; Oscillators (Vacuum-tube); Pentodes; Storage tubes; Tetrodes; Triodes; Trochotrons; Vacuum-tube circuits; Velocity modulation.

Found in 11 Collections and/or Records:

Alfred Hermann Sommer papers

 Collection
Accession: 2500
Abstract:

Alfred Hermann Sommer (1909-2003) was a physical chemist who specialized in photoemission research and development. After fleeing from the German Nazi regime and working in London, he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1953. He took a job with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) at its David Sarnoff Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked until 1974. The collection consists of several of Sommer's articles, publications, and patents.

Dates: 1947-1993

Fred L. Bechly papers

 Collection
Accession: 2586
Abstract:

Fred L. Bechly (1924-2004) was an electrical engineer who worked for RCA's Camden, New Jersey, plant, where he aided in the invention of the Tricolor Kinescope Monitor, which became the standard for color television. His papers describe his work with RCA in television and video recording from 1944 to 1983.

Dates: 1944-2004

James W. Scarlett papers

 Collection
Accession: 2662
Abstract:

From 1906 to the 1970s, the Honeywell corporation grew from specializing in thermostats and home heating into military engineering, cameras and computing. James Warren Scarlett (1937-2016) was a team leader and electrical engineer at Honeywell through the crucial 1970s period where they led the world in developing process control technology for industrial plants. His records illustrate the development of Honeywell's Industrial Process Control Division's TDC 2000 and TDC 3000 systems. The collection has particular strengths in materials documenting the design of the user interface, sometimes referred to as the man-machine-interface (MMI). Materials include reports, papers, presentation slides, books, correspondence, and business cards.

Dates: 1953-2004; bulk 1970-1990

KEMET Electronics Corporation printed ephemera

 Collection
Accession: 2841
Abstract:

KEMET Electronics Corporation specializes in passive electronic components, including getters (an essential element in vacuum tubes) and capacitors. The name "KEMET" was derived from the words "chemical" and "metallurgy." This small collection consists of employee newsletters and ephemeral publications from KEMET Electronics dating from the 1970s through the 2000s, with some related materials, including a small group of annual reports from Union Carbide from the 1950s.

Dates: 1926; 1944; 1951-2010

Louis F. Moose papers

 Collection
Accession: 2605
Abstract:

This collection contains papers from Louis F. Moose from his early days as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, to his retirement from Bell Laboratories, Allentown, Pennsylvania, as an electrical engineer and department head. They date from 1928 with the bulk of the documents from 1942 to 1982 covering his work and activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bell Laboratories.

Throughout his career, Mr. Moose was involved with the early research and development of magnetrons/microwave tubes used in radar for military use and for Bell Systems applications.

Dates: 1928-1991

Philadelphia Quartz (PQ) Company records

 Collection
Accession: 1865
Abstract:

Founded in 1831 as the Elkinton Company and later renamed, Philadelphia Quartz Company became an important innovator during World War I by discovering that silica gels could be used as a base to manufacture catalysts for cracking crude oil molecules to make high-octane gasoline and developing potassium silicate which was adopted for use in cathode ray tubes. The company's records includes business records and the personal papers of the company's founding family.

Dates: 1733-1983; Majority of material found within 1831-1981

RCA Harrison records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-71
Abstract:

RCA’s plant in Harrison, New Jersey was (originally founded in 1882) was acquired by RCA in 1930 and was the company's primary producer of receiving tubes for consumer, industrial, and defense electronics until the plant closed in 1976. The records consist primarily of the papers of engineers Ralph R. Fichtl (1918-2014) and Otto H. Schade, Sr. (1903-1981) on television and receiving tube development. Files include reports, ephemera, photographs, patents, and correspondence on their work and RCA Harrison in general.

Dates: 1924-1987

RCA/Thomson Lancaster records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-74
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (RCA)’s Picture Tube Division, later known as the Video Component and Display Division, was headquartered at a research and production facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1987, the French firm Thomson Consumer Electronics acquired RCA’s consumer electronics business, including the Lancaster plant, and operated the facility until Thomson shut down its consumer electronics operations in 2005. Materials in the collection document a diverse array of activities at the RCA/Thomson Lancaster plant between the facility’s early days of operation and its closure. Corporate memoranda, correspondence, product technical data, photographs, and audiovisual materials trace the development of RCA/Thomson’s picture tube product line. Corporate publications chronicle major moments in company history.

Dates: 1929-2006

Sperry Corporation, UNIVAC Division photographs and audiovisual materials

 Collection
Accession: 1985-261
Abstract:

The Sperry Corporation was an electronics company and the UNIVAC Division manufactured the first commercial digital computer. The Sperry UNIVAC division has its origins in the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC), founded in 1946 by J. Presper Eckert (1919-1995) and John W. Mauchly (1907-1980). In 1950, Eckert and Mauchly sold their firm to Remington Rand, Inc, a major manufacturer of business machines, who continued development of the UNIVAC system. The collection documents predecessor organizations to the Sperry Corporation, including the Remington Typewriter Company, the Rand Kardex Company, and the Sperry Gyroscope Company; the formation of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation; the development of the UNIVAC brand under Remington Rand, Inc.; Philadelphia and St. Paul branches of the UNIVAC division; the UNIVAC manufacturing plant in Bristol, Tennessee; and Sperry divisions outside of UNIVAC, including Sperry Gyroscope Flight and Defense Systems, and Remington Rand office equipment.

Dates: 1910-1989; Majority of material found within 1946-1985

Sperry Gyroscope Company Division records

 Collection
Accession: 1915
Abstract:

The Sperry Gyroscope Company was originally organized by electrical inventor Elmer Ambrose Sperry for the purpose of manufacturing and marketing his ship gyrostabilizer, gyrocompass, and high-intensity searchlight. The records describe the development and marketing of the marine and airplane stabilizer, the high-intensity searchlight, fire control systems, the gyrocompass, airplane automatic pilot, bombsights, and the aerial torpedo. They trace the evolving relationship between Sperry and the military and the impact of World Wars I and II.

Dates: 1910-1970

T. Peter Brody papers

 Collection
Accession: 2532
Abstract:

Thomas Peter Brody (1920-2011) was a theoretical physicist whose work in tunnel diodes and semiconductor device theory resulted in numerous electronic uses for thin film technology, eventually leading to his invention of active matrix flat panel display technology, or liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. The collection describes Dr. Brody's education, personal and professional character, scientific achievements, business successes and disappointments, as well as personal praise. Included are lecture notes, private and professional correspondence, research studies, patents, contracts, business records, and other documents related to Dr. Brody's career and the development of LCD technology.

Dates: 1915-2011