Ernst Fredrik Werner Alexanderson
- The world's first radio programme
- 344 patents
- The station at Grimeton, Sweden
- The first television play
- Knight of the Order of the Northern Star
During the 1930s, Alexanderson began to interest himself in the transmission of high-voltage direct current with the help of mercury arc inverters, thyratrons, which had previously been developed by himself and his good friend Dr. Irving Langmuir, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932. A test station for transmission via high voltage direct current was built between Mechanicville and Schenectady, and remained in operation until 1948.
Experiments were made with colour television, and viewings for, among others, the US National Committee for Television Systems were arranged in the basement of Alexanderson's home in Adams Road in Schenectady in 1940. As recently as in 1955 he acquired the patents on an entirely new system of colour television reception. During World War lI he designed the amplidyne, an electrodynamic amplifier. It was used among other things to generate the control voltage required to train guns, but also acquired peaceful applications in processes at steelworks etc. The thyratron motor was also developed at this time.
As a result of the gradual broadening of its work to cover numerous
fields, Alexanderson's Radio Consulting Department was renamed
the Consulting Engineering Department in 1928, and in 1933 it
became the Consulting Engineering Laboratory. In connection with
the reorganization of GE in 1945, this laboratory was merged with
GE's General Engineering Laboratory to form the General Engineering
and Consulting Laboratory.
Picture: Portrait of Ernst F W Alexanderson
Alexanderson became consultant on the staff of the new organization, where he remained for another year after his formal retirement in 1948. He continued his inventing activities as a private person for a further 20 or so years. During that time he obtained 28 patents in a variety of fields. His last patent he acquired as recently as 1973.
His career spanned more than the first half of this century, and extended through two world wars. He served his new country as faithfully as he maintained his ties with Sweden. Many are the Swedes who experienced his hospitality on visits to the States, and obtained the assistance and good advice that he with his thorough knowledge of conditions there, was in such a good position to provide.