Wikinventia — Atlas of discoveries and inventions · Industrial Age

Oscillatory discharge circuit — William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)

1853 AD · Transmission: Global
PhysicsMathematicsTheoryBritish

William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) mathematically demonstrates that the discharge of a capacitor (a Leyden jar) through a circuit with self-inductance produces an oscillating current, and defines the resonant-frequency equation of an LC circuit. This formulation underlies every tuned circuit built afterward, including spark and arc radio transmitters. In 1858, Berend Wilhelm Feddersen photographed the oscillatory sparks predicted by this theory using a rotating mirror, providing the first direct visual evidence of the oscillatory nature of the discharge — an intermediate step Hertz would draw on in 1887 to build his spark oscillator.

InstitutionUniversity of Glasgow
Historical regionScotland
Primary sourceThomson, W. — "On Transient Electric Currents", Philosophical Magazine, 1853
Secondary sourceStandard technical references on LC circuit theory
Original languageEnglish
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