Development of the thermionic valve. Historical survey of early research in semiconductors. Development of the transistor. Major technical processes used in semiconductor device fabrication. Review of major factors affecting the growth of the United States semiconductor industry. Review of the factors affecting the growth of the Japanese and South Korean semiconductor industries. Review of the European semiconductor industry.

On 2 November 1936 the world's first high definition television station was inaugurated at Alexandra Palace. Two competing companies, Marconi-EMI Television Company Ltd and Baird Television Ltd, provided studio and transmitting equipment for the new service which operated, on an alternate basis, with the systems of the two companies. After a trial period the 405-line system of the Marconi-EMI company was adopted and the last transmission by the 240-line system of Baird Television Ltd was sent out on 30 January 1937. This book is concerned with the history of British television for home reception from 1922/23 to 1939, when the London Station closed down for the war years. Great care has been taken to ensure that an unbiased, accurate history has been written and the work is based predominantly on written primary source material. More than 900 references are given in the text, which is illustrated with many photographs and illustrations. An endeavour has been made to present a balanced history rather than a purely technical history. Thus the book considers the factors - technical, financial and general - which led to the establishment of the world's first, all-electronic, public, regular, high definition television broadcasting service.

This book presents a thorough survey of electric railway development from the earliest days of the London Underground to modern electrified mainline trains.

The history of radio broadcasting is traced from its earliest origins, through its role as a subversive tool in World War II to the cold war era, and finally to its present day use as an instrument of foreign policy used by over 160 countries. The effects on the cold war, in which propoganda broadcasting was the ultimate weapon, contributing in no small measure to the collapse of communism in the USSR, are analysed. The roles of Voice of America, the BBC World Service and others come under scrutiny, and the concluding chapters report on the explosive growth in international broadcasting now taking place in the aftermath of recent political events. The book is supplemented with up-to-date technical data and statistics on major expansions now under way or being planned in many countries, particularly the USA and the Arab states, some of the latter having a broadcasting capacity that dwarfs most western countries. The appeal of the book is by no means restricted to scientists and engineers and many will find much to stir their memories of international radio broadcasts in wartime and peacetime alike.

This book records the growth of telegraphy over two centuries, depicting the discoveries and ingenuity of the experimenters and engineers involved, the equipment they designed and built, and the organisation, applications and effects on society.