李·德福雷斯特与电子三极管

History of Radio: How Lee De Forest, a Con Artist, Created Radio
Kathy老师讲述的有趣科学历史

01 德福雷斯特

Lee de Forest routinely called himself the Father of Radio. It was even the title of his autobiography. And in a way, he was right. He invented the idea of radio broadcasting. He conducted some of the first radio broadcasts and he even invented the most important device in all of radio, the vacuum triode or the vacuum tube. However, he did this because he outright stole most of his ideas.

Lee de Forest is a roue, a cad, a thief, and yet, probably the man most responsible for bringing radio broadcasting to the American public.

Lee de Forest grew up in the 1870s in Alabama to a stern preacher from the North. He was a lonely child, small and homely ignored and abused by his family and neighbors. He was always tinkering around with things. In his teens, he thought he invented a perpetual motion machine, which convinced him that he was a genius, a feeling that never faltered.

In college, he wrote in his journal that, quote, “I never doubt for a moment my genius.” In his late seventies, he even tried to convince his fourth wife to write a book called, “I Married a Genius”. When he was 23, de Forest read a book about the Tesla coil and became fascinated with electricity and wireless. In fact, he became the first person to get his PhD in the study of radio waves.

After trying and failing to get a job with Tesla and then Marconi, Lee de Forest got together with a man named Abraham White to create their own company, the American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company. White thought it was the perfect vehicle to use de Forest’s enthusiasm to oversell stock to the American public, and de Forest agreed, writing in his diary, “Soon, we believe, the suckers will begin to bite.” And bite they did.

Soon the company had over a million dollars. De Forest and White’s major competition was from Marconi’s wireless, and Marconi’s biggest weakness was how they received signals. See, Marconi used a coherer that was slow and erratic. De Forest created a solution that he called the goo anti-coherer, based on some German ideas, which worked about as well as it sounded, meaning not well at all.

Then, in 1903, de Forest visited a man named Reginald Fessenden and found a better detector in Fessenden’s laboratory. Soon, with the help of a Fessenden employee that de Forest lured to his company, Lee de Forest started selling a responder that was identical to Fessenden’s electrolytic detector in all but name and quality.

Not surprisingly, Fessenden sued. While the lawsuit raged on, de Forest and White went to a world’s fair in St. Louis. They constructed a 30-foot tower to promote their business. While in St. Louis, de Forest heard a talk from a Danish man named Valdemar Poulsen about a new type of radio transmitter called an arc transmitter, where you used an arc lamp to amplify the signal and create smooth radio waves. Poulsen said you could use his new device to send sound wirelessly, an idea very intriguing to Lee de Forest. Now sending sound through radio waves was not a new idea in 1904.

Reginald Fessenden, the guy suing de Forest for borrowing a detector, had transferred sound with radio waves way back in 1900, although the quality wasn’t very good. By 1904, Fessenden was working on an alternator, or a machine where you spun electromagnets very, very fast to make smooth radio waves for this very purpose. By the way, he succeeded in 1906 with, “perfect fidelity”. However, Fessenden and Poulsen and almost everyone else was thinking of sending sound wirelessly to make a wireless telephone, not to make broadcast radio.

Lee de Forest thought of it immediately. He predicted that, "Someday the news “and even advertising will be sent out all over wireless.” De Forest tried to get his business partner interested in sending sound wirelessly with the Poulsen arc transmitter. He wasn’t interested in using Fessenden’s alternator because it was too difficult for him to copy or independently invent.

And besides, Fessenden would probably no longer let de Forest into his laboratory or near his employees. However, White was uninterested, as wireless telegraph was raking in the cash. However, two years later, in 1906, Fessenden won his suit. De Forest ran to Canada so that White could creatively rearrange their finances, which he did by backstabbing de Forest, as well as Fessenden, and destroying de Forest’s company. De Forest was devastated. He wrote, "This is the funeral "of my first born child, stolen by a robber "who has fattened off my brain, “but my work goes on while I live.”

Broke but determined, de Forest started anew with his idea of wireless transmission of sound and a new company, the De Forest Radio Telephone Company, with a new president, James Dunlop Smith, who used it to, you guessed it, oversell stock. Lee de Forest then invented a crude carbon arc transmitter which was a Poulsen generator with a microphone attached. Of course, he never purchased the rights to Poulsen’s transmitter and went with the vague idea that he came up with it on his own and that his was significantly different. But the major difference was it wasn’t as good.

By January 7th of 1907, de Forest managed to transmit speech wirelessly across his laboratory, and from then on, he pretended he was the first person to do so. By February, Lee de Forest was broadcasting signals miles away from his laboratory. In fact, a Brooklyn naval officer called him up and said, "Am I drunk or crazy? "Are you sending out some talk and music “over that wireless of yours?”

In 1908, de Forrest married a female engineer named Nora Stanton Blatch, and de Forest and his new bride used their wireless to transmit music from the top of the Eiffel Tower on their honeymoon. In the beginning of 1910, Lee de Forest even made the first live broadcast of an opera from the stage. It seemed like Lee de Forest would be at the forefront of the broadcasting revolution. However, his radio sounded terrible. His marriage fell apart, as he didn’t want his wife to work, and by 1912, his company was charged with fraud.

By January 1, 1914, two members of de Forest’s company were charged with stealing over $1 million. When de Forest was acquitted on a technicality, he collapsed into his lawyers arms. Although he personally did not lead the way into radio, surprisingly one of his devices did. See, way back in 1906, when de Forest was losing his first company to a lawsuit to Fessenden, he became interested in borrowing someone else’s detector that was based on a light bulb called a Fleming valve. After failing with a direct copy, de Forest made a new version of the Fleming valve by adding stray pieces of metal all over the place to make it his.

In 1907, de Forest filed for a patent for something he called an Audion that was a Fleming valve plus a zigzag of wire. That little wire ended up making all the difference, and the Audion that was renamed the triode or the vacuum tube became one of the most important devices in the 20th century.

Here in my hand is the first radio tube, the miracle seed from which sprang the entire, mighty structure of radio and television, sonar, radar, talking pictures, guided missiles, automation, the electric brain computer and long distance telephone communication.

However, de Forest wasn’t the one to figure it out. How a college student named Howard Armstrong transformed the world with a jacked up light bulb is next time on The Secret History of Electricity.

02 英文翻译

一、背景介绍

Lee de Forest 通常称自己为无线电之父，这甚至是他自传的标题。在某种程度上，他是对的。他第一个给出了无线电广播的思想，他进行了一些最早的无线电广播，他甚至发明了无线电设备中最重要的器件，真空三极管或真空管。然而，他这样做是因为他完全窃取了他的大部分想法。关于这其中的诡诞故事，让我们听 Kathy 老师娓娓道来吧。

▲ 图2.1.1 李·德弗雷瑟提传记

二、青年时代

Lee de Forest 是一个流氓，一个无赖，一个小偷，然而他可能是将无线电广播带给美国公众的最大责任人。

Lee de Forest 于 1870 年代在阿拉巴马州长大，成为一名来自北方的严厉传教士。他性格孤僻、身材矮小、相貌平平，常常被家人和邻居忽视和虐待。他总是在摆弄东西。在他十几岁的时候，他认为自己发明了一台永动机，这让他确信自己是个天才，这种信念从未动摇过。

▲ 图2.1.2 年轻时期的李·德福雷斯特

在大学里，他在自己的日记中写道， “我一刻也没有怀疑过自己的天才。” 在他七十多岁的时候，他甚至试图说服他的第四任妻子写一本书，叫做《我嫁给了一个天才》。 23 岁时，德福雷斯特读了一本关于特斯拉线圈的书，开始对电力和无线电着迷。事实上，他是第一个获得无线电波研究博士学位的人。

三、创建公司

在尝试在特斯拉的公司和马可尼的公司找到一份工作失败后，李德福雷斯特与一个名叫亚伯拉罕·怀特的人一起创建了他们自己的公司，即美国德福雷斯特无线电报公司。怀特认为可以利用德福雷斯特的热情向美国公众超发他们公司的股票。德福雷斯特同意并在他的日记中写道：“我们相信，很快，贪婪的鱼儿会上钩的。”

▲ 图2.2.2 德弗雷斯特与怀特

的确很多人购买他们公司的股票，很快公司就有了超过一百万美元。 De Forest 和 White 的主要竞争对手来自 Marconi 的无线电，而 Marconi 最大的弱点是他们接收信号的方式。你知道，当时马可尼使用了一个缓慢且不稳定的相干检波器。 De Forest 根据一些德国想法创建了一个他称之为 粘豆包反相干检波 的解决方案，它的效果和听起来一样好，意思是一点也不好。

▲ 图2.3.2 马可尼无线电公司

后来，在 1903 年，de Forest 拜访了一个名叫 Reginald Fessenden 的人，并在 Fessenden 的实验室里找到了一个更好的无线电检波器。很快，de Forest 高薪聘请了一名 Fessenden 员工来到他的公司，在这位员工的帮助下，Lee de Forest 开始销售一种检波器，除了名称和质量外，它与 Fessenden 的电解检测器完全相同。

▲ 图2.3.3 Fessenden 的检波器以及 de Forest的检波器

四、无线声音发送

毫不奇怪，Fessenden 对他们提起诉讼。在官司进行得如火如荼的时候，德福雷斯特和怀特去了圣路易斯的世界博览会。他们建造了一座 30 英尺高的塔来促进他们的业务。在圣路易斯时，de Forest 听了一位名叫 Valdemar Poulsen 的丹麦人关于一种称为电弧发射器的新型无线电发射器的演讲，可以在其中使用弧光灯来放大信号并产生平滑的无线电波。 Poulsen 说你可以使用他的新设备无线发送声音，Lee de Forest 对这个想法非常感兴趣。

通过无线电波发送声音在 1904 年并不是一个新想法。起诉 de Forest 偷窃检波器技术的人 Reginald Fessenden 早在 1900 年就用无线电波传输了声音，尽管质量不是很好。到 1904 年，Fessenden 正在研究交流发电机，或者说一种机器，在这种机器上，通过非常非常快地旋转电磁铁来产生平滑的无线电波，经过调制可以发送声音。顺便说一下，他在 1906 年便实现了高保真声音发送。然而，Fessenden 和 Poulsen 以及几乎所有其他人都在考虑通过无线方式发送声音来制作无线电话，而不是制作广播电台。

▲ 图2.3.4 Fessenden 实现无线声音发送

李德福雷斯特立刻想到了。他预测，“总有一天，新闻”甚至广告都将通过无线方式发送出去。” De Forest 试图让他的商业伙伴对使用 Poulsen 电弧发射器无线发送声音感兴趣。他对使用 Fessenden 的交流发电机不感兴趣，因为复制或独立研制对他来说太难了。
此外，Fessenden 可能不会再让 de Forest 进入他的实验室或靠近他的员工。然而，怀特并不对无线广播感兴趣，因为无线电报正在大赚一笔。然而，两年后的 1906 年，费森登赢得了诉讼。 De Forest 跑到加拿大，以便 White 可以革新他们的资金管理。由于Fessenden 胜诉摧毁了 de Forest 的公司。最后德福雷斯特被迫清算。 De Forest 对此悲痛欲绝，他写道，“这是我第一个孩子的葬礼，被一个强盗偷走了”， “现在我的大脑一片空白。但我的工作在我活着的时候还将继续。”

五、无线广播

德福雷斯特虽然破产但下定决心，他重新开始无线传输声音的想法，并成立了一家新公司，德福雷斯特无线电电话公司，新总裁詹姆斯·邓洛普·史密斯，新公司进行了 IPO。 Lee de Forest 随后发明了一种粗碳弧发射器，它是一个带有麦克风的 Poulsen 发生器。当然，他从未购买过 Poulsen 发射器的使用权，并且模糊地认为它是他自己发明的，而且他的发射器明显不同，但主要区别在于它没有那么好。

▲ 图2.4.2 De Forest吴先森电话电报公司

在 1907 年 1 月 7 日，德福雷斯特设法在他的实验室内进行无线传输语音。从那时起，他假装自己是第一个这样做的人。到 2 月，李·德福雷斯特 (Lee de Forest) 已经在距离他的实验室数英里之外的地方进行无线广播。事实上，一位布鲁克林海军军官给他打电话说：“我是喝醉了还是疯了？”你是在“通过你的无线电”发送一些谈话和音乐吗？

1908 年，de Forrest 与一位名叫 Nora Stanton Blatch 的女工程师结婚， de Forest 和他的新婚新娘在度蜜月时使用他们的无线电从埃菲尔铁塔的顶部传输音乐。 1910年初，李·德·福雷斯特甚至首次在舞台上现场直播歌剧。 Lee de Forest 似乎将站在广播革命的最前沿。然而，他的收音机听起来很糟糕。由于他不想让妻子工作，他的婚姻破裂了。到 1912 年，他的公司被指控欺诈。

▲ 图2.4.3 De Forest 在埃菲尔铁塔进行无线公布

六、真空三极管

到 1914 年 1 月 1 日，de Forest 公司的两名成员被指控盗窃超过 100 万美元。当德福雷斯特因技术问题被判无罪时，他倒在了律师的怀里。尽管他个人并没有带头进入无线电领域，但令人惊讶的是，他的一种设备却做到了。早在 1906 年，当 de Forest 因与 Fessenden 的诉讼而失去他的第一家公司时，他开始有兴趣借用别人的检测器，该检测器基于称为弗莱明真空管灯泡。在直接复制失败后，de Forest 制作了一个新版本的 Fleming 真空管，通过在真空管不同地方增加金属栅极，从而将该真空管变成他自己的发明。

▲ 图2.5.3 弗莱明真空管

1907 年，de Forest 为他称为 Audion 的东西申请了专利，它是一个 Fleming 真空管中加上一条锯齿形金属丝。那根小的金属丝最终发挥了重要作用。被重新命名为三极管或真空管的 Audion 成为 20 世纪最重要的设备之一。

▲ 图2.5.4 德福雷斯特的三极管

七、后记

我手里拿着第一根无线电管，这颗神奇的种子孕育出了无线电和电视、声纳、雷达、有声图像、导弹、自动化、电子计算机和长途电话通信的整个强大结构。

▲ 图2.7.1 关于第一个三极管

然而，de Forest 并不是解决这个问题的人。一位名叫霍华德·阿姆斯特朗的大学生如何用一个带有插座的真空管改变了世界，这其中的故事我们下回再聊。

■ 相关文献链接:

History of Radio: How Lee De Forest, a Con Artist, Created Radio
Kathy老师讲述的有趣科学历史

● 相关图表链接:

图2.1.1 李·德弗雷瑟提传记
图2.1.2 年轻时期的李·德福雷斯特
图2.2.2 德弗雷斯特与怀特
图2.3.2 马可尼无线电公司
图2.3.3 Fessenden 的检波器以及 de Forest的检波器
图2.3.4 Fessenden 实现无线声音发送
图2.4.2 De Forest吴先森电话电报公司
图2.4.3 De Forest 在埃菲尔铁塔进行无线公布
图2.5.3 弗莱明真空管
图2.5.4 德福雷斯特的三极管
图2.7.1 关于第一个三极管

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李·德福雷斯特如何发明了第一个电子三极管？