As we are on capacitors/condensers I have first hand knowledge of a
lost technology - actually not lost but hidden. In the 1960s a
company, "X", (largest resistor manufacturer in the UK) bought a
capacitor invention from some clever bloke in London. They
perfected it and went into production. It was phenomenal. - cheap to
make, waterproof, virtually indestructible, incredibly good and
constant tolerances. They just looked like blobs of sealing
wax. But another company, "Y", who was much larger and the "king" of
capacitors visited them and said that if they continued to make and
sell capacitors, then they would start to manufacture resistors. So
"X" realising they could be into serious competition stopped
production but held on to the process as a deterrent against Y. The
capacitors were used in the Decca navigator equipment...and I have a
bunch of them. Now with integrated circuits the process is not so
valuable....but in those days .......hmmmm.
How do I know this? I was a part-time "development engineer" with X
during university terms - making so cash and getting experience.
At 04:22 PM 11/28/2009, Barney Gaylord wrote:
>At 12:16 PM 11/28/2009 -0600, The Roxter wrote:
> >...
> >I have always wondered why we call a capacitor a "condenser" just
> >because it's on a car.
> >....
>
>Ah, history time. The term "condenser" is not unique to automobiles
>use. The device was originally called a condenser long before it
>became known as a capacitor.
>
>According to Wikipedia, "The term [condenser] was first used for this
>purpose by Alessandro Volta in 1782, with reference to the device's
>ability to store a higher density of electric charge than a normal
>isolated conductor". Apparently Wikipedia is wrong, and that was not
>the first use of the term (or the original concept).
>
>See here: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3726/is_200506/ai_n13643083/
>The term "condenser" was earlier applied to application of the Leyden
>Jar (invented 1745), used to collect and store an electrical charge,
>assumed at the time to be a condensed fluid. For the next two
>centuries, devices used to retain electrical charges were called
>condensers [and sometimes still are].
>
>More recently the device came to be called "capacitor" when it became
>easier to calculate the actual capacity of the device to store
>electrical charge, and devices were invented that had the capacity to
>store much larger charges. Now lets see if someone can find the date
>of first use of the term "capacitor" for this device.
>
>Incidentally, there is one electrical condenser that is definitely
>not a capacitor, the synchronous condenser (more like an electric
>motor with no output shaft).
>
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Regards
Barrie
barrie@look.ca
(705) 721-9060
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