Communications
An international history of the formative years
Published on 15. November 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
652 pages
978-0-86341-330-8 (ISBN)
Description
Communications: An international history of the formative years traces the evolution of communications from 500 BC, when fire beacons were used for signalling, to the 1940s, when high definition television systems were developed for the entertainment, education and enlightenment of society. The book does not simply provide a chronicle of dates and events, nor is it a descriptive catalogue of devices and systems. Rather, it discusses the essential factors - technical, political, social, economic and general - that enabled the evolution of modern communications. The author has taken a contextual approach to show the influence of one discipline upon another, and the unfolding story has been widely illustrated with contemporary quotations, allowing the progress of communications to be seen from the perspective of the times and not from the standpoint of a later generation.
Reviews / Votes
'a highly valuable recounting of communications history. It is well organised in numerous technical subjects and addresses both readers who might simply want to get a general picture of communications history, as well as those who might prefer to focus on particular topics.' -- Uwe-Carsten Fiebig * IEE Communications Engineer *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Stevenage
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
1094 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-86341-330-8 (9780863413308)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2008
1st Edition
Institution of Engineering and Technology
€144.89
Available for download
Person
Russell W. Burns graduated from the University of Durham in 1948 with a first class honours degree in physics. Following post-graduate research he joined the Royal Naval Scientific Service in 1952. Professor Burns subsequently held various appointments in higher education in the UK and abroad, obtaining his PhD from the University of Leicester in 1976, and retired in 1989. He has been researching and writing on the history of electrical engineering for more than 30 years. He was awarded the IEE's SET Divisional Board Premium in 1993 and shared the Maxwell Premium in 1994. An IET Fellow, Professor Burns is a past chairman of the IEE's History of Technology professional group, Archives Committee and Science Education and Technology Divisional Board.
Content
Chapter 1: Communication among the ancients
Chapter 2: Semaphore signalling
Chapter 3: The development of electric telegraphy from c. 1750-1850
Chapter 4: Electric telegraphy - commercial and social considerations
Chapter 5: Submarine telegraphy
Chapter 6: The telephone
Chapter 7: Optical communications
Chapter 8: Images by wire, picture telegraphy (1843-c. 1900)
Chapter 9: Distant vision (c. 1880-1908)
Chapter 10: The early wireless pioneers
Chapter 11: Early experimental wireless telegraphy (1895-1898)
Chapter 12: Other wireless developments
Chapter 13: Maritime wireless telegraphy
Chapter 14: Point-to-point communications
Chapter 15: Television development, pre-1914
Chapter 16: The Great War years, 1914-1918
Chapter 17: The birth of sound broadcasting
Chapter 18: Some important developments in the 1920s
Chapter 19: The rise and fall of low definition television, c. 1920-c. 1930
Chapter 20: The birth of high definition television
Chapter 21: EMI and high definition television
Chapter 22: The emergence of new technologies
Chapter 23: Epilogue
Chapter 2: Semaphore signalling
Chapter 3: The development of electric telegraphy from c. 1750-1850
Chapter 4: Electric telegraphy - commercial and social considerations
Chapter 5: Submarine telegraphy
Chapter 6: The telephone
Chapter 7: Optical communications
Chapter 8: Images by wire, picture telegraphy (1843-c. 1900)
Chapter 9: Distant vision (c. 1880-1908)
Chapter 10: The early wireless pioneers
Chapter 11: Early experimental wireless telegraphy (1895-1898)
Chapter 12: Other wireless developments
Chapter 13: Maritime wireless telegraphy
Chapter 14: Point-to-point communications
Chapter 15: Television development, pre-1914
Chapter 16: The Great War years, 1914-1918
Chapter 17: The birth of sound broadcasting
Chapter 18: Some important developments in the 1920s
Chapter 19: The rise and fall of low definition television, c. 1920-c. 1930
Chapter 20: The birth of high definition television
Chapter 21: EMI and high definition television
Chapter 22: The emergence of new technologies
Chapter 23: Epilogue