Oliver Lodge, English Physicist and Inventor

Oliver Lodge, English Physicist and Inventor

Lodge photographed circa 1920. Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (1851-1940) was an English physicist and writer involved in the development of key patents in wireless telegraphy. In 1879 Lodge became interested in generating (and detecting) electromagnetic waves. In 1894, Lodge gave a lecture on the work of Hertz and transmitted radio signals to demonstrate their potential for communication. Lodge improved Branly's coherer radio wave detector by adding a "trembler" which increased the device's sensitivity. He carried out scientific investigations on lightning, the source of the electromotive force in the voltaic cell and electrolysis. He also made a major contribution to motoring when he patented a form of electric spark ignition for the internal combustion engine (the Lodge Igniter). In 1898, Lodge gained a patent on the moving-coil loudspeaker, utilizing a coil connected to a diaphragm, suspended in a strong magnetic field. His "syntonic" tuner allowed the frequency of transmitter and receiver to be "verified with ease and certainty". Lodge is also remembered for his studies of life after death. He first began to study psychical phenomena in the late 1880s and was a member of the Ghost Club. He wrote more than 40 books, about the afterlife, ether, relativity, and electromagnetic theory. After his retirement in 1920, Sir Oliver and Lady Lodge settled just a few miles from Stonehenge. He lived to be 89.

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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