February 23, 2011 AT 1:44 pm
Look, Dad—They print wires now!
Scientific American. Issue: Dec, 1954
Very thin copper—called “Electro-Sheet”—is bonded to a plastic laminate panel. On this copper sheet you print the wiring circuit you want with an ink that resists acid. Then you etch away the unwanted metal, leaving the pattern intact. This type of circuit is far superior to wires. It is accurate, compact and stable. Next you snap-fasten tube sockets and other parts in place and dip-solder the connections. To make a hundred electrical connections this way takes only a few seconds.
With printed wiring and other devices—such as transistors—electronic experts are concocting match-box-size hearing aids, vest pocket radios, more compact TV sets and portable electronic “brains.” They are speeding up the production of precision instruments vital in the operation of aircraft and control of guided missiles.
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4 Comments
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Vest pocket radios!
even cooler – Sargrove’s ECME stuff….
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/10/27/radio-robot-squirts-out-3-a-minute/?Qwd=./PopularScience/4-1948/radio_robot&Qif=radio_robot_1.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig
of course we didn’t give him credit either.
Sargrove was way ahead of his time “growing” curcuits…
I worked as a research assistant right before Katrina in New Orleans with Self Assembled Nanowires… super atomic scale platinum – insanely low power consumption, nil resistance, crazy fast electron flow! A 9v might last until it naturally degrades!
I love these articles! And I still do wire wrap – it’s like knitting to me.
These sorts of modern marvels are all very well and good for the scientists and engineers working in their labs, but when will we the common folk get to enjoy the fruits of these futuristic discoveries?
I want my portable electronic brain and compact TV set today, gosh darn it!
😀
OMG! This is going to change everything!
Oh wait, it already did 🙂