“Electronics at Work” is the title of this black-and-white film produced by Westinghouse, and focuses on the role of electronics during World War II. Mark 00:48 introduces the viewer to a diode (a specialized electronic component with two electrodes — the anode and the cathode — separated by a vacuum). At mark 01:35, the film offers further illustration as to the process. When the cathode is heated, negative electrons fly to the positive anode. This “new kind of switch,” the narrator explains at mark 02:15, is explained in great detail via diagrams, as is its use of a rectifier, which converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC) The applications of rectification are plentiful, it is said at mat 03:13, and include electric railways, electro-plating operations, use in steel mills, and in airpower. Diodes can also be used to amplify, it is said at mark 07:08, via a placement of a grid in the center of the diode, which can enhance communication. Further functions of a diode include generation of alternating current (mark 09:13), control the flow of power to a machine (mark 13:07), the ability to transform light into current (mark 14:50), and the ability to transform current into light (mark 16:23). “The cathode ray tube is an example of this application,” the narrator explains. (A CRT uses one or more electron guns and a phosphorescent screen to view images). A CRT was used in early television, it is noted at mark 16:37, and also as an x-ray tube. “Doctors can now study human internal organs … or photograph them,” it is explained. Each way is explained in detail and illustrated by a variety of graphics. Despite the detail devoted to the topic, the narrator notes at mark 18:25 that there are countless other uses. “So many and so varied are the applications of electronics that a single film like this can only mention one in a thousand. We haven’t even mentioned, for instance, radar, the electronic development that helped save Britain during the decisive weeks of the German aerial blitz … Whenever Hitler’s bombers attacked, at whatever altitude, from whatever direction, British Interceptors were waiting for them.” As an array of tubes fill the screen, the narrator concludes at mark 19:41: “Yes the electronic tube, in essence, is only a switch, but what a switch! It rectifies, amplifies, generates, controls, transforms light into electricity and back into light again. These tubes that look so mysterious are essentially simple … in the world of today they’re helping us win a war. In the world of tomorrow, they bring new levels of achievement, comfort, and security.”

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit [ Ссылка ]

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