Talk:Coherer

Article Checklist for "Coherer"

Workgroup category or categories	Media Workgroup, Engineering Workgroup [Categories OK]
Article status	Developed article: complete or nearly so
Underlinked article?	Yes
Basic cleanup done?	Yes
Checklist last edited by	Derek Harkness 07:05, 11 June 2007 (CDT)

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A possible suggestion

I know nothing about this topic, but don't you think that for all the idiots like me the first paragraph should be somewhat rewritten? A quick suggestion is:

A coherer is a type of radio detector, popular in the earliest days of radio development, beginning around 1890. Coherers, in conjunction with spark-gap transmitters, were the first devices to make radio communication practical. Its defining characteristic is a "light-contact" segment, that is normally a poor electrical conductor, but which undergoes a sudden change in conductivity — usually a marked increase — in response to the increased voltage induced by a received radio signal.

This way, at least by the end of the second sentence, we have an idea of why this is an important concept.... Hayford Peirce 13:52, 12 June 2007 (CDT)

Tesla

I have heard that Nikola Tesla was in fact the first to introduce both a rotating "coherer" and tuneable circuits; versions of both are incorporated into his patent for a robotic boat which I think well predates Marconi. I know the issue was in the past the subject of controversy; would it it worth mentioning here?

Also, I am very glad to have someone with knowledge of early radio here! If your interest includes early (pre-WWII) televsion systems such as those of Baird and Farnsworth, I'd love to have your input into entries such as John Logie Baird and History of Television -- your technical know-how would be a real asset. Russell Potter 16:49, 12 June 2007 (CDT)