Editing Electrical engineering (section)

===Early 20th century===
[[File:Guglielmo Marconi.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Guglielmo Marconi]], known for his pioneering work on long-distance [[radio transmission]]]]

During the [[invention of radio|development of radio]], many scientists and inventors contributed to [[radio communications|radio technology]] and electronics. The mathematical work of [[James Clerk Maxwell]] during the 1850s had shown the relationship of different forms of [[electromagnetic radiation]] including the possibility of invisible airborne waves (later called "radio waves"). In his classic physics experiments of 1888, [[Heinrich Hertz]] proved Maxwell's theory by transmitting [[radio wave]]s with a [[spark-gap transmitter]], and detected them by using simple electrical devices. Other physicists experimented with these new waves and in the process developed devices for transmitting and detecting them. In 1895, [[Guglielmo Marconi]] began work on a way to adapt the known methods of transmitting and detecting these "Hertzian waves" into a purpose-built commercial [[Wireless telegraphy|wireless telegraphic]] system. Early on, he sent wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles. In December 1901, he sent wireless waves that were not affected by the curvature of the Earth. Marconi later transmitted the wireless signals across the Atlantic between Poldhu, [[Cornwall]], and St. John's, [[Newfoundland]], a distance of {{convert|2100|mi|km}}.<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1909/marconi-bio.html Marconi's biography at Nobelprize.org] retrieved 21 June 2008.</ref>

[[Millimetre wave]] communication was first investigated by [[Jagadish Chandra Bose]] during 1894{{ndash}}1896, when he reached an [[extremely high frequency]] of up to 60{{nbsp}}[[GHz]] in his experiments.<ref>{{cite web |title=Milestones: First Millimeter-wave Communication Experiments by J.C. Bose, 1894–96 |url=https://ethw.org/Milestones:First_Millimeter-wave_Communication_Experiments_by_J.C._Bose,_1894-96 |website=[[List of IEEE milestones]] |publisher=[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] |access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> He also introduced the use of [[semiconductor]] junctions to detect radio waves,<ref name=emerson>{{cite book | last = Emerson | first = D. T. | title = 1997 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest | chapter = The work of Jagadis Chandra Bose: 100 years of mm-wave research | publisher = IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Research | volume = 45 | issue = 12 | pages = 2267–2273 | year = 1997 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=09Zsv97IH1MC&pg=PA88 | doi = 10.1109/MWSYM.1997.602853 | isbn = 9780986488511|bibcode = 1997imsd.conf..553E | citeseerx = 10.1.1.39.8748 | s2cid = 9039614 }} reprinted in Igor Grigorov, Ed., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=09Zsv97IH1MC Antentop]'', Vol. 2, No.3, pp. 87–96.</ref> when he patented the radio [[crystal detector]] in 1901.<ref name="computerhistory-timeline">{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/timeline/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="computerhistory-1901">{{cite web |title=1901: Semiconductor Rectifiers Patented as "Cat's Whisker" Detectors |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/semiconductor-rectifiers-patented-as-cats-whisker-detectors/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref>

In 1897, [[Karl Ferdinand Braun]] introduced the [[cathode-ray tube]] as part of an [[oscilloscope]], a crucial enabling technology for [[television|electronic television]].{{sfn|Abramson|1955|p=22}} [[John Ambrose Fleming|John Fleming]] invented the first radio tube, the [[diode]], in 1904. Two years later, [[Robert von Lieben]] and [[Lee De Forest]] independently developed the amplifier tube, called the [[triode]].{{Sfn|Huurdeman|2003|p=226}}

In 1920, [[Albert Hull]] developed the [[magnetron]] which would eventually lead to the development of the [[microwave oven]] in 1946 by [[Percy Spencer]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Albert W. Hull (1880–1966) | work = IEEE History Center | url = http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/legacies/hull.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020602014513/http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/legacies/hull.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2 June 2002 | access-date = 22 January 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Who Invented Microwaves? | url = http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html | access-date =22 January 2006 }}</ref> In 1934, the [[British military]] began to make strides toward [[radar]] (which also uses the magnetron) under the direction of Dr Wimperis, culminating in the operation of the first radar station at [[Bawdsey]] in August 1936.<ref>{{cite web | title = Early Radar History | work = Peneley Radar Archives | url = http://www.penleyradararchives.org.uk/history/introduction.htm | access-date =22 January 2006 }}</ref>

In 1941, [[Konrad Zuse]] presented the [[Z3 (computer)|Z3]], the world's first fully functional and programmable computer using electromechanical parts.  In 1943, [[Tommy Flowers]] designed and built the [[Colossus (computer)|Colossus]], the world's first fully functional, electronic, digital and programmable computer.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Raúl |last=Rojas |contribution=The history of Konrad Zuse's early computing machines |page=237 |editor1-first=Raúl |editor1-last=Rojas |editor2-first=Ulf |editor2-last=Hashagen |title=The First Computers—History and Architectures History of Computing |publisher=MIT Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-262-68137-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Anthony E. |last=Sale |contribution=The Colossus of Bletchley Park |pages=354–355 |editor1-first=Raúl |editor1-last=Rojas |editor2-first=Ulf |editor2-last=Hashagen |title=The First Computers—History and Architectures History of Computing |publisher=MIT Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-262-68137-7}}</ref> In 1946, the [[ENIAC]] (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) of [[John Presper Eckert]] and [[John Mauchly]] followed, beginning the computing era. The arithmetic performance of these machines allowed engineers to develop completely new technologies and achieve new objectives.<ref>{{cite web | title = The ENIAC Museum Online | url = http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~museum/guys.html | access-date =18 January 2006 }}</ref>

In 1948, [[Claude Shannon]] published "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" which mathematically describes the passage of information with uncertainty ([[electrical noise]]).