IEEE InfoAge Lecture  a book by Professor Richard J Thompson Jr. The College of Saint Rose Albany, NY

Richard J. Thompson Jr.

Based upon the book: Crystal Clear: The Struggle for Reliable Communications Technology in World War II. Published by the IEEE

Some of the defining leaps in technology in the twentieth century occurred during the Second World War, from radar to nuclear energy. Often left out of historical discussions are quartz crystal oscillators, which proved to be just as pivotal to the Allied victory—and to post-war development—as other technologies. Quartz crystals provided the U.S. military, for the first time, with reliable communications on the front lines then went on to become the core of some of the most basic devices of the post-war era, from watches, clocks, and color televisions, to cell phones and computers.

In Crystal Clear, Richard Thompson relates the story of the quartz crystal in World War II, from its early days as a curiosity for amateur radio enthusiasts, to its use by the United States Armed Forces. It follows the intrepid group of scientists and engineers from the Office of the Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army as they raced to create an effective quartz crystal unit. They had to find a reliable supply of radio-quality quartz; devise methods to reach, mine, and transport the quartz; find a way to manufacture quartz oscillators rapidly; and then solve the puzzling "aging problem" that plagued the early units. Ultimately, the development of quartz oscillators became the second largest scientific undertaking in World War II after the Manhattan Project.

 Richard J. Thompson, Jr., Ph.D.
Dean of Mathematics & Sciences
The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY
Ph.D. 1994, Penn State University

Sunday April 27th @ 2 PM the author of a new book "Crystal Clear" will give a 
lecture at InfoAge.  Old-timers may remember the advent of single 
crystal control for ham rigs in the 30's and newbies will only be 
familiar with today's frequency synthesizers that can make an 
infinite number of frequencies from a single crystal; but in-between 
then and now was WWII & Korea when multi channel crystal controlled 
radios were vital to our national defense and this required the 
creation of an instant industry to produce hundreds of millions of 
precise crystals for frequency control.  Hear how this was done and 
how a myriad of technical and production problems were solved.  
Anyone involved in the history of radio, military, ham or otherwise
 will find this lecture well worth while.  Fort Monmouth was the center of much 
of this activity so it is local history as well.

     There is no admission charge and copies of the author signed book will be on sale.  

The showing is sponsored by the New Jersey Coast Section of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) and InfoAge. The IEEE is the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology.

You should not miss this event. - Ray Chase, New Jersey Antique Radio Club 

Page updated April 11, 2008  -  Page created April 11, 2008