Karl Ferdinand Braun was a German physicist and inventor who received
the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909. He shared the prize with another
inventor and scientist Guglielmo Marconi. He was awarded the Nobel Prize
for his work in the development of the technologies used in television
and radio. He became interested in experimenting with wireless
telegraphy at an early age. The distance that could be covered by the
wireless technology developed by Marconi was about 15 kilometers only.
The antenna was connected directly to the power circuit of the
transmitter. Braun developed an antenna that could increase the distance
by many more kilometers over which wireless transmissions could be
made. He is also famous for the creation of the Cathode Ray Tube or CRT
used in the design of TV screens and computer monitors later. He
designed ways to control the cathode rays by changing the voltage to
obtain a definite pattern on the fluorescent screen which had not been
possible earlier. The oscilloscope was also his invention which is used
in electrical and electronic laboratories as an instrument for measuring
different electrical parameters. He also invented the first ‘cat’s
whisker diode’ which led to the invention of crystal receivers for
radios.
Childhood & Early Life
Karl
Ferdinand Braun was born on June 6, 1850 in Fulda, Germany to Johan
Konrad Braun and Franziska Gohring Braun. He was the fourth child of his
parents.
Major Works
His
patented theories have been published in the books titled as ‘Electro
Telegraphy by means of Condensers and Induction Coils’ and ‘Wireless
Electro Transmission of Signals over Surfaces’.
Awards & Achievements
Karl
Ferdinand Braun was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909 for his
path-breaking discovery work in wireless telegraphy and television
technology and inventions.
Personal Life & Legacy
- He married Amelie Buhler in 1883 while working at the Polytechnic school in Karlsruhe.
- He had two sons and two daughters from this marriage.
- Karl Ferdinand Braun died on April 20, 1918 in Brooklyn New York, United States, before the end of the First World War.
