The Growth of Electronics

The first phenomena that we now recognize to be caused by electrons were noticed during the nineteenth century when inventors like Edison were studying electrical effect's in evacuated glass bulbs and tubes. Sometimes certain areas of the almost completely evacuated vessel would become luminous and glow with blue, green or red light. Though these effects were exploited to produce colourful discharges—now well known as the fluorescent neon-tubes used in advertising—the cause of these phenomena was then unknown.

Then, in 1899, J. J. Thomson discovered the first of the fundamental physical particles—the electron. This particle has a very small mass but carries a negative electric charge. The electron is therefore very responsive indeed to electric and magnetic fields. Soon after it had been discovered, scientists and inventors began to put it to work.

The next invention, established the new applied science of electronics. In 1904 J.A. Fleming invented the diode valve which, with later elaborations, became the device which made radio possible. Marconi's experiments in 1901, in which he successfully transmitted the first messags by radio across the Atlantic, had demonstrated that radio waves could be used for telecommunications but it took some time to develop the first working radio systems. The first radio broadcasts were made in Britain in 1927 on short wave.

So electronics is the basis of all telecommunications systems. The radio valves which contained a gas at very low pressure are now being replaced by solid-state semiconductor devices called transistors which are much smaller and have a longer life than gas valves. Since the last war a whole new industry concerned with the manufacture and exploitation of solid-state electronics has been established. One new branch of this field has led to the development of computers which contain enormous numbers of transistors, minute magnetic cores and other new electronic solid-state devices.

The electronics industry now embraces radio, television, computers, automatic control and many other areas. Electronics is a field in which scientific research and technical development is still intensive, and so many more manifestations of the versatility of the electron can be expected.

参考译文

电子学的发展

我们现在所认识到的由电子引起的一些最初的现象，是19世纪当像爱迪生那样的发明家在研究真空玻璃球、玻璃管里的电效应问题时就注意到了的。有时候，几乎完全抽成真空的容器里的某些区域会变得光亮，并发出蓝光、绿光或红光。虽然这些效应被利用来生产各种顔色的放电管——现在在广吿中使用的著名的荧光氖管（霓虹灯），但当时却不了解这些现象发生的原因。

另外，汤姆森在1899年发现了基本物理粒子中的第一种粒子——电子，这种粒子质量非常小，但却带着一个负电荷，因此，电子对于电场和磁场的确很敏感。在电子被发现之后不久，科学家和发明家便开始使电子发挥作用。

下一个发明确立了新的应用电子学，弗列明于1904年发明了二极管；随后经过不断改进，二极管成了实现无线电通信的装置。马可尼于1901年做了一系列实验，成功地利用无线电把第一批消息传到了大西洋彼岸，这些实验证明无线电波可以用来进行无线电通信；不过，直到若干年以后，才研制出第一批实用的无线电系统。最早的无线电广播是在1927年在英国利用短波实现的。

因此，电子学是各种电信系统的基础，含有极少量某种气体的无线电真空管，现今正为称为晶体管的固态半导体装置所取代；因为同气体真空管相比，晶体管体积小得多，而且寿命也长。自从第二次世界大战以来，制造与开发固态电子产品的整个新型工业部门已经建立起来，这一领域的一个新的分支，使装有数目庞大的晶体管、小型磁芯以及其他新型固态电子装置的计算机得到了发展。

当今的电子工业包括无线电、电视、计算机、自动装置以及其他许多方面。今天，电子学领域的科学研究活动与技术开发工作仍然在紧张地进行着，因此，可以预期，电子更为广泛的用途将在许多方面体现出来。

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