born May 5, 1861, New York, N.Y., U.S. died Aug. 25, 1921, Paris, France American electrical engineer who invented the mercury-vapour lamp, a great advance in electrical lighting. At an early age, Hewitt began research on electricity and mechanics in a greenhouse converted into a workshop. In 1901 he marketed his first mercury-vapour lamp, but an improved model, brought out in 1903, had better colour qualities and found widespread use for industrial lighting. He later developed the quartz-tube mercury lamp, which found extensive use in biological research. Other inventions by Hewitt include the mercury rectifier (a device for converting alternating current into direct current) and a radio receiver. He discovered the fundamental principle of the vacuum-tube amplifier during study of the flow of electricity through rarefied gases. His interest in aeronautics culminated in the construction (1918) of an early helicopter.
HEWITT, PETER COOPER
Meaning of HEWITT, PETER COOPER in English
Britannica English vocabulary. Английский словарь Британика. 2012