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Sir Ambrose Fleming, who died in 1945, aged 95
With the end of the war in sight, we were able to publish the first full article on the fundamental principles of radar. Appropriately enough, the author was Smith-Rose, who, towards the end of World War I, had given our first detailed exposition of the amplifying valve. Pulse modulation, an offshoot of radar, was described later, as was the proximity fuse, 'a radio station in a shell nose-cap', which made use of the Doppler effect. The fuse marked the start of the trend towards miniaturization of components, one of the features of the coming decade.
The proximity fuse, 'a radio station (sending and receiving) in the nose of a shell'
What may well turn out to be a strikingly accurate forecast of things to come was given in Arthur Clarke's article 'Extra-Terrestrial Relays'. Clarke contended that artificial earth satellites would provide the most effective and economical means for inter-continental telegraph and telephone communications and for distributing world-wide television. His proposals were described in considerable detail; their essential practicability has not been controverted.
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