Edward Lawry Norton
Encyclopedia
Edward Lawry Norton was an accomplished Bell Labs
engineer and scientist famous for developing the concept of the Norton equivalent circuit
. He attended the University of Maine
for two years before transferring to M.I.T. and received a S.B. degree (electrical engineering
) in 1922. He received an M.A.
degree from Columbia University
in 1925.
Although interested primarily in a communications circuit theory and the transmission of data at high speeds over telephone lines, Edward L. Norton is best remembered for development of the dual of Thevenin's equivalent circuit, currently referred to as Norton's equivalent Circuit. In fact, Norton and his associates at AT&T in the early 1920s are recognized as some of the first to perform pioneering work applying Thevenin's equivalent circuit and who referred to this concept simply as Thévenin's theorem
. In 1926, he proposed the equivalent circuit using a current source and parallel resistor to assist in the design of recording instrumentation that was primarily current driven. He began his telephone career in 1922 with the western Electric Company's Engineering Department, which later became Bell Laboratories. His areas of active research included network theory, acoustical systems, electromagnetic apparatus, and data transmission. A graduate of MIT and Columbia University, he held nineteen patents on his work.
Norton died on January 28, 1983 in Chatham, New Jersey
.
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
engineer and scientist famous for developing the concept of the Norton equivalent circuit
Norton's theorem
Norton's theorem for linear electrical networks, known in Europe as the Mayer–Norton theorem, states that any collection of voltage sources, current sources, and resistors with two terminals is electrically equivalent to an ideal current source, I, in parallel with a single resistor, R...
. He attended the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
for two years before transferring to M.I.T. and received a S.B. degree (electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
) in 1922. He received an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1925.
Although interested primarily in a communications circuit theory and the transmission of data at high speeds over telephone lines, Edward L. Norton is best remembered for development of the dual of Thevenin's equivalent circuit, currently referred to as Norton's equivalent Circuit. In fact, Norton and his associates at AT&T in the early 1920s are recognized as some of the first to perform pioneering work applying Thevenin's equivalent circuit and who referred to this concept simply as Thévenin's theorem
Thévenin's theorem
In circuit theory, Thévenin's theorem for linear electrical networks states that any combination of voltage sources, current sources, and resistors with two terminals is electrically equivalent to a single voltage source V and a single series resistor R. For single frequency AC systems the theorem...
. In 1926, he proposed the equivalent circuit using a current source and parallel resistor to assist in the design of recording instrumentation that was primarily current driven. He began his telephone career in 1922 with the western Electric Company's Engineering Department, which later became Bell Laboratories. His areas of active research included network theory, acoustical systems, electromagnetic apparatus, and data transmission. A graduate of MIT and Columbia University, he held nineteen patents on his work.
Norton died on January 28, 1983 in Chatham, New Jersey
Chatham, New Jersey
Chatham refers to two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities, the first a municipality that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey...
.
External links
- Edward L. Norton Short biographical sketch. Includes photographs and quotations.
- Origins of the Equivalent Circuit Concept by Don H. Johnson Includes photos and biographical sketches of Norton and other inventors of the "equivalent circuit" concept.