James Kilton Clapp
Encyclopedia
James Kilton Clapp was an American electrical engineer who worked for General Radio Corporation. He was born in Denver, Colorado and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1923, obtaining a Master's degree there in 1926. He taught at MIT and then joined General Radio Corporation in 1928, until his retirement in 1957. He became a member of the IRE in 1928 and in 1933 was named "Fellow".
Several of Clapp's inventions became the basis of General Radio products. He invented a quartz-crystal oscillator
frequency standard in 1930, and patented a temperature control oven for crystal oscillators. Clapp's name is best known in the field of electronics for his description in 1948 of an improved form of Colpitts oscillator
known as the Clapp oscillator
.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1923, obtaining a Master's degree there in 1926. He taught at MIT and then joined General Radio Corporation in 1928, until his retirement in 1957. He became a member of the IRE in 1928 and in 1933 was named "Fellow".
Several of Clapp's inventions became the basis of General Radio products. He invented a quartz-crystal oscillator
Crystal oscillator
A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency...
frequency standard in 1930, and patented a temperature control oven for crystal oscillators. Clapp's name is best known in the field of electronics for his description in 1948 of an improved form of Colpitts oscillator
Colpitts oscillator
A Colpitts oscillator, invented in 1920 by American engineer Edwin H. Colpitts, is one of a number of designs for electronic oscillator circuits using the combination of an inductance with a capacitor for frequency determination, thus also called LC oscillator...
known as the Clapp oscillator
Clapp oscillator
The Clapp oscillator is one of several types of electronic oscillator constructed from a transistor and a positive feedback network, using the combination of an inductance with a capacitor for frequency determination, thus also called LC oscillator.It was published by James Kilton Clapp in 1948...
.