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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
October 23, 1873-February 3, 1975
BY C. G. SUITS
TUNGSTEN, X-RAYS, AND COOLIDGE form a trinity that has
left an inclelible impression upon our life and times. The
key word in this trial] is Coolidge, for his work brought the
element tungsten from laboratory obscurity to the center of
the inclustrial stage and gave the X-ray a central role in the
progress of medicine throughout the worIcI.
William David Coolidge was born in Hudson, Massachu-
setts, near Boston, on October 23, IS73, and he died on
February 3, 1975 in Schenectady, New York. His father,
Albert Edward, was a shoemaker by occupation, but he sup-
plementect his income by running a farm of seven acres. His
mother, Martha Alice, was a dressmaker in her spare time.
Will attencled a grade school about a mile from town,
where one teacher presided over the six gracles. He was a
good student and was likes! by his classmates. After school
each day, as an only chilc! of his parents, he had a regular
routine of farm chores. This, however, left room for fishing
(summer and winter), baseball, hiking, skating, and primitive
skiing. Photography became a lifelong hobby, and during this
period he built a basement darkroom ant! constructed! his
own camera, including the shutter.
After grade school Will attended Hudson High School
where, in due time, he graduates! valedictorian in his class of
141
OCR for page 142
142
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
thirteen. En route, he quit school for a while and took a job
in a local factory manufacturing rubber garments. After a
few months he decicled that this was not a very good Plea, ant!
he went back to school, where he caught up with his class
without difficulty. He had assumed that, with very limited
family financial resources, he would not be going to college
at the end of the school year. His plans changed when a
friend who had been impressed by his scholastic recorc! and
his mechanical and electrical aptitudes suggested that he
might be able to obtain a state scholarship for MIT. He ap-
plied, the grant was awarded, and in the fall of IS91 he went
to Boston to continue his stuclies.
At the time MIT was "Boston Tech" and consisted of three
buildings that accommociatec] 1,200 students. The perioc! was
one of growing interest in science ant! engineering, and the
. . ~ . . .
Opportunities tor engineering grac ~uates were numerous in
industry. Except for the Military Academy at West Point, MIT
was the only institution of learning then offering an engi-
neering degree.
Will enrollee! in electrical engineering, which incluclect
some chemistry ant! mathematics and a modicum of litera-
ture, moclern languages, and philosophy, in acldition to pro-
fessional engineering courses. In the chemistry course he
came under the instruction of Professor Willis R. Whitney,
which turned out to be the start of a long ant! happy relation-
ship. Will was an excellent student, especially in his labora-
tory assignments and in his practical shop work, and the
shops at Boston Tech were better than anything he hac! ever
seen before. To see what industry was like, he spent the
summer between his junior anc! senior years at the East Pitts-
burgh plant of Westinghouse Electric. TIIness kept him out of
school for a year, so he graduates! with the class of IS96.
By this time he sensed that engineering practice was not
OCR for page 143
WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
143
exactly what he wanted; he had a greater interest in his
science studies ant! the research orientation of his laboratory
work. He therefore took a position as an assistant in physics
at MIT. During the year he became aware of the possibility of
obtaining a fellowship that would permit graduate study in
Europe. He applied and obtained a grant for the following
year, and he selectecl Leipzig for graduate work, influenced
by the counsel of Professor Whitney, who hacI done graduate
work there, and by the presence of Professor Paul Drude at
that institution. The scholarship wouIcl not cover all of the
costs of European graduate stucly, but Will was able to obtain
a loan from a friend.
Will arrived in Liepzig well in advance of the fall term,
ant! he audited the physics lectures of Professor Gustav
Wiedemann, who advised him not to formally register until
the fall term in October. In the interim, he set out to improve
his German by talking to German students at every oppor-
tunity, by avoiding contacts with English and American stu-
dents, anti even by attending German church services. He
lived with a German family who gave him a constant oppor-
tunity to talk in German. All of this- board and room—cost
$20.00 a month!
When the October term started, Will developec! close rela-
tionships with Crude and Wieclemann. Both were interested
in his research and often dropper! in to see him and to discuss
their progress. During vacations Will took short trips to Italy
and Bavaria, where he covered every tourist opportunity at
very low cost, taking photographs that he developed in an
improvised darkroom in Leipzig.
In Will's second year at Leipzig, he became lecture assis-
tant to Drucle, which helped his finances and provides! a new
experience. Looking ahead to the time when he might finish
his doctorate, he wrote to MIT concerning a teaching position
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144
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
there. Meanwhile his research had progressed well, and he
started to assemble his dissertation, which was publishec! later
in Annalen der Physik.
One clay cluring that winter, the celebrated Professor
Wilhelm C. Roentgen visited Leipzig ant! the Physikalishes
Institute. Drucle's assistant~oolidge hac! a chance to talk
with Roentgen and was much impressed by the experience.
Will clicin't know it at the time, but his later research wouIc!
serve to provide the major embodiment for the practical use-
fuiness of Roentgen's X-ray discovery.
Later in the second school year, Will decided that, with
luck, he might complete his dissertation and tackle his doc-
toral examinations, the basic requirements for a degree, by
late summer. In July he received high marks in all of his
examinations and was awarder! the doctorate summa cum
laucle.
His application for an MIT teaching position coincides!
with an opening in the Physics Department, so Will Coolicige
was back in Boston for the fall term in 1899. The following
year he became a research assistant to Professor Arthur A.
Noyes of the Chemistry Department, where, to his surprise,
he remainec! for five years. In an adjacent laboratory, he
became reacquainted with Dr. Whitney, who was then com-
muting to Schenectady during the formative years of the new
General Electric Research Laboratory there. To Coolicige's
complete surprise, Whitney offered him a job. He visited GE
and accepted the offer in 1905.
The new Research Laboratory was located in an ancient
building in the Schenectady plant, anc! at that time the total
employment was about thirty, inclucling several MIT grad-
uates. The new laboratory's growth rate was limited by the
availability of people of the quality Whitney wanted. At that
early period, persuading a university scientist that he might
have a career in industrial research was not accomplishes]
OCR for page 145
WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
145
easily nor often. Whitney, however, was developing an aca-
demic atmosphere, inclucling weekly research meetings
where members reported upon their work ant! occasionally
heard talks by invited scientists. The laboratory was also
achieving a modicum of credibility and prestige in its inclus-
trial setting because of the success of its early work. Dr. Whit-
ney's improvements in the lamp filament were coming to
market at about the time Dr. Coolidge joined the laboratory.
This 1am p~alled the GEM lamp—was about three times
more efficient than Eclison's lamp, and it alone more than
paid for the company's investment in the Research L.abora-
tory up to that time.
Dr. Coolidge was devotee! to his research work, but not to
the exclusion of social contacts. Letters to his parents at that
time macle it clear that he was enjoying his friendships with
Dr. and Mrs. Whitney and numerous colleagues in the Re-
search Laboratory, and that he had met a number of young
ladies. One of these ladies was especially attractive, and on
December 30, ~ 908 he married Ethel WoodwarcI, the
daughter of the president of a local bank, in Granville. A
daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Lawrence, were born to this
marriage. Early in ~ 9 ~ 5 Ethel became seriously ill ant! cried at
the hospital in February of that year. Dorothy Elizabeth
MacHaffie, a graduate nurse from Ellis Hospital, was
engaged by Will to help his mother with the two children at
home. Dorothy was a charming person and, about a year
later, she and Will were married.
Lamp research and experimentation were proceeding
apace in the U.S. anct in Europe during that period, and it is
not surprising that Coolidge caught some of the excitement.
Welsbach, of gas mantle fame, produced a lamp with a f~la-
ment of osmium. The powderer! metal was extruded with a
binder, then sintered and mounted in the bulb. The resulting
lame was extremely fragile. The same process was used with
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146
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
tantalum powcler with similar results. lust and Hanaman, in
Vienna, used the same process to produce a tungsten fila-
ment. The resulting lamp showed greatly improved light pro-
duction, but the problem of brittleness remained.
Dr. Coolidge first got into the lamp filament problem by
way of tantalum, but he quickly switched to tungsten. Mean-
while, General Electric purchased rights under the lust and
Hanaman patent, anti Dr. Whitney himself started making
tungsten filaments by that method. Coolidge found that these
sinterec! filaments wouIc3 lose some of their extreme brittle-
ness if they were passed through a rolling mill with heated
rolls. This was the first clue that suggested that tungsten was
not necessarily brittle uncler all physical circumstances.
Coolidge's observation was a very important "foot in the
floor." After three more years of painstaking research on this
intractable metal, a process was developed by means of which
tungsten was macie sufficiently ductile at room temperatures
to permit drawing through diamoncl dies. Close control of
working temperatures, of tungsten powder grain size, and of
trace metal adclitions, particularly thorium, contributed to
the final successful result.
Lamps made with ductile tungsten filaments appeared on
the market in 1911, and they have clominated the lighting
industry ever since. All of the numerous alternative lamp
filament processes were abandoned. Needless to say, Whit-
ney, Coolidge, ant! the new Research Laboratory gained
great stature as a result of this work.
Another very important happening at about this time was
the occasion, in 1909, when Irving L~angmuir joined the new
laboratory. He came from Gottingen by way of Stevens In-
stitute, and his cloctoral thesis hac3 concerned heat transfer in
gases at high temperatures. The lamp filament involvecl such
processes, ant! Langmuir soon set up experiments that
showed that the light output of Coolidge's new lamp could be
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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE 147
doubled if inert gas replaced the high vacuum. This gas-f~led
lamp with a ductile tungsten filament was about ten times
more efficient than Edison's lamp, ant! it soon became the
stanciard of the worIc! for indoor lighting. At about this time,
Coolicige was appointee! assistant director of the Research
Laboratory. In 1914 he was awarded the Rumford Medal of
the American Academy of Arts ant! Sciences, the first of a
long series of menials and honors that marked his career (see
appenclecI list.)
The availability of tungsten as a workable metal was a new
fact of industrial life that came from Coolicige's work, and the
application to the incandescent filament was only the first use
of this remarkable metal. Tungsten exhibits the highest melt-
ing point in the periodic table, extremely low vapor pressure,
great mechanical strength, and many other unusual proper-
ties. Its application to a great variety of industrial uses pro-
ceeded apace. Because of its high melting point and good
electrical conductivity, Coolidge explored its use as an elec-
trical contact for switching devices. At that time plantinum
was a favorer! material for electric contacts in telegraph keys,
relays, and small control equipment. It was questionable
whether tungsten wouIcl be suitable for this purpose because,
unlike platinum, it oxidizes readily at high temperatures. For
many types of contacts, however, tungsten performed very
well and showed much greater contact life than platinum.
Coolidge made a trip to Dayton to show the new contacts to
Charles Kettering, who became very enthusiastic about
tungsten for auto ignition contacts. Ever since, tungsten has
been the material of choice for this application.
Roentgen had announced his discovery of X-rays in IS95,
en c! this important event created worIc~wicle interest, espe-
cially among medical men who saw the X-ray as a possible
diagnostic tool. While Coolidge was still at Boston Tech, he
worked with Dr. F. H. Williams, one of the pioneers in the
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148
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
medical application of the new tube, and Coolidge retained
an interest in X-rays when he came to Schenectady in 1~905.
Perhaps it was the success of the replacement of platinum
with tungsten in contacts that kincIled a new interest in the
X-ray tube, which then employocl a platinum anocle.
The early X-ray tube was full of gas and its operation was
very erratic, even in the hands of a skilled practitioner. As
Coolidge got into the X-ray tube study, he found that the
three principal parts the cathode, the anocle, and the
"vacuum" environment were all sources of erratic perform-
ance. The gas was requires! to produce ions, which pro-
ducect electrons by bombardment of a cold aluminum
cathode. Langmuir was then in the midst of a comprehensive
study of electron thermionic emission, and he found that he
could get controllable electron emission from one of
Coolicige's hot tungsten filaments in the complete absence of
gas, in other worcts at high vacuum. Coolicige immediately
installed a heated tungsten filament in an X-ray tube with a
tungsten disk anode. This tube was heated and outgassecI
until all evidence of gas ionization ctisappearect. The tube
became the first stable ant! controllable X-ray generator for
mectical anct dental use, and it rapidly replaced the gas-fi~led
tubes in this country and throughout the world.
Dr. Coolicige was in touch with many physicians and
radiologists during the progress of his X-ray studies, and one
of them, Dr. Lewis G. Cole of New York, was the first to have
his office equipped with the new tube. He was extremely
enthusiastic about the performance of this tube, and he soon
sponsored! a dinner in a New York hotel where Coolidge
demonstrated the new tube to a large group of prominent
radiologists. At this ([inner, Dr. Cole christened the new gen-
erator the "Coolicige Tube," which was later aclopted by the
General Electric Company as the product name, and it has
since been used widely by the mectical ancI ciental professions.
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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE 149
The success of the Coolicige Tube brought much recogni-
tion and many new honors to its inventor. It greatly ex-
pancled the use of X-rays, not only in dentistry and medicine,
where therapeutic as well as diagnostic applications grew, but
in industry, where they were being used increasingly for non-
destructive testing. For many years following the introcluc-
tion of the Coolicige Tube, Coolidge himself was in the midst
of continuing refinement of this generator: to very high volt-
ages for deep therapy applications, to higher power for in-
dustrial use, anct to finer definition for improved diagnostics.
To the end of his career he retainer! an intense interest in
X-rays anc! their applications.
In 1917 it became evident that the involvement in World
War I by the U.S. was unavoidable. The GE Research Labora-
tory and Dr. Whitney became increasingly concerned with
the possible role they could play in such an event, ant! clevel-
opment of a submarine detection system was an obvious chal-
lenge. Allied shipping was being sunk at a far greater rate
than it couIct be replaced, and some solution of this problem
was urgently needecl. The depth bomb was an effective wea-
pon if the submarine couIct be located, which was the key
problem.
Prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war, the GE Research
Laboratory became involved in war work through the Naval
Consulting Board, on which Dr. Whitney served. A joint
attack on the problem of submarine detection was planned
involving GE, the Submarine Signalling Company, and West-
ern Electric. An experimental station was set up on the Mo-
hawk River, near where the GE Research ant! Development
Center was located years later. Coolicige soon found that
sealed rubber binaural listening tubes provided excellent
range of about two miles with an azimuth sensitivity of about
five degrees. This crevice went into service on U.S. and British
vessels as the "C" Tube" for Coolicige. A later version, the
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150
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
"K" tube, developer! a range of ten miles with an azimuth
sensitivity of ten degrees. These devices permitted submarine
chasers to clear the Mediterranean of submarines in the
spring ant! summer of 1918 and were an important factor in
the final outcome of the war. The Coolidge tube was aciaptec!
to a fielc! X-ray unit for use in World War I, anc! it became a
major meclical tool in field hospitals, where many practi-
tioners became acquainted with it for the first time.
In the period following World War I, the Research Lab-
oratory under Whitney grew in stature and influence, both
within the company and in the scientific community. Lang-
muir's work on electron emission and surface chemistry
found many important applications, including radio broacT-
casting and reception. Albert Hull was one of three scientists
(with Debye and Scherrer) to develop X-ray diffraction in
crystalline materials. His studies of gas-fi~led electron tubes
helped open up the field of inclustrial electronics. Coolicige
continued to expand the usefulness of X-rays by the develop-
ment of million-volt, high-power generators for medical
therapeutic work and multiple industrial uses. The year 1932
was an important year for the laboratory, for Coolicige be-
came director upon the retirement of Whitney, and in the
same year Langmuir became the first American inclustrial
scientist to win the Nobel Prize.
By the time WorIcI War IT broke out, the appreciation of
the role of science and technology in the national defense
establishment was well clevelopecl, and through the leacler-
ship of Dr. Vannevar Bush, a massive national research and
development program was mounted to aid the war effort.
The Office of Scientific Research and Development iden-
tifiecl the areas of opportunity; organized the effort in uni-
versity, industrial, and government laboratories; and pro-
vided the necessary financial backing. Coolidge became
involvecl in the atomic bomb investigation from the begin-
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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
151
ning as a member of President RooseveIt's Advisory Commit-
tee on Uranium. In 1940 Dr. A. O. Nier of the University of
Minnesota and Drs. K. H. Kingdon and H. C. Pollock of the
GE Research Laboratory isolated U235 for the first time, and
showed that it was the fissionable isotope. This author be-
came a member of Division ~ 3 of the NDRC (microwave radar)
and chairman of Division ~ 5 (radio and radar counter-
measures), and both subjects became active areas for the par-
ticipation of the GE Research Laboratory in the war effort.
Coolicige had planned to retire about the time Worm War
IT began in Europe, but because of the pressure of wartime
work he agreed to stay on beyond his normal retirement. At
the war's conclusion he resumed his plans for retirement, and
he proposed that ~ succeed to his position, which ~ die! on
January I, 1945. In retirement, Coolidge retained an active
interest in X-ray research. He continued to receive recogni-
tion in the form of awards and medals for the impressive
work of his career, even through his one-hundreth birthday,
and he continued the photography hobby that (late(1 from his
boyhood in Massachusetts.
Although some of the milestones in Will Coolic3 ye's
remarkable career have been suggested above, this biography
would be incomplete without words of appreciation for his
personal qualities, which were equally impressive. Kindness
and thoughtfulness in dealing with friends and associates
were attributes that were deeply imbedded in his nature. ~
cloubt if anyone ever heard him raise his voice in anger. His
modesty was almost embarrassing, and he always viewed the
accomplishments of his associates more generously than they
themselves. He was greatly beloved by everyone who was
privileged to be associated with him, and in the world of
science, including medical science, he was regarded with
deep reverence, as evidences] by the unprecedented award
from the University of Zurich of a Doctorate of Medicine.
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152
BIOGRAPHICAL M E M OIRS
Will Coolidge was blesses! with remarkable health
throughout his very active lifetime, and he retained a keen
mind into his late nineties. He cried on February 3, 1975, at
the age of one-hundred-ancI-one. We revere his memory.
REFERENCES
Baxter, James Phinney III. Scientist Against Time. Boston: Little, Brown,
1946.
Birr, K. A. Pioneering in Industrial Research. Washington, D.C.: Public Af-
fairs Press, 1957.
Broderick, John. Willis Rodney Whitney. Albany, N.Y.: Ft. Orange Press,
1945.
Coolidge, William D. "Autobiography." Typescript. N.Y.: Center for the
History of Physics, American Physical Society.
Hammond, John Winthrop. Men and Volts. Boston: Lippincott, 1941.
Hawkins, Lawrence A. Adventures into the Unknown. N.Y.: William Morrow,
1950.
Liebhafsky, Herman. William David Coolidge. N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons,
1974.
Miller, John Anderson, Yankee Scientist. Schenectady, N.Y.: Mohawk Devel-
opment Service, 1963.
Suits, C. Guy. Speaking of Research. N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, 1965.
Suits, C. Guy, and Way, Harold E., eds. The Collected Works of Irving Lang-
mnir. N.Y. : Pergamon Press, 1962.12 vole.
Westervelt, Virginia Veeder. The World Was His Laboratory: The Story of
Willis R. Whitney. N.Y.: Julian Messner, 1964.
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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
HONORS AND DISTINCTIONS
MEDALS AND AWARDS
153
1914 Rumford Medal, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
for his invention of ductile tungsten.
1926 Howard N. Potts Medal, the Franklin Institute, in considera-
tion of the originality and ingenuity shown in the develop-
ment of a vacuum tube that has simplified and revolution-
ized the production of X-rays.
Louis Edward Levy Gold Medal, the Franklin Institute, for
his paper on "The Production of High Voltage Cathode
Rays Outside the Generating Tube."
1927 Gold Medal, the American College of Radiology, in recogni-
tion of his contribution to radiology and the science of
. . .
mealclne.
Hughes Medal, the Royal Society, London, for his work on
the X-rays and the development of highly efficient appa-
ratus for their production.
Edison Medal, the American Institute of Electrical En-
gineers, for his contributions to the incandescent electric
lighting and the X-ray arts.
1932 Washington Award, the Western Society ot Engineers, In
recognition of devoted, unselfish, and preeminent service
in advancing human progress.
1937 John Scott Award, the City Trusts of the City of Philadel-
phia, based on his application of a new principle in X-ray
tubes.
. ~ _
1939 Faraday Medal, the Institution of Electrical Engineers of
England, for notable scientific or industrial achievement
in electrical engineering.
1940 Modern Pioneer Award, the National Manufacturer's Asso-
ciation, awarded to Dr. Coolidge as "A Modern Pioneer."
1942 Duddell Medal (18th), the Physical Society of England, in
recognition of his invention of the Coolidge X-ray tube.
Orden al Merito, the Chilean Government, for his many
· . ... .
services to clvlllzatlon.
1944 Franklin Medal, the Franklin Institute, in recognition of his
contributions to the welfare of humanity, especially in the
field of the manufacture of ductile tungsten and in the
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154
BI OGRAPHI CAL MEMOIRS
field of improved apparatus for the production and con-
trol of X-rays.
1952 K. C. Li Medal and Award (first recipient), Columbia Uni-
versity, for meritorious achievement in advancing the
science of tungsten.
1973
1953 Henry Spenadel Award, the First District Dental Society, for
distinguished and significant contributions to dentistry.
1963 Roentgen Medal, the Society of the Friends of the German
Roentgen Museum, to individuals of Germany and other
countries who have helped in the advancement and dis-
semination of Roentgen's discovery in both the scientific
and practical aspects; or who have been of especial service
to the German Roentgen Museum.
1972 Power-Life Award, Power Engineering Society of the IEEE,
for his contributions to the science of X-rays, the medical
profession, and the welfare of humanity.
Schenectady Patroonship
Climax Molybdenum Wedgwood Medallion, for pioneering
work leading to the invention of ductile tungsten and
molybdenum.
William D. Coolidge Award, the American Association of
Physicists in Medicine
HONORARY DEGREES
Doctor of Science, Union College, June 1927
Doctor of Science, Lehigh University, tune 1927
Doctor of Medicine, University of Zurich, September 1937
Doctor of Laws, Ursinus College, October 1942
Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Sao Paulo, November 1945
Doctor Honoris Causa, National School of Engineering, University
of Brazil, November 1945
Doctor of Science, Catholic University of Chile, November 1945
Doctor of Engineering, Indiana Technical College, May 1947
SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
National Academy of Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Washington Academy of Science (Vice-President, 1931
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Chemical Society (Emeritus Status)
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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
American Electrochemical Society
American Institute of Electrical Engineers (Fellow)
American Physical Society
American Institute of Chemists
Sigma Xi
American Philosophical Society
Edison Pioneers
Eta Kappa Nu (Eminent Member)
HONORARY MEMBERSHIPS
155
The American Roentgen Ray Society
The American Radium Society
The Radiological Society of North America
American College of Radiology
The Roentgen Society, of England
Societe de Radiologie Medicate, de France
Nordisk Forening for Medicinisk Radiologi, Scandinavia
The Pan-American Medical Association
Societe Franchise des Electriciens
Medical Society of the County of Schenectady
The Dental Society of the State of New York
The Franklin Institute
Brazilian Institute for Study of Tuberculosis
Brazilian Society of Medical Radiology
Paulista Medical Association
Chilean Society of Radiology
Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the University of
Chile
Faculty of Biological and Medical Sciences of the University of
Chile
Argentine Electrotechnical Association
Sociedad Peruana de Radiologia
Sociedad Argentina de Radiologia
American Academy of the History of Dentistry
Odontological Society of Lyon, France
CORRESPONDING MEMBERSHIPS
Brazilian Academy of Science
National Academy of Exact Physical and Natural Sciences of Lima
Societe Franchise des Electriciens
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156
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dr. Coolidge published more than seventy papers. Some of the more impor-
tant are lasted below.
1903
With A. A. Noyes. Electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions at
high temperatures. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 39~71:163-219.
1908
With A. A. Noyes. The electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions.
II. Original apparatus and method. Conductivity and ionization
of NaC1 and KC1 up to 306 degrees. Carnegie Inst. Washington
Publ., 63:~55.
The electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions. III. Later modifi-
cations of the apparatus and method. Carnegie Inst. Washing-
ton Publ., 63:59~7.
1910
Ductile tungsten. Trans. Am. Inst. Electr. Eng., 29, part 2:961-65.
1914
A powerful Roentgen ray tube with a pure electron discharge. Phys.
Rev., Ed series 2, no. 6:409-30.
1925
Modern X-ray tube development. I. Franklin Inst., 199:619~8.
High voltage cathode rays outside the generating tube. Science,
62:441~2.
1926
With C. N. Moore. Some experiments with high voltage cathode
rays outside the generating tube. J. Franklin Inst., 202:721-34.
1931
With L. E. Dempster and H. E. Tanis, fir. High voltage cathode ray
and X-ray tubes and their operation. Physics 1~4~:230~4.
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WILLIAM DAVID COOLIDGE
1932
157
With C. N. Moore. Experimental study of cathode rays outside of
the generating tube. Congress International d'Electricite, Sec-
tion 1, Rapport no. 19, 18 pp. Also in: Gen. Electr. Rev.,
35~8~:413-17.
1942
The role of science institutions in our civilization. Science,
96(2497):411-17.
1945
A plea for more fundamental research effort. Science, 119~3082~:
110-11.
PATENTS
Dr. Coolidge received eighty-three U.S. patents. Some of the more important
are lasted below.
1909 935,463. Dies and Die Supports.
1912 1,026,382. Metal Filaments.
1,026,383. Metal Filaments.
1,026,384. Metal Filaments.
1913 1,082,933. Ductile Tungsten.
1915 1,153,290. X-Ray Targets.
1917 1,211,092. X-Ray Tubes.
1,211,376. Electron Discharge.
1,215,116. X-Ray Apparatus.
1925 1,529,344. X-Ray Apparatus.
1,541,627. X-Ray Apparatus.
1,543,654. X-Ray Apparatus.
1939 2,181,724. Electrostatic Machines.
