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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Ambrose Fleming
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(1849–1945, kt 1929) Inventor in 1900 of the thermionic valve, or diode, which remained an essential part of radio and other electronic equipment until supplanted by the transistor. He is also remembered for the Fleming rules, which use the thumb and first two fingers of each hand to indicate the relative directions of motion, field and current in a dynamo and a motor. The thumb (the only word with an M) is the Motion; the First Finger is the Field; and the second finger (the only one with a C) is the Current. If the three are held at right angles each to the next (thumb up, first finger pointing, second finger jutting out from the palm), the right hand gives the relationship in a dynamo; and the left does the same for a motor.
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