41–50 of 61 posts
It's still the most unbelievably ironic name for a pioneer/inventor.
If many surnames came from people's professions, does that mean that one of his ancestors was simply considered to be... good enough?
Nikola Tesla was known as "The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century" John B. Goodenough would be The Man Who Invented the 21th Century
Nikola Teslas contributions are generally vastly exaggerated. Saying he “invented the twentieth century” is certainly way over the top. Aside from Westinghouse ans Edison, I think Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky‘s contributions are arguably way more important for the modern elecric grid than anything Tesla did. Since three phase AC power was the key invention unlocking its potential, and he set up the first long distance…
On the power generation side, DC generators and batteries can be switched in and out to adjust the voltage as necessary to maintain the constant 1 amp promised to subscribers.
Metering can be done with a small clock motor and coil of wire and a spring to integrate voltage over time.
Such a scheme is probably cheaper because it requires no transformers.
It's still the most unbelievably ironic name for a pioneer/inventor.
It's still the most unbelievably ironic name for a pioneer/inventor.
It's still the most unbelievably ironic name for a pioneer/inventor.
In Italy they still fondly remember a TV host whose (real, not stage) name was Mike Bongiorno. Buon giorno ("good day") is a standard salutation like good morning. He was Mike. an utterly US name, because he was born in New York.
How last names can change is fascinating to me. I have cousins who would have had the same last name as my (Chinese) grandfather, except for the fact that that my grandfather emigrated from Indonesia to the Netherlands before it became independent, and their branch of the family did so afterwards. Meaning Indonesia forced them to change their last names.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If that'd be so, it might come from a "make it sound and spell English" Goodenowe, Godunov, Gudanowski etc. Lo-and-behold John Goodenough is from Thuringia, Germany, born to Jewish parents, father Erwin Ramsdell Goodenough. So quite likely the name was transcribed at some point in history, even if not documented in Wikipedia et. al. very publicly, we can see that his father in turn seems to come from said "Goodenows"…
But according to the Wikipedia page John Goodenough's dad, Erwin Ramsdell Goodenough, was born in Brooklyn and the son of Ward Hunt Goodenough. The links suggest he stemmed from a family that emigrated to America in the 17th century.
I have not done any source work. I'm trusting Wikipedia here.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nikola Teslas contributions are generally vastly exaggerated. Saying he “invented the twentieth century” is certainly way over the top. Aside from Westinghouse ans Edison, I think Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky‘s contributions are arguably way more important for the modern elecric grid than anything Tesla did. Since three phase AC power was the key invention unlocking its potential, and he set up the first long distance…
One might also imagine a constant current DC power distribution system with all houses in series that could have been deployed in the 20th century. The power company provides 1 amp constant current, and if you don't want to use any power, you short it out. If you want to run a lightbulb, you put your 1 amp through a lightbulb. If you want to run two bulbs, you put the current through 1 bulb and then the next in serie…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If many surnames came from people's professions, does that mean that one of his ancestors was simply considered to be... good enough?
That is actually the most likely explaination for the origins of the name (basically as a nickname)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Italy they still fondly remember a TV host whose (real, not stage) name was Mike Bongiorno. Buon giorno ("good day") is a standard salutation like good morning. He was Mike. an utterly US name, because he was born in New York.
Is Bongiorno a common last name in Italy, or is it also a product of his ancestors migrating to the US? How last names can change is fascinating to me. I have cousins who would have had the same last name as my (Chinese) grandfather, except for the fact that that my grandfather emigrated from Indonesia to the Netherlands before it became independent, and their branch of the family did so afterwards. Meaning Indonesia…