F. W. Jordan

Frank Wilfred Jordan was a British physicist who together with William Henry Eccles invented the so-called "flip-flop"-circuit in 1918. [William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in ionic relays" British patent number: GB 148582 (filed: 21 June 1918; published: 5 August 1920). Available on-line at: http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=GB148582&F=0&QPN=GB148582 .] [ W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (19 September 1919) "A trigger relay utilizing three-electrode thermionic vacuum tubes," "The Electrician", vol. 83, page 298. Reprinted in: "Radio Review", vol. 1, no. 3 , pages 143-146 (December 1919).] This circuit became the basis of electronic memory in computers.

Jordan received his secondary education at the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury, Kent, England. ["University of London General Register: part 3" (May 1, 1901), page 341.] From 1899 to 1904, he was a student at the Royal College of Science, [Currently (2008) the Royal College of Science is a constituent college of the Imperial College London.] from which he graduated with an Associateship in physics and a master of science degree. ["Register of Old Students and Staff of the Royal College of Science" (1936), page 33. Here Jordan is listed as having been a "Lecturer in Physics and Mathematics, Municipal College, Portsmouth."] [On page 225 of the following article, Jordan is described as "Mr. F. W. Jordan, B. Sc., Teacher in Training in the Department of Astronomical Physics, Royal College of Science." See: A. Fowler (1904) "The spectrum of Antarian stars in relation to the fluted spectrum of titanium," "Proceedings of the Royal Society of London", vol. 73, pages 219-225.] In 1912 he was a "lecturer in physics", presumably at the Royal College of Science. [See following patent: Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements relating to radiometers, thermogalvanometers, and the like" British patent number: GB 191226631 (filed: 1912; published: 20 November 1913).] In 1918 he was an "electrician" at City and Guilds Technical College. [See first page of the following patent: William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in ionic relays" British patent number: GB 148582 (filed: 21 June 1918; published: 5 August 1920).] There is little else known about him.

This flip-flop circuit became the most important circuit in computer technology for it can be given a large number of different actions.

Footnotes

Publications

*F. W. Jordan (1912) "An improved Joule radiometer and its applications," "Proceedings of the Physical Society of London", vol. 25, pages 66-73.
*F. W. Jordan (1913) "A new type of thermogalvanometer," "Proceedings of the Physical Society of London", vol. 26, pages 165-171.
*F. W. Jordan (1914) "Some novel laboratory experiments," "Proceedings of the Physical Society of London", vol. 27, pages 461-476.
*W H Eccles and F W Jordan (1918) "A small direct-current motor using thermionic tubes instead of sliding contacts," "Proceedings of the Physical Society of London", vol. 31, pages 151-153.
*W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (19 September 1919) "A trigger relay utilizing three-electrode thermionic vacuum tubes," "The Electrician", vol. 83, page 298. Reprinted in: "Radio Review", vol. 1, no. 3 , pages 143-146 (December 1919).
*W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (1919) "A method of using two triode valves in parallel for generating oscillations," "The Electrician", vol. 8, no. 3, page 299.
*W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (1919) "Sustaining the vibration of a tuning fork by a triode valve," "The Electrician", vol. 8, no. 2, page 704.
*F. W. Jordan (1919) "A method of measuring the amplification of a radio-frequency amplifier," "Proceedings of the Physical Society of London", vol. 32, pages 105-115.
*W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan (1920) "A method of amplifying electrical variations of low frequency," "The Electrician," vol. 8, no. 5, page 176.

Patents

*Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements relating to radiometers, thermogalvanometers, and the like" British patent number: GB 191226631 (filed: 1912; published: 20 November 1913).
*William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improved method of generating electric oscillations" British patent number: GB 149018 (filed: 20 March 1918; published: 12 August 1920).
*William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in applications of thermionic valves to production of alternating currents and relaying" British patent number: GB 155854 (filed: 17 April 1918; published: 6 January 1921).
*William Henry Eccles and Frank Wilfred Jordan, "Improvements in ionic relays" British patent numbers: GB 148582 (filed: 21 June 1918; published: 5 August 1920) and GB 149702 (field 21 June 1918; published: 26 August 1920).