Vacuum engineering
Vacuum technology is a method used to evacuate air from a closed volume by creating a pressure differential from the closed volume to some vent, the ultimate vent being the open atmosphere. When using an industrial vacuum system, a vacuum pump or generator creates this pressure differential. A variety of technical inventions were created based on the idea of vacuum discovered during the 17th century. These range from vacuum generation pumps to X-ray tubes, which were later introduced to the medical field for use as sources of X-ray radiation. The vacuum environment has come to play an important role in scientific research as new discoveries are being made by looking back to the basic fundamentals of pressure. The idea of “perfect vacuum” cannot be realized, but very nearly approximated by the technological discoveries of the early 20th century. Vacuum engineering today uses a range of different material, from aluminum to zirconium and just about everything in between. There may be the popular belief that vacuum technology deals only with valves, flanges, and other vacuum components, but novel scientific discoveries are often made with the assistance of these traditional vacuum technologies, especially in the realm of high-tech. Vacuum engineering is used for compound semiconductors, power devices, memory logic, and photovoltaics.
Science and invention in Birmingham
1903: Brummie Francis William Aston wins a scholarship to the University of Birmingham and in his studies of electronic discharge tubes he discovers the phenomenon now known as the Aston Dark Space. He later moves to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, where he uses a method of electromagnetic focusing to invent the mass spectrograph, which rapidly allows him to identify no fewer than 212 of the 287 naturally occurring isotopes. His work on isotopes also leads to his formulation of the Whole Number Rule, which is later used extensively in the development of nuclear energy. In 1922 he wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of the mass spectrometer.
1905: A manually powered domestic vacuum cleaner is invented by manufacturer Walter Griffiths of 72, Conybere Street, Highgate. It is originally patented as 'Griffiths' Improved Vacuum Apparatus for Removing Dust from Carpets'. Although an electric cleaner is patented in 1901 by H. Cecil Booth, Griffiths' design is more similar to modern portable cleaners than Booth's cart-mounted device.