When was the first resistor invented

The advances made by Boykin meant many electronic devices could be made cheaper and more reliable than previously possible. His resistors were quickly incorporated into many products ranging from common household goods to complex military technology that are still used throughout the world today. As a young man, Boykin worked as a laboratory assistant in an aviation laboratory.

He attended Fisk University and then the Illinois Institute of Technology, subsequently working for several electronic manufacturing firms where he developed a talent for devising highly reliable electronic components. Induction Event Collegiate Inventors Event.

It was a huge breakthrough that allowed many electronic devices to be made more cheaply and more reliably than ever before. Boykin's resistors were used in products from televisions and IBM computers to military missiles. Boykin also famously invented a control unit for the pacemaker, a device implanted in the body to help the heart beat normally. Boykin's invention allowed the pacemaker to be more precisely regulated. Did You Know? Ironically, Boykin died of heart failure in Alexander Miles.

Elijah McCoy. Lewis Latimer. Normally, a resistor is designed to have a specific amount of resistance, depending on the type of task or device it is designated for. Boykin earned his first patent in for a wire precision resistor, which allowed for the designation of a precise amount of resistance for a specific purpose.

This was followed by his patent for an electrical resistor that was both inexpensive and easy to produce. Additionally, according to U. His resistor was quickly incorporated into a number of products, including guided missiles and IBM computers in the United States and overseas.

In addition, a version of his resistor made possible the precise regulation necessary for the success of the pacemaker, which has helped to save and lengthen the lives of thousands of men and women around the world. Meanwhile, he continued working on resistors until the end of his life. He created an electrical capacitor in and an electrical resistance capacitor in , as well as a number of electrical resistance elements.

He is also known to have created a range of consumer innovations including a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter. Boykin died of heart failure in Chicago in