See Also: Douglas, Tommy(encyclopedia)
tommy(dictionary)
tommy gun(dictionary)
tommy-gun(dictionary)
Dorsey, Tommy(encyclopedia)
Tommy's Place(tourism)
Tommy Nevin's Pub(tourism)
Douglas(3)(dictionary)
Douglas(2)(dictionary)
Douglas(1)(dictionary)

diode (sh) and Douglas, Tommy (sh)


diode (sh)




Electronic device that has two electrodes (anode and cathode) and that allows current to flow in only one direction, resisting current flow in the Other.

An applied voltage can cause electrons to flow in only one direction, from the cathode to the anode, and then back to the cathode through an external circuit. Diodes are used especially as rectifiers
which change alternating current into direct current
and to vary the amplitude of a signal in proportion to the voltage in a circuit, as in a Radio or Television receiver. The most familiar diodes are vacuum tubes and semiconductor diodes. Semiconductor diodes, the simplest of semiconductor devices, consist of two electrodes and a sandwich of two dissimilar semiconducting substances (a p-n junction). Such diodes form the basis for more complex semiconductor devices (including transistors) used in Computers and Other electronic equipment. Semiconductor diodes include light-emitting diodes and laser diodes; the latter emit laser light, useful for telecommunications via fibre optics and for reading compact discs.


Douglas, Tommy (sh)




orig. Thomas Clement Douglas

born Oct. 20, 1904, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scot.
died Feb. 24, 1986, Ottawa, Ont., Can.

Scottish-born Canadian politician.

His family immigrated to Winnipeg in 1919. An ordained minister, he became active in the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and he served in the Canadian Parliament (1935-44). As premier of Saskatchewan (1944-61), he led Canada's first socialist government. He established a system of state-run Health care in the province, the first such system in the nation; for this he is considered the father of socialized medicine in Canada. He resigned in 1961 to become leader of the New Democratic Party, a post he held until 1971.