This is a classic article from New 杏吧原创鈥檚 archive, republished as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations
A MAJOR development in the electronic industry since the end of the war has been the method of wiring electronic circuits by what is loosely called printing. Although the printed circuit was a British invention, it was the Americans 鈥� as has happened before 鈥� who first made use of the method.
The raw material is a plastic sheet covered with a thin layer of copper foil. On this sheet a facsimile of the wiring is printed with an acid-resisting ink. The whole sheet can then be immersed in an etching agent and those parts of the foil which remain unprotected are dissolved away. The ink can then be removed from the protected parts and the 鈥渨ires鈥� remain. Components are fastened into the circuit by soldering, whereby the whole sheet with components inserted is dipped into a bath of solder.
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The first television set made by these methods has just been put on the market. The manufacturers say that these circuits give greater reliability, more consistent performance and easier servicing.
This article was originally published in New 杏吧原创 on 27 December 1956
50 Years of New 杏吧原创: The Best Articles 鈥� find many more in our exclusive Special Report. You can also have your say on what you think was the biggest scientific advance of the last 50 years, in our
