Herman Andrew Affel (August 4, 1893 – October 13, 1972) was an American electrical engineer who invented the modern coaxial cable.

Herman Affel
Lloyd Espenschied (left) and Affel (right) c. 1950–1960
Born
Herman Andrew Affel

(1893-08-04)August 4, 1893
DiedOctober 13, 1972(1972-10-13) (aged 79)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationElectrical engineer
Known forInventing the modern coaxial cable
SpouseBertha May Plummer

Biography

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He was born on August 4, 1893. He attended MIT. He later married Bertha May Plummer.

From MIT he went to work at Bell Laboratories. Among other projects he worked with Lloyd Espenschied on the characteristics of coaxial cable. Espenschied and Affel jointly applied for a patent on a wideband coaxial cable system of transmission, filed in 1929 and granted in 1934. The invention was disclosed in a prize-winning paper published in AIEE's Electrical Engineering in October 1934.

He died on October 13, 1972.

Legacy

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In 2006, Affel was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

US Patents

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