The magazine Popular Science as we know it today turns 100 years old this month. A journal by that name was founded in May 1872, but was a scholarly journal with about ten articles per month. The last issue of that magazine came out in September 1915 and was replaced by one named Scientific Monthly. The rights to the name were sold to the Modern Publishing Company, which used it for a popular magazine resembling today’s version. The first issue of the new magazine hit the newsstands in January 1916.

The first issue ran about 160 pages, and included a fairly extensive radio section. As you’ve probably noticed, many ideas on this blog come from those pages. That first issue contained a fairly scholarly look at impedance. An article on recent radio inventions contained a look at a three-electrode vacuum tube detector and a heterodyne receiver.

It also included an article on radio stations in Alaska, a summary of recent books on the subject of radio, and answers to questions from readers.

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