American physicist whose research led to the development of long-distance telephony (telephone) and radio communication.

Arnold studied at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he received a Ph.B. (1906) and a M.S. (1907), and in 1911 he earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago. While working for the Western Electric Company, he developed and designed the manufacturing methods for reliable high-vacuum triodes (thermionic tubes) used to provide the amplification needed for transcontinental telephony (1914) and intercontinental radio telephony (1915). Arnold also contributed to the development of new magnetic alloys (permalloy and permivar) used in sound reproduction and electroacoustics. He was director of research at Western Electric from 1917 to 1924, and in 1925 he was appointed the first director of research of the Bell Telephone Laboratories.