Masters of Space - Morse, Thompson, Bell, Marconi, Carty Walter Kellogg Towers The Project Gutenberg EBook of Masters of Space, by Walter Kellogg Towers This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Masters of Space Morse, Thompson, Bell, Marconi, Carty Author: Walter Kellogg Towers Release Date: May 18, 2004 [EBook #12375] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MASTERS OF SPACE *** Produced by Leah Moser and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. [Illustration: SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE Inventor of the Telegraph] MASTERS OF SPACE MORSE _and the Telegraph_ THOMPSON _and the Cable_ BELL _and the Telephone_ MARCONI _and the Wireless Telegraph_ CARTY _and the Wireless Telephone_ BY WALTER KELLOGG TOWERS ILLUSTRATED Livros Grátis http://www.livrosgratis.com.br Milhares de livros grátis para download. 1917 TO MY CO-LABORER AND COMPANION BERENICE LAURA TOWERS WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE WERE CONSTANT IN THE GATHERING AND PREPARATION OF MATERIAL FOR THIS VOLUME. CONTENTS CHAP. PREFACE I. COMMUNICATION AMONG THE ANCIENTS II. SIGNALS PAST AND PRESENT III. FORERUNNERS OF THE TELEGRAPH IV. INVENTIONS OF SIR CHARLES WHEATSTONE V. THE ACHIEVEMENT OF MORSE VI. "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?" VII. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM VIII. TELEGRAPHING BENEATH THE SEA IX. THE PIONEER ATLANTIC CABLE X. A SUCCESSFUL CABLE ATTAINED XI. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, THE YOUTH XII. THE BIRTH OF THE TELEPHONE XIII. THE TELEPHONE AT THE CENTENNIAL XIV. IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION XV. TELEGRAPHING WITHOUT WIRES XVI. AN ITALIAN BOY'S WORK XVII. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ESTABLISHED XVIII. THE WIRELESS SERVES THE WORLD XIX. SPEAKING ACROSS THE CONTINENT XX. TELEPHONING THROUGH SPACE APPENDIX A APPENDIX B INDEX ILLUSTRATIONS SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE MORSE'S FIRST TELEGRAPH INSTRUMENT CYRUS W. FIELD WILLIAM THOMSON (LORD KELVIN) THE "GREAT EASTERN" LAYING THE ATLANTIC CABLE, 1866 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL THOMAS A. WATSON PROFESSOR BELL'S VIBRATING REED PROFESSOR BELL'S FIRST TELEPHONE THE FIRST TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARD USED IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., FOR EIGHT SUBSCRIBERS EARLY NEW YORK EXCHANGE PROFESSOR BELL IN SALEM, MASS., AND MR. WATSON IN BOSTON, DEMONSTRATING THE TELEPHONE BEFORE AUDIENCES IN 1877 DOCTOR BELL AT THE TELEPHONE OPENING THE NEW YORK-CHICAGO LINE, OCTOBER 18, 1892 GUGLIELMO MARCONI A REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN OUTSIDE OF THE CLIFDEN STATION WHILE MESSAGES WERE BEING SENT ACROSS TO CAPE RACE MARCONI STATION AT CLIFDEN, IRELAND PREFACE This is the story of talking at a distance, of sending messages through space. It is the story of great men--Morse, Thomson, Bell, Marconi, and others--and how, with the aid of men like Field, Vail, Catty, Pupin, the scientist, and others in both the technical and commercial fields, they succeeded in flashing both messages and speech around the world, with wires and without wires. It is the story of how the thought of the world has been linked together by those modern wonders of science and of industry--the telegraph, the submarine cable, the telephone, the wireless telegraph, and, most recently, the wireless telephone. The story opens with the primitive methods of message-sending by fire or smoke or other signals. The life and experiments of Morse are then pictured and the dramatic story of the invention and development of the telegraph is set forth. The submarine cable followed with the struggles of Field, the business executive, and Thomson, the inventor and scientific expert, which finally culminated in success when the _Great Eastern_ landed a practical cable on the American coast. The early life of Alexander Graham Bell was full of color, and I have told the story of his patient investigations of human speech and hearing, which, finally culminated in a practical telephone. There follows the fascinating story of Marconi and the wireless telegraph. Last comes the story of the wireless telephone, that newest wonder which has come among us so recently that we can scarcely realize that it is here. An inner view of the marvelous development of the telephone is added in an appendix. The part played by the great business leaders who have developed and extended the new inventions, placing them at the service of all, has not been forgotten. Not only have means of communication been discovered, but they have been improved and put to the widest practical use with remarkable efficiency and celerity. The stories of these developments, in both the personal and executive sides, embody the true romance of the modern business world. The great scientists and engineers who have wrought these wonders which have had so profound an influence upon the life of the world lived, and are living, lives filled with patient effort, discouragement, accomplishment, and real romance. They are interesting men who have done interesting things. Better still, they have done important, useful things. This book relates their life stories in a connected form, for they have all worked for a similar end. The story of these men, who, starting in early youth in the pursuit of a great idea, have achieved fame and success and have benefited civilization, cannot but be inspiring. They did not stumble upon their discoveries by any lucky accident. They knew what they sought, and they labored toward the goal with unflagging zeal. Had they been easily discouraged we might still be dependent upon the semaphore and the pony express for the transmission of news. But they persevered until success was attained, and in the account of their struggle to success every one may find encouragement in facing his own tasks. One can scarce overestimate the value of modern methods of communication to the world. So much of our development has been more or less directly dependent upon it that it is difficult to fancy our situation without the telegraph and telephone. The diligence with which the ancients sought speedy methods for the sending of messages demonstrates the human need for them. The solution of this great problem, though long delayed, came swiftly, once it was begun. Even the simple facts regarding "Masters of Space" and their lives of struggle and accomplishment in sending messages between distant points form an inspiring story of great achievement. W.K.T. #MASTERS OF SPACE# I COMMUNICATION AMONG THE ANCIENTS Signaling the Fall of Troy--Marine Signaling among the Argonauts--Couriers of the Greeks, Romans, and Aztecs--Sound-signaling--Stentorophonic Tube--The Shouting Sentinels--The Clepsydra--Signal Columns--Indian Fire and Smoke Signals. It was very early in the history of the world that man began to feel the urgent need of communicating with man at a distance. When village came into friendly contact with village, when nations began to form and expand, the necessity of sending intelligence rapidly and effectively was clearly realized. And yet many centuries passed without the discovery of an effective system. Those discoveries were to be reserved for the thinkers of our age. We can understand the difficulties that beset King Agamemnon as he stood at the head of his armies before the walls of Troy. Many were the messages he would want to send to his native kingdom in Greece during the progress of the siege. Those at home would be eager for news of the great enterprise. Many contingencies might arise which would make the need for aid urgent. Certainly Queen Clytemnestra eagerly awaited word of the fall of the city. Yet the slow progress of couriers must be depended upon. One device the king hit upon which was such as any boy might devise to meet the simplest need. "If I can go skating tonight," says Johnny Jones to his chum, "I'll put a light in my window." Such is the simple device which has been used to bear the simplest message for ages. So King Agamemnon ordered beacon fires laid on the tops of Mount Ida, Mount Athos, Mount Cithaeron, and on intervening eminences. Beside them he placed watchers who were always to have their faces toward Troy. When Troy fell a near-by fire was kindled, and beacon after beacon sprang into flame on the route toward Greece. Thus was the message of the fall of Troy quickly borne to the waiting queen by this preconceived arrangement. Yet neither King Agamemnon nor his sagest counselors could devise an effective system for expediting their messages. Prearranged signals were used to convey news in even earlier times. Fire, smoke, and flags were used by the Egyptians and the Assyrians previous to the Trojan War. The towers along the Chinese Wall were more than watch-towers; they were signal-towers. A flag or a light exhibited from tower to tower would quickly convey a certain message agreed upon in advance. Human thought required a system which could convey more than one idea, and yet skill in conveying news grew slowly. Perhaps the earliest example of marine signaling of which we know is recorded of the Argonautic Expedition. Theseus devised the use of colored sails to convey messages from ship to ship of the fleet, and caused the death of his father by his failure to handle the signals properly. Theseus sailed into conflict with the enemy with black sails set, a signal of battle and of death. With the battle over and himself the victor, he forgot to lower the black flag and set the red flag of victory. His father, the aged AEgeus, seeing the black flag, believed it reported his son's death, and, flinging himself into the sea, was drowned. In time it occurred to the great monarchs as their domains extended to establish relays of couriers to bear the messages which must be carried.