About the time that Macdonald published his prize winning essay on electric wave, Guglielmo Marconi was successful in the transmission of the first wireless signals across the Atlantic. However, this posed a major problem, since according to the theory as then developed this should have been impossible.
Tungkol sa mga oras na Macdonald-publish na ang kanyang premyong nanalong sanaysay sa electric kumaway, Guglielmo Marconi ay matagumpay sa pagpapadala ng unang wireless signal sa buong Atlantic. Gayunman, ito posed isang malaking problema, dahil ayon sa mga teorya at pagkatapos ay binuo bilang na ito ay dapat ay imposible.