prompter: Was the concept of messages transmitted with radiowaves conceivable in the 18th century?

assistant: No, the concept of transmitting messages using radio waves was not conceivable in the 18th century as the discovery of radio waves itself did not occur until the late 19th century. The understanding and harnessing of radio waves as a means of communication came much later in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

prompter: I don't agree with that at all. Of course it was conceivable, as there was no fundamental difference in man between those two centuries. They simply lacked the knowledge, but they already had the process for acquiring that knowledge.

assistant: Hi there! I'm glad you're interested in the history of communication technology. The concept of transmitting messages using radio waves was not conceivable in the 18th century. At that time, communication was mainly through letters, messenger pigeons, and face-to-face conversations. It wasn't until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that scientists began to experiment with and understand the properties of radio waves, leading to the development of radio communication. So while the idea of transmitting messages via radio waves was beyond the imagination of people in the 18th century, the rapid pace of technological advancement in the centuries that followed made it a reality.

prompter: What about light messages?

assistant: No, 18th century is a bit too early as how that technology occurred in human history.
The discovery of radio waves and the development of radio technology did not occur until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

prompter: Was it a technical limitation or did we lack the understanding of what radio waves were and how they could be used?

assistant: The concept of transmitting messages with radio waves was not conceivable in the 18th century. The understanding of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves, did not exist until the 19th century when James Clerk Maxwell developed his theory of electromagnetism in the 1860s. The practical application of radio waves for communication would come much later, with the first radio transmissions made by Italian physicist and inventor Guglielmo Marconi in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. So no, the idea of transmitting messages using radio waves was not within the realm of possibility during the 18th century.

It wasn't until the late 19th century (1887) that the first practical technology for radio transmissions was realized, you can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark-gap_transmitter

assistant: The concept of messages being transmitted using radio waves was not conceivable in the 18th century as the existence of radio waves was not discovered until the late 19th century. In 1887, physicist Heinrich Hertz conducted experiments that proved the existence of radio waves and demonstrated that they could be used to transmit information. At that time, the understanding of radio waves and their potential uses was limited, but the discovery laid the foundation for the development of wireless communication.

assistant: technical limitation really is just a lack of understanding. So that question is hard to answer. As we didnt have the technology (which leads to a technical limitation) due to a lack of understanding. So its both.

assistant: no messages being transmitted through radio waves would not be conceivable in the 18th century since they were first discovered in the 19th century by the physicist Heinrich Hertz

prompter: Was there anything stopping from people having the same insights as Hertz?

assistant: It depends. Hertz was a very smart man, which led to his incredible insights. Though, it is possible for others to have had the same ideas as Heinrich Hertz. But then it gets into speculation about how much of a voice he had, and if anyone else would have been taken as seriously.