The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-03-30
THE TELEPHONE.
Something Concerning the Talking Tels
graph.

Something Concerning the Talking Teie-
graph.
The science of electricity, although al
ready productive of many signal bless
ings 80 mankind, can hardly be said to
have yet advanced far beyond its in
fancy. The nature of the element is
it most diligently, while from time to
time novel manifestations OF its
powers and properties excite afresh
the wonder and admiration of the
multitude.
The most recent revelation of its
adaptability to civilized needs is the tele-
phone. The telegraph flashed intelli-
gence to distant places by representing
there, by signs or written characters, the
manipulations of an operator at the
starting point but the telephone does
the same by reproducing at one end OF
the line the sounds, vocal and instru-
mental, made at the other. So accurate
ly are these transmitted that distant
speaker can be recognized by the accent
and tone of the voice almost as easily as
if standing beside the listener. During
the first public exhibition of the instru-
ment, ballad sung by young lady at
one end OF the line, i'll Boston, delighted
an audience six miles away at the other
end in Maiden. At still later triad,
"Auld Lang Syne" and Yankee
Doodle" played upon an organ at one
end of the line in the Club" were
greeted eighteen miles away, at the other
end in Salem, as enthusiastically as
either was ever hailed by fuddled Scot
-,
recently several other tests, over longer
distances and under more severe condi-
tons, have even more clearly demonstra-
ted the wonderful capabilities of the in
strument Nor are loud utterances the
only ones that can be transmitted by it,
even low tones and whispers are said to
be audible over the wires with equal
distinctness. The volume of sound, mt
the point where the message is delivered
is equal to that at the end whence it is
sent, so that speech made at the latter
is heard at the former over an area equal
to that across which the voice would
penetrate in the immediate neighborhood
of the speaker
The present form of the instrument by
means of which these marvellous acoustic
effects are produced consists of very
powerful compound magnet, formed by
the junction of n number of single mag
nets This compound form can be
much more strongly magnetized than
one made from a single bar OF metal,
while the process of magnetizing adopted
i'll such cases produces permanent
magnetic effect To the poles of this are
attached coils of ordinary insulated tele-
no ~ -
which intensifies electric action. In
front of the poles thus surrounded is
placed n thin sheet, or diaphragm, of iron,
and a mouth-piece, to concentrate the
sound upon this, substantially completes
the device. 1t has long been known to
scientists that the motion of iron or steel
in front of the poles of a magnet, de-
velOps, or in technical phrase, induces
electricity in the coils encircling them.
When the human voice or the tones of an
instrument set the diaphragm vibrating,
electric undulations are induced in the
coils environing the magnet, precisely
corresponding to the atmospheric undu-
lations produced 10y the sounds. These
coils are connected with the telegraph
wire, and along this the undulations are
transmitted to the distant station where,
after passing through the coils of an in
strument precisely similar in form, they
again set this second diaphragm vibrating,
which in its turn produces atmospheric
undulations as audible as those to which
they owe their origin.
The essential requisites are an exact
similarity between the instruments at
each end of the line, and the complete
insulation of the connecting wire. The
voltaic battery, indispensable to the
telegraph, is entirely dispensed with in
the telephone, as the electric current in
duced by the apparatus is amply suffi-
cient to convey messages over the dis
tances hitherto tried. Whether dis
patches can thus be sent to remote
points, time and experiments can alone
decide, but there is every likelihood that
the difficulties in this regard already
overcome in telegraphing will be also
obviated in telephoning.
Progress owes this stride in advance to
the ingenuity, thought and labor of Prof.
A. Graham Bell, who is already honor
ably known III connection with an i'm
proved method of teaching the deaf and
dumb. Should the promises of useful
ness held out by his present invention
be fulfilled, his name will long hold an
honorable place among the benefactors
of mankind.