The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1877-03-11
THE TELEPHONE.
AwHrspER HEARD l43 MILES OFF.

Prof. Bell, the inventor of the telephone
comes from the staid old city of the witche
Salem. He is professor Of " vocal physio
logyn in the Boston University. Aoou
Ave years ago he first began to think abou
the possibility of the transmission OF souno
by telegraph, and the idea took possession
of him completely. His invention had 90
far taken form eighteen months ago. ,,1 .na'
| with the assistance of practical eiectri-
clan, Mr.. Watson, he began to experiment:
The first time the practical success OF
| the telephone was demonstrated 10 tue saG-
| isfaction of others was on Oc'. ., 1910,
| when an experiment was MADE over the
private wire of the WalwOrth Manutactur'
| log Company of Cambridge running to
Boston. two miles distant. The telephone
then spoke for itself, and the conversation
of the operator in Cambridge could be dis.
| tiuctly heard at the Boston end of the line.
An interesting dialogue took place, the
speakers talking in their ordinary key.
One of the experiments, which occurred
| on Jan. 81 on a wire running from Boston
to Salem, was eminently gratifying in it's
results. Not only every word spoken In
Boston, but even the tones and iDf1exions of
the several voices were accurately transmit
ted and readily recognized by those at the
Salem end of the line. Other experiments
demonstrated the fact that lady in NAL
den could sing " The Last Rose of Sum
mer," and every note be heard in The room
at Boston. The sound was perfectly clear,
and had about the same effect ss if the lis
tener were at the rear of q concert hall, cay
100 feet away from the singer. Subsequent
trials showed that laughter, applause or
instrumental music could be equally we'll
transmitted. In the case of the latter, not
only the key could be transmitted but also
the quality of the music. violin could
DO distinguished from the violoncellO.
ha HiafaMcp n
pushed by the telephone is 143 miles
from Boston to North Conway N. Fl. The
most recent improvements made on the in
strumept do away with batteries altogeth
or, and permanent magnets are now en-
ployed instead, the electric wave used in
transmitting the sounds being generated by
the voice itself. This is regarded as a very
important step in advance, as the bother
and expense of keeping batteries in order
has been the great drawback to the EN-
ploy ment of the instrument for private pur
poses.
The wonderful little instrument of whose
future value to civilization the inventor is
consists of powerful compound
permanent magnet, to the poles of which
are attached ordinary telegraph coils of
insulated wire. In front of the poles
by these coils of wire, is
u diaphragm of iron. A mouthpiece, whose
function ID to converge the sonnd upon this
diaphram, Substantially completes the ar
rangement. The operation of the instru-
ment is thus described by Prof. Bell: The
motion of steel or iron in front of the poles
of a magnet creates a current of electricity
in coils surrounding the poles of the rag
net, and the duration OF this current of
comedies with the duration of
the motion of the steel or iron moved or
vi6rated in the proximity of the magnet,
When the human voice causes the diaph-
ragm to vibrate, electrical undulatons
are induced IN the coils around the magnets
precisely similar to the fluctuations of the
air produced by the voice. The coils are
connected with the line wire, and the uu-
dulations induced in them travel through |
the wire, and passing through the coils of !
another instrument OF similar construction |
at the other end of the line are again re
solved into air undulations by the diaph-
rsgm of this instrument. The voltaic bat.
tory is entirely dispensed with. The line
wire may be OF any given length, provided |
the Insulation be good. Prof. Bell further
says that soft tones can be heard across the |
wires even more distinctly than loud utter
ances, even whisper being audible.