Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-03-11
A WONDERFUL INVENTION.
Automatic Telephone Exchange
Transmission of Pictures
from City TO City.

Mr. L. A. Connolly, OF this city, and
Mr.. Thomas J. McTighe, of Pittsburg,
two inventors, who were recently
brought into notice by a patent which
was issued to them for an automatic
telephone exchange, making it possible
for subscribers to telephone lines to COM
municate with each other without the
Intervention of the central office, and Sc
curing absolute privacy, have now ap-
piled for patent for an apparatus
which, if it can perform the wonders
| claimed for it by the inventors, will be-
come the scientific sensation of the day.
The apparatus is called by several diff
ferent names, some preferring telephOte,
some telican and others telopticon.
Other names have also been suggested.
The claim made is the ability to repro
duce the effects of light by electricity
the same as the effects of sound are re-
produced by the telephone. The invent
ors believe that they have discovered a
process by which, when perfected, scenes
transpiriAg in the streets of Washington
can instantly be thrown upon sheets or
other appliances in Baltimore and every
movement watched by people in that
city. The radical principle is the same
as that of the telephone. The inventors
have adopted the theory that sound, heat.
light and electricity are all different
forms of motion, and all of the first
three are resolvable into electricity. A
certain number of vibrations of a body
are necessary to produce sound. If the
vibrations are increased in number, heat,
light and electricity may be produced.
The finer and more subtle quality of
light, however, requires much more
delicate apparatus to record the vibra-
tions and reproduce them than is re-
quired to transmit or reproduce sound.
The simple claim made by the inventors,
stripped of all romance, is the ability to
transmit the physical wave force of
light electrically, in manner similar to
the transmission of sound by the tele-
phone. They claim that when the ap-
paratus is sufficiently perfected for prac-
tical use, it will be possible for person
cOnversing at the telephone to perceive
distinctly at the same time the image of
the person with whom ne is talking. The
reproduction of the image is the result
of chemical changes, which are now util-
lied in the art of photography, and are
perfectly familiar to all photographers.
In fact, if the invention performs the
wonders which are expected from it, it
viii simply be the sending of photo
graphs by electricity. Mr. T. A. Con-
molly, of this city, who has joint claim
in the invention with Mr.. McTighe, and
with whom an American correspondent
conversed, while very sanguine of the
ultimate success of their laburs, is very
modest in his statements regarding the
invention. He says that the result of
their experiments eonvinces them that
| it is possible 10 transmit light by cleo
tricity and reproduce images and scenes.
In experiments made here and in Pitts
burg the inventors have been able to re-
produce images quite distinctly over a
short line. While the apparatus has not
yet been perfected to degree to make
it of any practical use, the inventors
have filed their papers as a proof of the
| priority of their claim. A claim was
made some time ago by gentleman
named DR.. Licks in South Bethlehem,
claiming that he had discovered a pro-
cess for reproducing light by means of
electricity, but the instrument which he
proposes to make requires seventy-two
wires for the transmission of an image.
Mr.. Connolly announced TO the writer
that he and McTighe expect soon to
bring out an invention which will as
tonish the world more than the tele-
phone would if perfected to the highest
degree, but he declined stating of what
the new wonder will consist.-Wash-
ington Special to Baltimore American.