The morning call., 1893-04-15
STORING SPEECH.
Strange Discovery of an
Antioch Man.
THE PHoNodRAPn EcLIpsED.
1t Is Called Rigorphone and Il Ray
Be Carried Around in the
Vest Pocket.

An Antioch man who dabbles somewhat
| In electricity and has a scientific turn of
mind has stumbled upon discovery that
will make Edison's eyes bulge when he
hears about it. He has discovered a secret
In the subtle electric current and has made
an application that will be boon to man
kind and will paralyze all the electric sharps
in the country. For obvious reasons the
discovery will not permit his name to be
used until certain prellminaries have been
completed. He has, however. permitted the
Antioch Ledger TO examine his invention
and to give brief description of what it is.
He calls 1t rlgorphone. We should call it
an animated wire. He has discovered that
he can take an insulated wire and store
sounds upon it, to be tapped for future use
whenever desired. He takes n small coil Of
the tiniest insulated wire, talks his mes
sage upon il and then stores it away for
future use. To one end of the wire he at
taches a small diaphragm, which is no
larger than pants button, and to the other
end of the wire he attaches anOn-eonductor.
He then talks through the button, which he
calls diaphragm. and charges the wire
with sound. He then removes the button
and attaches tiny non-conductors TO both
ends OF the wire and whatever the message
may be 1t is stored Tor keeps. He can then
put the coil of wire in his vest pocket, or
send it away in an envelope through the
malls, and the message always remains
stored in that wire ready for use.
When you want to take the message of
the wire all you have to do is to attach the
button or diaphragm to the end OF the wire
that was attached to the nOn-conductor
when the wire received the message, hold
the button to your ear and the entire mes
sage will come off with the same speed and
in the same tone in which It was trans
mitted in the first place. After the message
Is exhausted you can again charge the wire
with another message, just as you did In
the first place, ana, in fact, the wire can be
continued in use Indefinitely.
The length of the wire used Is gauged by
the length of the message with which it is
charged. If the wire is tna short and the
message too long it comes on in jumbled
way, as though the words were crowded
together.
One experiment was made with tiny
wire, six inches in length. and 1t distinctly
enunciated the Lords prayer, but when
charged with the Declaration Of IndeDen-
dence there was a sort Of a blur to the
enunciatiOn when the button was held to
the ear. The inventor said that it would
require wire about eighteen inches In
length for so long message.
This is wonderful discovery and will,
undoubtedly TeY0lutioniZe our mode of
communication. A coil of wire three feet
long will weigh about the same as an ordi-
nary letter. and when it comes into general
use there Will be mighty little ietter-TFtting,
When he wants to write a letter to his
friend In San Francisco all he has to do is
TO talk his message onto his wire and mail
It, His friend, If he has button, and IL he
has not, can borrow one. can take the
message from the wire when ii arrives.
If you want to make memorandum to be
used at some future time, all you have TO do
is to charge your wire, put it in your vest
pocket and use it when desired. II you
want TO make Fourth OF July Oration and
are too lazy TO write 1t and commit it to
memory, all you have to do is to talk your
Grafton through the button on to your wire,
and you are fixed.
With sort of rubber attachment you can
fasten the button to your ear. To this but
ton you run your wire from your vest
pocket and repeat every word, just as though
you had 1t perfectly memOrZed. The wire
is so small that it will be no Inconvenience
to you, and the audience will not notice.
In fact. the uses TO which this won
derfnl discovery can be put almost chal-
lenges the widest Imagination. And yet
the process by which this sound is trans
mitted and stored on the wire is so simple
that 1t is wonder that it was not discovered
before. 1t was by studying the energy that
is Inherent in a simple magnet that our
friend happened TO make the discovery and
apply the force. And the best of it Is the
whole arrangement will cost mere trif1e,
and every man, woman and child can have
one. Truly wonders never cease.