The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-03-23


on the transmission Of telegraph mes
sages without direct wires, says that
he has not succeeded in determining
satisfactorily the general. law which
regulates the distance to which one can
speak in this way, and he scarcely
hopes to do so, as the problem is beset
with many disturbing elements, eeo-
logical as we'll as electrical.
Mr.. Preece thus explains the mech
aljsm Of the mode Of signaling across
space: Its analogue is flash Of light
seen at distance. Energy IS expeId-
ed, say, in q light house on some dan
gerous rock or in gun firing some
warning signal or in bonfire on some
mountain top. The energy assumes
the luminous form, exciting the ether
to undulhte with frequency OF many
millions per second, which, acting upon
the retina Of the eye, produce the SEN
sation called light. The burning Of the
oil lamp of the light house is the pri-
mary source Of energy; the rapid undu-
latons Of the ether propagated in
straight lines at a velocity Of 1856 600
miles per second are the radiatiOns,
transmitting this energy in a wave
from the distant ship; the eye Is the
apparatus which transforms the energy
Of the light waves into a form which
excites consciousness in the brain. In
the electrical experiments the primary
energy is in the current form, and the
comparatively few alterations per sec
ond excite waves in the ether of few
hundreds per second only. But these
oscillations Of the ether or electric
waves are Of the same character as
those of light; they move with the
same velocity, and when they fall on a
sympathetis secondary conductor they
excite in that conductor currents of
electricity of the same frequency, and
If a telephone be inserted in that cir
cult and applied to the ear sounds and
musical notes.. are. distinctly heard,
which, by preconcerted measures, such
as the use of the Morse code, can be
utilized for the transmission. of mes
sages. III Iessages have been sent in
this way across the Bristol ealannel,
between ,Ponarth and Fiat Holm is
land, three and one-tenth miles away.
Speech was maintained in the. High
lands, across Loeb Ness, one and one
fourth miles broad, and kilograms were
transmitted from Kintyre to Arran,
across distances of four or hve miles.
Mr.. Preece holds that when the con-
ditions admit Of the erection Of the
necessary circuits, there should be no
difficulty in effecting communication
between England and France. This
can readily be conceived when it is re-
membered that distinct disturbances in
telegraphic currents have been detect
ed which are due to great electrical
storms in the suns philosophers 92,O0O,-
600 miles away. This fact leads up to
the possibility Of signalling across plan
etary space. Magnetic storms and
earth currents have some intimate con-
nection with the sun. The great
storms and sun spots Of March so and
81, 1894, were accompanied by very
marked and. peculiar sounds in ;tele-
phones inserted in, long telegraph cir
cults. The suns photospherc, when
disturbed by spots, may be subject to
violent electrical storms, and those
vast jets Of incandescent hydrogen that
fame up with terrible velocity may ex-
cite electrical oscillations through ethe-
real space Of such a frequency as to
influence terrestrial circuits The cleo
trio storms of the sun may hus be
heard on earth This reduces sigalllDg
between cne planet and another to a
mere question Of degree, and it can
barely be doubted that the next few
years will bring about some marvellous
developments in the fascinating branch
of electrical science.