The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-29
TELEGRAPHY WITH KITES.
EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED BETWEEN
BLUE HILL AND CAMBRIDGE

BLUE HILL AND NAhbHIDGE.
Results Not Yet wholly Satisfactory Owing
to Atmospheric and Other Disturbing
Infiuences-A Description of tho APP
paratus and tho system Employed.
Boston. Aug. 2S.-E1periments with wire
less telegraphy were made between Blue Hill
Observatory in Milton and Harvard Memo
rial Tower in Cambridge. a distance OF
twelve miles. on Saturday. They were
partly successful. sufficiently so to
encourage the scientific men who are
working at the problem Of sending messages
through space by means OF kites. But there
are difficulties at the receiving station at Har-
ward. largely the result OF the many electrical
influences in the vicinity. which disturb and
interrupt the current necessary for the trans
mission OF messages. Efforts will be made to
prevent these influences from making them
selves felt. but IL they do not meet with success.
and probably they will not at first. then the re-
oeiving station will be placed at Blue Hill, and
the messages will be sent from Harvard. The
former station. $40 feet above the sea level 10
two or three miles from any electrical works OF
any kind. and as their proximity to the send
ing apparatus will disturb 1t very little II any.
the experiments may be more successful.
For several weeks experiments have been
carried on between Blue Hill and Mount Chick
ataw but. three miles to the east, and consider
able progress has been made In eliminating
disturbing factors. Last week the receiving
apparatus was set up at Harvard. but weather
conditions were not propitious for test until
Saturday morning. when signals were sent at
stated intervals from Blue Hill to Harvard.
The experiments are under the direction OF
Mr. A. Lawrence Rotch and Prof. Sabine OF
Harvard but the most of the work Is done BY
Prof H. H. Clayton OF Blue Hill Observatory and
Mr. Picard of Harvard. Mr.. Picard ex planned to
THE Sun correspondent that although dots
and dashes sent from the Morse apparatus
at Blue Hill were undoubtedly recorded at
Cambridge. SO also were other dots and dashes
made by electrical waves thrown out by trolley
lines and other electrical wires For instance.
the sudden turning on and of OF the current
on an electric car standing in front OF Memorial
Hall would probably make long dash on the
Morse receiver. With all such disturbing In
fuences eliminated. Mr.. Sabine thought. ten
words a minute might be sent by the Morse
system from kite to kite. and with instruments
more perfectly adapted to the work he could
see fifteen words minute as possibility. The
rate over wires without code Is two or three
times as fast.
So far az Mr.. Rotch and his assistants have
gone with their work. they take exception to
some OF Marconi's theories. among them his
statement that the distance through which
messages can be sent depend upon the height
OF his vertical wires. Mr.. Picard's experiments
have led him to conclude that experiments
from great attitudes by means OF kites or wires
would not be successful because of the large
amount OF potential electricity in the atmo-
sphere at such attitudes.
The apparatus does not look complicated
but it is not easily understood. The current is
transferred from ordinary chemical batteries
through an induction coil OF about $50 feet Of
copper.wire There is a circuit breaker and
something that corresponds to Morse
key. When this key is used the
dots and dashes Jump in flashes
between two brass balls on induction
posts to one OF which is attached the copper
wire which goes to the kite. This wire is fast
ened to the kite line near the kite by means of
an insuator and little copper wire cone from
which the wire itself hangs. The receiving APP
paratus is similar to the sending as far as the
kite and wire are concerned. but tho essential
part is little glass tube known as coherer,
and filed with metallic dust When the Hart
zion wave from Blue Hill comes down the wire
at Cambridge these little metallic particles. or
dnarily OF great resisting power. cohere and
make practically a bit OF wire through which
the current passes. and. fortified on its way by
a relay, goes on to the Morse receiver. As soon
as this wave impulse has passed through the
coherent tho tube is hit by n little Taper and the
metallic particles separate and are ready for
the next impulse from Blue Hill Mr.. Picard
explained that the process OF separation was
not as rapid as that OF cohering and this pre-
vented rapid work.
The instruments are very delicate and diff
cult to ADJUST. One thing recently learned
about their use is that high wind vastly
increases the trouble from potential electricity
in the atmosphere. No results have yet been
obtained that lead exporimenters to think
wireless telegraphy will be OF immediate COM
mercial value but much has been learned in
this new field. and tho results have encouraged
them to persevere.