The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-11
STEERED BY ETHER WAVES.
TEST or WIRELESS TELEGR1PHH
APPLIED 10 TORPEDOES.
The Invention Of an Englishnian shown to
Commander Colwrll. l.. ;. Ma Launch
Controlled From the shore Withoue
Nirrs-Dimcuiiics SIN tn lie overcome.

sontEbtiNh -" b"
Wires difficulties SIN to he Overcome.
LONDON. March Cecil Naricas believes
he has solved one Of the problems Of modern
naval warfare As described in the patent
granted to him frs, by the BRUSH Government
and later by the governments Of the United States
and other countries, his invention is a contriyancs
for electrically controlling from a distance the
steering gear Of ships, torpcdocs" and other float
ing bodies" II the invention Is successful II
will be possible not only to hit the mark nine
times in ten with a torpedo but also to do ,hh
without The rsk Of human life now incl
dent t. the use Of t~orped~ns IN actual wal. Ths
/ con,riyance is a development Of wireless tele
graphy.
VARGAS made no experiments 81 consequence
until after his patents he'd been granted and the
nrs, test 90 he Witnessed by officials on behalf
of any Government was made the other day a.
Geoy.l IN Somcrsctshire in presence OF Com
mander Colwcll. United States Naval Attachs
at London The tst was also witnessed by
A. & IIiggs, Consular Agent for The tnited States
ut Weymouth, Like various earlier private tests.
1t was made with 3 small, specially huiltlauneh, ana
and an order 10 insure smooth water the launch
was fiOatcd in The public bath at GcOvil instead
Of in the S,a at Weymouth near by. The pool
| at the Geoy,l hath rs about 100 yards long and
W NnrlS NlItl VI one fHI "a " w -
transm iting apparatus such AS Is used in wire
less Biography. Atthe other end, was the launch
AZ by -, inches which WIS propelled At aspeed
| If abou, four knots by an electro motor deriving
It's power from small cells The launch con-
tanned n primitive recover, ca pablc Of working
an ordinary Morse winter at a distance Of a hun.
dred yards. \ short wire projected from The
mast In the launch the Morse writer was re.
| placed by a ruddertutmng contnvanc". A
spring attached 10 the rudder held II,
| normally, hard rboard. After close
inspection Of the launch and instrument
s,horc Mr. iiiggs turned on the motor in the
launch and it went scudding along turning natu.
rally to port Commander Colwell stood by tho
%transmittrr Young VARGAS was beside HIM,
clutching he handle Of a wheel attached to the
instrument.
"Firstofall said Colvell, "makeit come straight
UP the pool
Buzz wen, the wheel, md quickly the launch
forsook its port course and came straight as a die
toward the inventor
Send her down again, said Colvcll, "and III
give you the directions Port he continued, as
II talking H. the man AT the wheel Round went
the Inventor Shaul, and the launch turned until she
almost temm'i her bow ,arHlnS' the S%'atboard
SIDE II IN" baths Siarhuarl,' said lhr tom.
mander and before the launch had reached the
end n HE I"ul She Vas Knocking her nose against
the pot, walls She had answered her helm as II
there had been q man aboard Of her To carry cut
| the orders Of The commander, yet the only COM
nc,tiOn She had with the shore was the wireless
wave that shot from the t]ransmitt"r. ran down
her mast and brought her rLGdef into position.
by The wheel attached 10 The uansmitter the
operator or sttersnan moves Ia lh" rirht or lcft
two conductors which Traverse the surface Of a
drum, which is kept revolving by cloCkwork.
The surface OF this drum consist, hall Of carbon
and half Of copperj The e@i'rion is mad" not
this Crum %rcyulNcs, the condition Of the Gun, nj
depends upon the puslnon 81 III" conductor, con.
trp lied by the stecrsman's hand II he tumS the
wheel 50 that the CuUIuCluTS ere in the middle II
tn" drum, the current IL broken evenly. the con.
doctors touching carbon and ,coTlcr, as they re.
results IN making tho heat keep a straight courss
II, on the ether hand. the wheel sends the con.
duc,urs almost entirely upon the carbon section
# the drum, the longer resulting breaks IN the
current send the boat a. lurt, and vice versa
when the conductors ate chiefly EASING owe,
copr"r In other words the hnat is st,ered nc.
Cordiug 10 the duration of the breaks in the wire
less current; This SOUNDS tomulicated, though II
is y literal report Of NE inventor attempt 10 put II
plainly In lhN Language, AM in practice II is so
easy To- unl' rSland. that a child could work the
apparatus for all ,hat has to be done ( To turn the
wheel one way and the boat follows the hand.
The technical name Of the wheel is the periodic
intrrtupier, and its functions as technically de-
Sctlbed are 70 CIV" periodic nttrruIuons CORE.
he Successive ncriods Of nscillei,ons being 81
maie and varied that the boat can he st,ered in
any curve 81 in Il straight Inc
' bmIlhTlfT I flNfi lN''il me NhnlTlN hnEe
with care, The httIe launch was sen, up and
down the bath, turning ana -%wervlng at the word
81 command \ small stick was thrown into
the water AMI IN" ORDER was to bring the launch
from the Opposite end and hit the stick. This
IL was successfully performed. The
wire q, the masthead was taken down. and the
same performance gone through The inventor
says that the GlSlHiCr ~ which control may he
exercised depends only upon the power provided
ashore The great draw baCN ui the test was
the utter un>ultabllIty ~ the model to submerged
trlhlS " u was an open launch these were
impossible, but the inventor MAINTAINED that tho
apparatus had hprn found ON experiment to work
rs well under water a. On the surface. From
n government ur rracrCal point ot view, however,
further Trials in the lTnsence ut experts will have
tu take place before thls most important point
can he settled.
The G~iNiculty tina, is the ha rdest to overcome
in ether wave steering Of this KIND IL what wire.
less telegraph experts call tanning ANY ono
can produce ether waves by means II an ordinary
induction coil n contact breaker and small
that naturally suggest itself Is, VIII not the
ether wave detecting HppA ratus IN the steering
gear oi the turpe'u ~ boat he sensitive ~ any
ether waves IN It's vicinity aud thrr III" lnvcu-
receivers, ana There IS not room for thrsr IN tho
small space allowed m n torpedo II the ship
towar, which q torpedo il IT, 20 Stcered by ether
waves has on hoari nm induction coil in battery
circuit which CAn be made tu work automatically
no ether Steersu torpedo can reach It's mark.
II would he as uspleSS as n wooden buoy AnOtleH
induct on coli working within range ~ senSIGlty
Of the ieteCtur will completely Jam the receiver
Furthermore, no inventor has succeeded in
sending ether waves 81 ihl~ hind through mOrs
than q foot uf water what docs this mean 10
the torpedo stcererS" TIE tprIedo must either
float "a the surface 81 the Waler ur have y con
Quoting connection from DtS ucpth IN the water
10 the surface above But N r,th cases III" possi-