The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1902-03-26
MARCOnrS INVENTION
WAS KNOWN TO MORSE
Wireless Telegraphy as View
ed by Mr.. P. B. Pierce.
WONDERFUL IN ITS SIMPLICITY
Anthropological Society Listens to Bril-
liant Address at Cosmos Club-Mr
Emil Berliner Compares PhonogTaph
With the Graphophone.

The feature of meeting Of the Az
thropological Society at the Cosmos Club
last night was the reading of paper by
Mr.. P. B. Pierce. principal examiner in
the Patent Office, on the development 81
wireless telegrarhy. Mr.. Fierce cs:c in
part:
Contrary TO the popular idea, wire
less telegraphy IS not a recent invention,
although its practical application is now
being made for the first time As early
as 1912 Prof. Morse transmitted MESA ges
across the Susquehanna River at Havre
de Grace without the use of metallic cir
cults. using tho water instead. The river
at this point is about mile wide
Wonderful in Its Simplicity.
1.-THE work was accomplished by plac-
ing two large copper plates, from six to
eight feet square, ON either side OF the
river, and it was found that the larger
the plates the more sensitive the instru-
nents to electrical currents. Wireless
telegraphy is wonderful in its simplicity,
and has been springing up rapidly, step
by step. Prof. Morse's experiments were
thirty years ago DR.. Malcolm LOOMS, a
dentist, living in this city. secured let
tiers patent for system of wireless
telegraphy. which unfortunately refused
to work
ut remained, however, for Marconi,
who is only twenty-eight years old, to
make the system commercial possibili-
ty, and several weeks ago he succeeded in
sending message 1,551 miles without the
use of wires. Fifty eight patents have
been issued up to the present time, and
others are now pending.
Marconi's Invention.
1.-THE Marconi instruments are sim
plicity itself, and depend primarily upon
a spark gap. From the main battery the
current is carried to an induction coil,
from which the induced current is trans
mitted to the spark gap. and thence to
the aerial pole, after having passed
through device for regulating the num-
Der of vibrations. 1t is this regulation of
vibrations that makes it possible for the
message to be picked up by certain in
strument out of series.
THE principle is similar to that of the
tuning forks, of which If one is struck its
vibrations will similarly sound all others
of a similar pitch, but will have no effect
upon those forks which are not similarly
tuned.
'Marconi has also demonstrated the
identity of light and electricity. The rea-
son that electricity is not visible to our
eyes is that the vibrations are not suffi-
GENTLY rapid. Sunlight yibrates four bill
ion times a second. while electricity vi
brates but three hundred million times
The vibrations of a high soprano voice
are about two hundred a second, while
the ordinary voice is in the neighborhood
of one hundred and fifty. A bass voice
throws off sound waves which vibrate at
the rate of thirty-two a second. and the
lowest possible sound vibrates at the rate
of sixteen a second"
Talk on Talking Machines.
Mr.. Emil Berliner presented during the
evening mos. interesting discourse on
the earliest form of photograph as COM
pared with the highest type of the graph
ophone, and illustrated his remarks with
the various types OF instruments. Mr.
Berliner is the inventor of the perfected
talking machine.
A paper on the aspect of the modern de-