The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-26

BY the time he was 16. Guglielmo Mar
conf had modelled various instruments,
which were undoubted evidences of his
latest genius. They showed an insight
into mechanical problems far beyond his,
years, and were Of sufficient promise 10
be worthy OF the encouragement of his
friends IL was not until he was 20, now
ever, that his great life began directing
his energies toward the problems of wire
less telegraphy. At that age he became
interested in the work OF Professor Helm
rich Hertz, a German scientist, who, In
attempting to discover the nature of elec-
tricity accidentally produced electric or
electromagnetic waves, and detected their
presence in the ether by means OF a wire
hoop so broken that the electricity
spanked across the gap. No one, not even
Hertz himself, realized the tremendous
Importance OF his discovery Men like
Professor Lodge Lord Kelvin, Sir William
Preece, Popon and others prominent IN
electrical science, talked about Hertz $
work. and some OF them reproduced his
experiments, but IL remained for this
young Italian dreamer to jump across the
gap of years of scientific study and make
practical the most important discovery
since Faraday invented the induction coil.
When one remembers that the induction
coil made possible the dynamo, electric
lights, the telegraph and the telephone.
the significance of the comparison is APP
parent. Hertz's discovery was the be-
ginning OF wireless telegraphy. No one
knows that better than Marconi himself.
He does not wish the credit Of originality
I'm this matter, but he deserves all the
credit and praise the world can bestow
upon one who has made a theory prac-
teal by conquering unexpected difficulties
by unremitting perseverance.
Marconi read of the work OF Hertz
SaI No ha ral
of age How the thought came TO him
that there was n principle which could
be applied 10 communication over great
distances noone will know Looking back or
IL. In the light OF what he has done. the
thought seems most natural-even ab
surdly simple. Hertz detected a spark in
a broken hoop, few feet away from the
aash of an induction coil. Why didn't
he get n better detector than a broken
hoop. and n better transmitter than a
small induction coil, and send out the
flashes i'm such a manner that the detec'
tor would record n message? Why, in
/ deed? Perhaps II Hertz had lived h'
I might have thought OF the possibilities
+ Of his discovery; but I'm the few months
Of his life which followed his creates
experiment the important thought did no
/ come TO him. Herein, 10 seems To me, tci
the distinction that small differentiation
/ which Is all important-between "A grea
man and a genius. The former, by
long struggle. almost gains the height
the latter leaps 20 it, by the aid OF th
spark, divine or superhuman, which hi
| brain possesses. Why didn't Professo
| Lodge or Lord Kelvin. or Sir William
Preece. or any one OF hundred OF tn
great scientists OF the time think o
| utilizing Hertzs discovery Marconi
| himself, when the thought occurred 4
him believed that the idea must hav
II come or would soon come 20 one Of those
To him they were unnameble: he wa
not aauainted with the scientists VI
was not an electrician himself lie hel
no academic or scientific degree whic
testified TO his having satisfactorily com
pIeted any college course. IL SCENE
| presumptuous To try.
He waited almost a year, all the tim
| turning the matter over IN his mind
all the tine watching for the announce