The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-03
A sEARcHLIeHT TELEPHoNE.
Messages Transmitted by the Heat in
Rays Of Light.

lNew York SUM
On the banks Of the Potomac above
Georgetown, and across the wide sur
lace of that stream, in the vicinity Of
the spot where a successful test was
recently made of a system of wireless
telephony, there was held last night
private demonstration of another sys-
tenn Of wireless vocal communication.
differing widely from the first in meth
DDS Of operation. in principles involved,
! in results attained and in the scope and
effect of the discovery upon existing
methods of voice transmission. The
Hertzian electric earth currents. of
which advantage was taken in the first
system through the use of steel rods
driven in the ground, answering the
purpose Of the ground wire in ordinary
telephony, are not used in the new
| system
Electricity, the basic principle Of all
! existing present methods Of wireless
biography and telephony, does not en-
| ter, except as a mechanical aGJunct,
into the principles of the new method
4 A powerful electric searchHght. fitted
I with a complicated and delicate appa-
| ratus, terminating in a mOuthDiece. not
unlike that used on an ordinary tele-
I phone box, the broad ribbon of radi-
ance projected by the lamp serves az
a wire, and a funnel-shaped arrange
ment, fitted with a cOntrivance termin-
ating in an earcup, takes the place OF
I the ordinary telephone receiver. In the
test last night messages were sent
along the rays Of the searchlight and
/ recorded up to the distance of half a
mile, while beyond that distance
sounds were audible, but connected
I NA Il frkf fc1,.
sid wing the imperfections naturally at
teiidant upon a first test Of the COM
4 plicated mechanism Of the invention,
the test was highly satisfactory TO the
! inventor
In working upon the "searchlight tel
ephone" the inventor followed literally
the axiom that light is heat" The
test last night was private. only a few
friends Of the inventor being present
A searchlight such as is used on the
river boats was carried up the stream
TO point where q feed wire Of the
electric car line. which follows the
north bank Of the river, had been
tapped in readiness for the test, and
Il wire run down to the river bank. The
searchlight was connected with the
wire and the boat then took the receiv-
ing apparatus to a point on the Opp0-
site bank, about half a mile away
When all was in readiness the cur
rent was turned on, and after some lit
tie trouble the other end of the Zine"
was located. Then followed the tests,
which furnish food for conjecture con-
corning the possibilities Of the inven-
ton as regards night communication
at sea, between lighthouses and ships
or between two vessels. or between
| balloon and the earth in time of war,
or between two detachments Of troops
operating in an cnemy's country. The
conversation was one-sided, the boat
containing the receiving apparatus
( having no means of sending return
messages. The inventor claims. how
ever, that in perfecting his invention
he viii combine a transmitting appa-
ratus with the receiver. thus utilizing
one shaft of light. or single wire, as it
were. as in modern methods of tele-
phony. During the test about $50 mes
sages were sent over the luminous
wire at varying distances
The most difficult obstacle. overcome
by the inventor in achieving the re-
markable results outlined above was in
inventing a receiving apparatus sen
sitive enough to record the delicate
pulsations of the heat waves. With
y
. leTes that messages can be sent along
a searchlight beam as far as the light
itself can be projected and the rays of
the beam pralleled and focused upon
the sensitizer connected with the re-
ceiving apparatus.
Patents for the invention have not
yet been applied for, the inventor wish
ing to further perfect his apparatus be-
fore fling on portions Of the mechan-
ism. The principle Of the apparatus is
the sensitizer, which increases the in
tensity Of the pulsatiOn of the heat
waves and consequently their effect
upon the receiver. and an arrangement
Of lenses for paTaileling the light rays
and focusing them upon the sensitizer
The searChlight used last night was a
small one compared to those in opera
ton on modern ships OF war and in
lighthouses and signal stations and the
inventor claims that with perfected ap-
paratus and increased candle power
conversations can be held over the
wireless wire of light for a distance
depending only upon the elevation of
the apparatus in relation TO the earth's
curves, the degree Of perfection to
which the sensitzer can be brought
and the delicacy Of the adjustment OF
the transmitting apparatus