Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1903-01-30

Observation-Disclosures Between EIec-
trodes, 1t Starts Ether Pulsations
That Cross the Atlantic-A Plan
For Sending News to Daily Papers.
Signor Marconi finished his expert
mental work at the wireless telegraph
station in Wellfieet, Mass, early the
other forenoon and left for New York
on the afternoon train, says the New
York World.
For the first time that day Marconl
consented to take the newspaper CORE
spondents into the operating room and
explain the process by which the Hert-
zian waves are started on their way
through the ether. The room is about
thirty feet square. Near the door is a
raised platform upon which the opera
tor stands while sending. The key is
on shelf, and Oh the wall there is
switch which turns on or shuts off the
power from the dynamo.
First sendings by the wireless meth
cd were done by means of wooden
lever which operated pump handle
fashion. The new key devised by Mar
conf, while several times larger than
the regulation telegraph key, is like it
In many respects. 1t is about twelve
inches in length, made of brass, has a
gutta percha button and has platinum
contact points. The play between the
contacts was about an inch. This, of
course, can be regulated, but consid-
cradle play is necessary to prevent
sticking
The greater part of the operating
room floor space is occupied by con-
densers. They are about waist high
and form square in the room. Cross
Ing them from corner to corner are two
pieces of sheet zinc about foot wide
and ten or twelve feet long At the left
end Of the room from the entrance are
the electrodes, with three square oil
tanks for cooling purposes and two sill
very globes about the size Of croauet
ball.
There Is space Of about four inches
'~Ss"SSh thCoC SiopCo, anu II IL Tile
crossing Of the electricity over this air
bridge from one electrode to the other
that gives the spark" and the loud re.
ports when the operator is busy with
the key. One Of the electrodes, he said,
was connected with the aerial wires
and the other with the ground When
the electricity was switched into the
condensers, it gathered force, passed
to the outer wires and down to an
electrode.
The opening and closing of the key
caused the wires to charge and dis
charge and the jumping of the current
across the air space from one electrode
10 the other gave the pulsations which
the ether took up and carried to the
other side Of the Atlantic.
Assistant Kemp turned the current
on at word from Marconi, and the
quick opening and closing of the kew
was responded to by spark between
the electrodes almost binding in vivid
ness. The reports were like the crac-
kle heard when lightning strikes at no
great distance. The letter "P'' or the
numeral "6' in American Morse sug-
gested machine gun fire. Dashes were
a kind Of Zip" running together of
dots.
Before taking hold Of the key Mar
conf stuffed his ears with cotton to
deaden the sound and told the visitors
that eventually operators would have
a sound proof booth to work in.
The receiving instruments are in the
same room. The ether waves when
they arrive from Glace Bay or Poldhu
are rather feeble. but Marconi's mag
netic detector rejuvenates the tired vi
brations and gives them through a
telephone receiver or on recording
tape in clean cut dots and dashes.
Speaking Of his latest and greatest
project, which is nothing less than the
establishment at some central point In
the United States Of wireless station
from which the news now sent over
wires may be sent direct and simulta-
neously to every newspaper equipped
with Marconi receiving apparatus, Mr..
Adarconi recently said to New York
Evening Journal reporter:
J Il consider this the greatest appara-
Gus ! have yet contemplated. II it Is