Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-01-10
THE MARCONI MARVEL
How a Wireless Message Trav-
erses the Ocean.
IT FLIES BY MEANS OF ETHER.

The Current Does Not Flow Through
the Wires, but From Them An
Electric Spark Causes Series OF
Waves which Spread In All Direc-
lions at Wonderful Speed.
In view of Signor GuglieImo Mar
coni's recent triumph in sending wire
less messages across the Atlantic it is
of interest to know that when u wire
less telegraphy message is sent across
the ocean an electric spark is made to
snap between two brass balls. The
sparks may be said to make a splash in
the ether, the high wire taking the
place of the stone which when dropped
in a pond causes rippIes to flow out
ward in every direction, says the New
York World. The electrical ripples
similarly stream out from the wire in
every direction at the speed of light,
which is $4,000 miles a second.
The number of waves which stream
from a Marconi pole is from 100000 to
100000 per second. These waves are
not to be COMPOUNDED with the air
waves which cause sound, though for
the purposes of explanation they may
be compared to them. When poker is
struck, the vibrations of the steel rod
transfer themselves to the surrounding
air in the form of waves in the atmos-
phere.
Wireless telegraphy waves travel not
by means of the atmosphere, but
through the far more Intangible sub
stance ether, which is held to fill up
space and penetrate all matter. Even
in ordinary biography the current flows
through the ether surrounding the
atoms of copper rather than through
the wire itself. In wireless telegraphy
the current does not flow through
wires, but from wires, using the ether
which penetrates the atmosphere as a
medium through which to flow.
Many years ago it was found out
that electricity passed through the
space separating two long parallel
wires. When a current of electricity
was made to flow through one wire,
magnetic influence spread out from the
wire and on reaching the ether induced
in it state of electricity similar to the
current flowing in the first wire. The
current was transferred, as it were,
across a bridge Of magnetism.
The waves which fly from the trans
hitting station almost instantly reach
the distant receiving wire. The waves
are then feeble and could not operate
an instrument, so that a ''Coherer' and
relay have to be used. The coherer
consists of metal filings which remain
separate from one another and offer re-
sistance to current until the Hertzian
waves strike the aerial. Then the i'll
ings press together. and the obstruction
is bridged. The relay current can then
act and strong current instantly
flows through the circuit and operates
the machine which prints the code on
paper tape.
1t has been said that two stations
might be placed back to back and the
waves made to pass completely around
the world. This would require waves
Of very great length in order to over
come the great curvature of the earth.
The curvature between POldhu, Corn
wall, and Cape Breton, \. s., overcome
the other day, is sufficiently great. A
mound of earth and water ITO miles
high rises between the two stations.
The induction method was the one
used by all the earlier experimenterS
with wireless biography, and it was
not until Hertz published his expert
ments with the waves caused by the
spark gap method that Hertzian waves
became the more popular field of work
with electricians. Marconi studied |
these waves under Professor Right, |
himself an expert in them.
Marconi is generally recognized as the |
first to make use of Hertzian waves for |
the basis of q system of telegraphy, |
properly so called. Mr.. Marconi's prog |
ress has been from tens to hundreds. |
then from hundreds to over 1000 miles, |
and now he has spanned the Atlantic, a |
distance OF $500 miles.