Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1903-07-16
TRANs.ocRANIC TELEPHONY,
Feasible to some Extent, mt Re.
Garded BY Experts ~ UnproAt.
able Commercially.

10 ICAcpuOuS 80 AdI uuucE wafer as IL
3 over land. Communication is held
in this country between New York and
inland cities from 1000 to 1900 miles
away. BY the best cables now in use
one cannot talk under water for more
than 30 or 40 miles. Apeculiar blurring
effect is exercised by the insulating
material on a submarine wire which
makes it impossible to send rapid
succession of waves or impulses. This
trouble has always embarrassed teleg-
raphy, and made it necessary to send .
great deal slower under the ocean
than on land, says the New York Trib-
une. y
Two or three years ago Prof. Michael
I. Pupin, of Columbia university, in
this city, perfected an invention for
reducing this difficulty. He sold his
American rights to the Bell company,
which can use the invention to improve
its land lines. More recently he parted
with his European interests to great
German firm that manufactures cleo
trical appliances. AS yet no attempt
has been made to utilize the system for
submarine telephony; and at present
it is uncertain whether it will ever be
used for very long lines under water.
The matter was brought into notice
afresh few days ago by cable mes
sage to the newspapers from Berlin
saying that certain DR.. Jentsch, an
inspector of the telegraph service in
Germany, had reported adversely on
the possibility of employing the Pupin
plan for transatlantic telephony.
Consequently, the inventor was asked
If he had anything to say in reply. He
declared that it was not the electrical
features of the plan which were called
in question. So far as these were con-
cerned, differences in the depth to
which cables were submerged were inn
material. DR.. Jentsch's criticism re-
lated to purely mechanical phase of
the subject. The external pressure Of
the water would increase the further
down one went. It might be as great
as 5000 pounds to, the square inch at
depth of two or three miles. Unless
the ''inductance coils" which Prof.
Pupin proposes to Introduce at inter-
walls were properly constructed they
would be crushed. However, he is con-
fident that the difficulty is not insur-
mountable.
Aside from the scientific questions
involved, it is doubted whether trans
Atlantic telephony would be profitable
commercially Prof. Pupin frankly adj
mits his agreement with experts who
fear it would not pay. 1t would be
chiefly, if not exclusively, in the short
business day of six or seven hours that
a telephone cable between Europe and
America would be used, Since the day
begins in London and. Paris five hours
earlier than it does in New York, there
would be period of only one or two
hours when it would be much in de-
mand. -. ~.
Prof. Pupin's system, however, is de-
signed to improve submarine teleg-
raphy as well as telephony, and in that
department of activity it has, in his
Judgment. great field of practical
utility. BY overcoming certain well
known effects which retard speed Of
transmission, he says, it would in
crease the efficiency of telegraph
cable from 20 or 30 words a minute to
300 or 400. ',