The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-02-27
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ment has been reached which works
admirably and incidentally subscribes
to the physical limitations OF height
imposed by structures along the road
way.
But while this placing OF the wires
sufficed when running over open eoun.
try, there was still doubt about what
would happen when the train skirted
along winding rivers with mountains
hemming in the view and seemingly
ohering an obstacle to the sending
and the receiving Of wireless impulses.
II Is along parts Of the road of this
character that the wireless telegraph
would be of the greatest service, be.
cause the sinuous path OF the track
makes 1t impossible for the towerman
TO see trains for more than a short
distance, and block signals worked by
track contacts are similarly obscured
by bends in the route. Would the
wireless waves rise out of the depth
Of the valleys and get beyond to re
ceiving stations, or would the vibra-
tions started from distant points get
over the mountains and down into the
winding passes?
In anticipation Of probable dificul-
ties in this department OF the work
the Lackawanna railroad erected at
Scranton and at Binghamton tall wire
less towers and these were expected
to Offset the lowness of the aerials
upon the train. Whether these tall
towers are actually necessary for the
immediate work cut out for them is
not Of present concern; they may be
a necessary part Of the system when
ultimately elaborated But an inter
estthg fact has developed: The mes
sages leaving the moving train are
unquestionably able to get past inter
vening mountains and to climb from
the meandering valleys and find their
way to antennae Of the towers at
Scranton and Binghamton
According to the experts, the Hert-
zian waves don't do this by climbing
the hills, but by actually going
through them This is because the
earth is a great magnet, and the wire
less waves virtually wade along part
ly through the ground and partly |
through the air.
Even wireless telegraph involves an |
electrical circuit; the flow must even
tually return to the ground. In this
case the ground is the track upon
which the cars move. What would |
happen If the electrical discharge at
he instant Of receiving a message
lbOard the train should pass into the
all? Wouldn't this interfere with the
that already runs through the
ails when a passing train causes the
operating of some of the
lock signals? Wouldn't the two cleo
rical discharges cause signal trou-
lies?
The railroad electricians had their
,Jubts, but the wireless men believed
and the tests have shown
hat there was no reason for anxiety.
tut why? you will ask. Just where
ne Hertzian waves return to the earth
ley have a zero of electrical energy,
r potential, as the expert expresses
. These points are the modal, or neu-
al points, corresponding to the
Iaces on a vibrating string where the
Ouble curves meet and cross and
here there is no motion. For this
Jason the wireless discharge into the
ack has no power to upset the reg {
ar current which controls the oper- r
ing of the block signals. f
Wireless telegraphy calls for a good $
eal of energy in the spark which {
eates the Hertzian waves, and the c
lestion was: Where was this cur t
mt to be obtained? In the present @
stance 1t has been drawn from the A
.tteries supplying current for the in r
ndescent lighting system. An indie fl
ndent motor could easily be provid- s.
for the sole purpose Of furnishing a
ergy for the wireless apparatus, and IL
parate storage batteries could also Il
installed to hold enough energy in r
serve to do good deal of telegraph W
after the train had halted for one W
ison or another. di
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