The Washington herald., 1915-01-31

. The wireless telephone will link the
old and new worlds before under-sea
cable telephones shall be accomplish
ed.
This is the prediction of Emile Ber-
liner. the local inventor, whose genius
gave to civilization the telephone
transmitter which made present-oSS
telephony a practical accomplish
ment
span the Atlantic prior to the tele-
phone cable" said the inventor. The
transatlantic telephone cable is not
an impossibility. 1t is inevitable. Its
coming is merely a matter OF ume'
But wireless telephony is making even
yaster strides than cable eXper1menta-
tion, and it is sure to reach the goal
first.
War Warning on Science.
The present European war is play
ing havoc with science; it is retardlns
the discovery of many important IN
ventions; it is delaying the onward
march of technical investigation. The
influence of the war is felt in expert
rnentation with wireless telephony.
The work practically has been orougnt
ito a halt But as soon as the war Is
over some remarkable developments
are to make their appearance Wlthln
after the close Oh lLlC " al NSA
table miracles are to be wrought IN
the realm of wireless telephony. Pos
sibIy within that year transatlantic
wireless telephony probably Will De-
come a reality.
Il can explain wireless telephony
best to the lay mind by comparing the
electromagnetic waves upon which IL
is based with a great electrical breeze.
The first problem is to generate a sur
electric
span the Atlantic.
The second is to impinge upon thaI
breeze the human voice. Experiments
show that this can be accomplished at
distances of possibly hundred miles
or more. It will not be long before
that radius of operation will be eX-
tended to more than 5000 miles. VI
course. there are difficulties, such as
static interference and the difficulty
of directing the breeze in a desired
'direction-the breeze ordinarily radl-
ating equally in all direcuons-out
these are not unsurmountaole oDstfuc-
tions."
The inventor leaned back in the
leather chair drawn up to the side
81 the big oak table in his library
and gazed across the room with an
anticipatory expression, as though
gazing at a picture of things as they
will be in the years that are to come. !
ExpIaiu. Telephone Principle.
The linking of the Atlantic and
the Pacific by telephone was a vast
achievement" he said after a pause
of a minute or so. 1T was a remark
able accomplishment, but the prlncl-
pIes which made the achievement pos
sibIe are not new; they were dis
covered a dozen years ago. Trans-con-
tiDental telephony is made a reality
by the use of so-called choking COILS
invented about A dozen years ago by
Prof. Michael l. Pupin, OF Columbia
University.
"A brief explanation will make clear
the function of these coils. whenever
an electric current passes along
conductor a counter electro-motiVe
force is set up in the field surround
ing the conductor, it's direction being
exactly opposite to that in which the
current is flowing. So, when the cur
rent flows along a telephone wire, TINS
>counter electro motive force is ere
ated, and it tends to retard the prog
ress of the current upon which the
human voice is impigned. This coun-
Ter force increases with the distance
and finally becomes so great as ut
terIv to stop the transmission OF the
human voice
The difficulty is overcome by the
insertion along the line of Pupin coils
a
five miles on the average. Their effect
is to take up this counter electro-mo-
tive force, thus eliminating the inter-
Serence. l say this coil was invented
about twelve years ago. The delay in
establishing trans-conunental teIe-
phonic communication has been due TO
Two causes the expense of installation
and the difficulty of so adjusting the
coils as to eliminate most perfectly
the counter electro-mOtive force.
Difficulties of Task.
Now, that the feat has been accom-
rlished. the gext problem is to span
The seas. Three problems present
themselves; the expense of installa-
ton. the necessity of splicing the
cable for the introduction of choking
coils. and the adjustment of the coils
so as to eliminate the destructive work
'Df the counter electrO-motive force.
with the present knowledge pos
sessed by scientists the use of the
choking coils is necessary and their
use neCessitates the splicing Of the
cable at intervals of approximately
twenty five miles, maybe greater or
less. But every splice in cable is
danger point. 1t weakens the cable and |
il Increases nightly the possibility OF
trouble. The expense in constructing |
and maintaining such a cable probably |
The adjustment of the coils so as
90 effectively choke the counter cur |
rent is merely a matter of mathe- |
matics and experimentation. There is |
no question but that il can be worked |
out successfully-it is merely a mat |
ter OF time. These difficulties are great, !
but not wholly unsurmOuntable, and
the transatlantic cable is an inevit- |
able thing"
Although Alexander Graham Bell |
invented the principle of the speak |
ing telephone and was the first to /
put the device in use, several of the |
most important projections of the in |
strument are product of the genius |
OF Mr.. Berliner.
It was he who invented the loose |
contact transmitter and first used an
induction coil in connection with the |
transmitter. The loose contract trans |
mitter or miCrOphone was invented in
1877 and in the following year he
discovered the efficacy of using in
1uction coils. II is these projections /
hat have made the telephone what it
today.
There have been later Developments
the telephone, of course, but these
re based on the discoveries of Prof.
Eell and Mr.. Berliner. One of the i'm
0rtant perfections h, |