Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-14
laFsklea
Vehicles May Be
Operated by Radio
Experiments Presage Wonder
full Possibilities and Prob.
abilities With Wireless.
BY John z. KENNEBEcK.

BY JOHN z. KENNEBECk.
trhi. I. the ninth ins'siiHs"t Of The
The writer heard a scientific lee.
turer pr bet seven years ago that
within Is years there would be no
telephone wires webbing our cities
and that erewless ships would find
their way between ports OF the world
guided only by the invisible arm OF
radio; further. that artillery and long
range guns would be fired by radio.
Was that lecture a dream or an
actual predie,ion'
In the development OF radio dur
ing the past few years new art was
acknowledgements, which means
the control OF mechanical devices by
ether waves.
Amplify Ether Waves.
We must not forget that radio
waves in themselves produce ex-
tremely weak currents in the reeeiv-
ing instruments which entrap them.
BY suitable means, these weak waves
are caused to release local energy.
II is this principle OF operation that
is used in all radiodynamic devices.
The radio impulses which control
the distant mechanism are sent with
an ordinary transmitter. At the re-
ceiving station they are picked up by
the aerial and carried to the sensitive
receiver. The signals pass into the
receiver where they are detected and
amplihed by vacuum tubes. In this
process the original weak currents
set up in the receiving apparatus by
the radio signals release local energy,
which is added to them. We might
look upon vacuum tube ampliher as
physician whose duty it is to ad-
minister health giving tonics to in
coming signals, so that they will be
made strong enough to operate what
is known as 4 relay. In most cases
one doctor is not enough, and large
number Of vacuum tube amplihers
are required to build up the currents
to sufficient strength. After the re-
juvenated current passes through the
receiving and amplifying apparatus,
it pours through what is known as q
relay.
Weak Currents Rejuvenated.
A relay is a device that does vir-
tually the same thing with electric
currents. Although the amplihed
current coming from the vacuum
tubes of the receiving apparatus is
much more powerful than the original
current, it is still comparatively weak.
Relays to certain controlling de-
vices on distant ships or vehicles
properly equipped to receive the ether
waves are the means of being oper-
ated by the "long arm of RADIO"
Radio Controls Ship.
Epoch-making experiments with
radio-controlled battleships were con-
Quoted by the United States navy in
1921. The old Iowa was equipped
with radiodynamic' devices and had
naught to do but obey the invisible
commander on the Ohio several miles
away. Bombing aeroplanes were in
structed to drop dummy bombs upon
the radio ship, and it was the task Of
the distant radio commander to elude
the planes. His will was law with
the ship. She would turn to port or
starboard, speed up or slow down
without hesitancy. Oil was fed to
the boilers by means Of valves oper-
ated by radio.
To top experiments with radio, a
Frenchman succeeded in transmit
ting photograph Of President Har-
ding across the Atlantic last year.
Experiments with radio-controlled
vehicles have shown that it is not
impossible to drive tanks loaded with
explosives into an enemy city in case
Of war and exploded.
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