The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-03-25
HOW RAD|OPHONE
TRANSMITS SOUND
As a Pebble Thrown Into an Ocean
Send Waves Around the World
So Radio Acts Upon the
Air Wave Vibrations

The radiophone, or wireless tele-
phone, has swept the country as no
other invention has ever done. We
have read in the press dispatches of
boy who made homemade radio
phone, set in cigarbox, with
which he could listen in on the
messages that were being sent from
various stations. He went riding
with his father in an automobile,
and received messages while enjoy
ing the ride.
The basis of the radio phone is
simple. We all know that a pebble
thrown into pond will make a
ripple which will spread in rings
until it reaches the bank. Likewise
pebble thrown into the ocean
makes rings that spread out in ex-
actly the same way, until they go
entirely around the earth. It is
true that wavelets from the pebble
grow smaller and smaller, until you
cannot see them with the eye, but
nevertheless they are there. On the
same principle if you clap your
hands or fire a gun or if the wind
blows it set up rings of air waves,
or vibrations of the air in exactly
the same way that the waves of wa
ter pass in rings from the pebble
in the pond. These rings in the air
pass clear around the world, but
grow smaller and smaller, the far
ther they go until they have grown so
weak that they don't cause the ear
drum to vibrate sufficiently to con-
vey the vibration to your brain.
Thus, you say, you do not hear
the vibrations.
The phonograph was invented upon
the basis of persons voice making
air vibrations which were transmit
ted to the ear. By transmitting these
air vibrations TO a diaphram, and
recording them upon a wax cylinder,
Mr.. Edison was able to put the vi
brations back into the air just the
same as the original voice made it
vibrate. Thus, any time you wish
you can put on record, and set the
air to vibrating with the same vibra-
tions that the person making the
record did with his voice. Then you
say you "hear" the vibrations. With
all this in mind, it was necessary
only to find some method of increas-
ing the pressure of these tiny air
waves that are going around the
world. An "amplifier" was invented
which can be likened to an electric
transformer which takes electric vi
brations at low voltage at one
side and send them out at much
higher voltage on the other side.
This amplifier, or air-wave-trans-
former, as it might be called, simply
picks up the little air waves and
increases their size until they will
make the ear drum vibrate in har-
mony, and then you ''hear" the air
waves. Any number of amplifiers can
be used, until the music of an or
chestra in San Francisco can be
made as loud or louder than the
original, simply by making the air
waves greater than the original
waves.
A speaker can be plainly heard
when addressing his audience by
talking into funnel, in an ordinary
tone, with the air waves passed
through an amplifier to make them
have greater force than the original.
1t is necessary only to have some
means of Catching" the air vibra-
tions, and amplifying them, to make
it possible to hear vibrations that
we didn't know existed.
There is nothing difficult nor ex-
cessively expensive about a radio
phone. In fact all but the vacuum
tube amplifiers can be home made.
With this equipment it will be pos
sible for you to dance in your own
home by music being played by the
Mare Island Marine Band or an
orchestra in any theatre or cafe, or
even to have dance in the society
halls by music being played in some
other state.
The process defined, consists of
catching, and amplifying air waves
to what ever magnitude is desired.
The San Francisco Chronicle of
March 21 makes the following COM
ment:
at was only yesterday, it seems,
the press dispatches told that the
wireless telephone had been brought
into practical shape for ordinary
purpose. And today all over the
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