San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-27
LARGEST, FASTEST
DEEP OCEAN CABLE
TO CROSS ATLANTIC
American End Is Laid and
Rest of Work Will
Proceed.

New York. Aug. 2..-"T The Aneri-
can end of the largest and fastest
deep sea cable ever manufactured was
landed Saturday, August a. at the
cable station Of the Postal Telegraph
Commercial Gable system, at Far
Rockaway, New York, from the cable
ship "Faraday." This is the first step
in the laying of new cable between
the United States and Europe.
The "Faraday," now on her maiden
voyage, left Far Rockaway for Canso.
Nova Scotia. after laying the Far
Rockaway-Canso section of the cable.
Its length is about 1000 miles. The
cable ship Colonial" the largest Of
her kind in the world. is now on her
way to Canso, where she will COM
mence to lay another section or the
new cable. about 100 miles in
length, from Canso TO the Azores
Islands.
At the Azores connection will be
made with cables reaching London by
way of Waterville. Ireland. and later
in the fall a new section of 1916 miles,
already under manufacture. will b
submerged between the Azores aud
Havre. Z
The new cable has the largest COP
per conductor that has ever been pIt
in long distance submarine cable,
and in consequence i'll message carry>
ing capacity far exceeds that of any
other cable OF similar length ever
manufactured. The conductor OF the
main sections weighs 100 pounds per
| nautical mile as against abosr 40
pounds per nautical mile in the larg-
est deep sea cables used heretofore.
| The working speed expected is 600 let
tiers per minute but this may possibly
be exceeded when methods of opera
ton are fully perfected.
This speed is so greatly in excess
of the highest speed hitherto attained
! in long cable working that it has me-
cessitated a great deal of research in
order TO develop suitable methods and'
apparatus. In the manufacture OF
! the new cable more than 4.0OO.OOU
pounds of copper were required for rs
construction and nearly 2,OOO.OOo
pounds of gutta percha were used for
| insulation. while upwards of SO.OOO
miles of steel and iron wires of vary
ing sizes were needed to protect the
copper conductor and the gutta percha
| insulation.
The vital part of the cable is the
copper conductor and its insulating
envelope. usually referred to as the
core" To protect this core and give
| il the necessary mechanical strength
| it is "armored" that is. wrapped spir-
ally with iron and steel wires. The
core is first served with jute yarns
10 provide bed for the srmor wires
and further service of the jute yarn
| is applied outside of these wires and
i finished with a coating OF preserya-
tive compound.
i Near the landing places. the armor
wires are large and heavy, TO with
stand chatting and injury from break
ing seas and heavy undertows and 10
minimize the risk of damage from an
chors in shallow water. This shore
end will weigh about twenty tons :"
the mile. 1t tapers down as the caDie
runs into deep water. where the
weight will be in the neighborhood
Of two tons per mile in deep water.
| Armor wires are small. but of great
| tensile strength. so that the cable
may be strong enough to stand being
raised to the surface again at some
future time. il it should become neces-
sary to make repairs. The CONSTRUCT
ton of the new cable thus required
the assembling of very considerable
i quantities Of raw materials, followed
by manufacturing operations on =
large scale. employing many men and
demanding much highly skilled technit
cal work and precise measurement,
and involving very heavy expendt!
lures.
The deep sea portion, of which the
cable mainly consists. will not be
much more than an inch and a qparter
in diameter. and contrary TO commot
belief. it will extend in the greatest
depths. sink down TO the bed OF the
ocean. 10 lie there in the darkness
and stiffness anywhere from 10000 10
Ii. 900 feet below the surface.