The Coolidge examiner., 1931-05-15
Machines That Are
| Almost Human |
B y E. C. T AYLOR /
The Thought Transmitter

atny; In the power OF one in
dividual to transfer his thoughts to
the brain of another without speak
ing the words?
Science has approached such
phenomenon. A device has been per-
fected that enables speech, not
thought, to be projected into a
chosen brain by the mere pointing
of finger. Only the person select
ed to hear it can hear the speech.
In a crowded room no one else can
hear what the speaker has to inr-
part to his chosen hearer.
Scientists call the device a
thought transmitter, however. since
it is the speakers thoughts that are
transmitted, although they are put
into the form of words before they
are conveyed to the other person.
In any vast crowd, enveloped by
an immense silence, it is possible
for an operator of the electrostatic
projection machine to put words
into the mind of a chosen subject
merely by grasping the handle of
the machine and pointing his finger
at the ear of the subject.
The device has been demonstrate
ed to scientists and others through
out the country by Sergius 2.
Grace, assistant vice president of
the Bell Telephone laboratories
His uncanny device cOnfOunded
gatherings of electrical engineers
and industrial leaders in New York
and Chicago.
At the New York demonstration
Doctor Grace hooked up the ma
chine. grasped a terminal and
pointed a forefinger at the sub
ject's ear The latter heard a
speech stressing the fact that this
was merely a demonstration. No
one else in the room heard the
speech.
In Chicago, Doctor Grace, before
1000 members of the Illinois Man
ufacturers association, spoke into
a telephone tranSmitter, and by
means of an amplifer what he said
could be heard all over the ROOM
While he was speaking a part of
the current used was stored in a
delay" circuit, and part of the
speech was not broadcast.
After being stored four and a
half seconds, this electrical current
was transformed to high voltage
and passed into Doctor Grace's
body. At this stage of his demon
stration, Doctor Grace pointed a
finger at the ear of a member of
the audience, who then heard di-
rectly in his brain the same sen.
tence which Doctor Grace had
spoken into the telephone a few
minutes before.
This amazing feat, Doctor Grace
explained, was due to the ear drum
and surrounding tissues being made
to act as one plate of condenser
receiver, the resulting vibrations
Of the ear being interpreted by the
brain as speech.
This electrOstatic projection ap-
paratus in its present rudiamen'-
ary form, however, is still only a
scientists plaything, Doctor Grace
explained. but it opens wide field
for useful machines built on the
same principal.
Another device, demonstrated by
Doctor Grace at the same two gath
erings, has since been placed in use
in telephone exchanges.
Carrying a telephone into the
room. Doctor Grace requested a
member of the audience TO dial any
number. The spectator dialed a
number. and two minutes later a
loud speaker in the room. in a clear,
human voice, spoke the number and
exchange dialed This device is
now used in co-ordinating automat-
ic and voice telephone systems.
A device to keep radio CONVEX
satiOns secret also was demon
strated by Doctor Grace. Scientists
are working to perfect that ma
chine, for use when radio telephOn-
ing becomes more popular, and as
an instrument of communication in
time Of war.
The device "scrambies" any
speech sent over the radio ap-
paratus. This Scrambled" speech
is ordinary speech With the fire.
quencies. or tones, reversed. so
that the high frequencies become
low and the low freqnencies be-
come high. In other words, the
low tones become high and the high
tones Of ones speech become low
when scrambled" by the device.
Another newly invented device
attached to the. radio receiving ap-
naratus at the other end "unscram-
bles" the reversed speech and it is
heard in the form in which it orig,
inally was spoken.
"a 1881 Western Newspaper Tnlon)