Evening star., 1933-10-08

theory of the existence OF the etner
and the German Mertz's spark-gap
transmissionS of electrical impulses
through that ether Today. scarcely a
year on this side Of 60, he is not content
to rest on his historic laurelS and COM
Portable fortune, but is eagerly en-
crossed in the conquest of new radio
worlds-the harnessing of untold num-
hers of wave lengths hitherto regarded
as useless, but now promising to usher
in a new era in communications.
Senator Marconi's current American
visit is merely brief interlude in his
continued experimental work, most OF
which he pursueS aboard his yacht Ell
letra, veritable floating laboratory.
His visit naturally has aroused consld-
erably more curiosity about his newest
discoveries than sporadic headlines and
sketchy reports from abroad have pro-
voked
Seek More Room in Ether.
Just what are these micro-waves on
which the great inventor rests so mucn
hope? They are radio wave lengths
measuring down to fractions OF one me-
ter. Not only Marconi, but other noted
radio scientists confidently expect that
these waves will soon make almost
limitleSS room in the ether available
for multitude of uses.
Plenty of wave lengths for televislon,
which requires many more than audlble
radio: plenty of waves for addltlonal
broadcasting stations; plenty OF waves
for the facsimile reproduction Of let
tiers, newspapers and all forms OF print
ed and written matter than can be
flashed through space; plenty OF waves
for radiotelegraph and radiotelephone
systems-these are some Of the pros
poets the micro-WaveS hold forth.
The shorter the wave length the
more wave lengths there are and the
less power required to use them. Thus
it has been calculated that between
10000 and 100000 kilocycles. or be-
tween 10 meters and one-tenth OF
meter 90 centimeters), there are from
1000 to 10000 tunable radio channels.
More than this, the use OF these chan-
nels can be duplicated many times Win,
in a country or throughout the Worio
without the interference usually result
ing on the longer wave lengths. At
present the longer wave channels sucn
as radiotelegraph, radlotelephone anu
broadcasting. can either not be dupli-
Gated at all or the stations using them
must be limited in power or spaced
widely enough apart to prevent the
"wave clashes" that ruin reception.
Micro-waves Travel Upward.
The problem of the so-called ultra.
short or micro-waves has been one OF
keeping their impulses travelling earth
ward instead of skyward. Where tney
are lost to infinity. This mas pee,,
solved partially by employing oeanl
transmission. which means tnat Ing
waves are directed toward a gwen POM
as if focused like searcnllgnt. &C. .
then the waves would not travel De.
,-ond Zine of sight" and would noI
penetrate natural barriers like hills anu anu
r,o1ntains or manmade barriers ike
big buildings. = ,,, n the
boTizon the curvature OF the eartii
tends to act as natural Darrlel, ..or a.
sorhing the micro-waveS. Inc peuuiits
of the waves beyond the horizon Hlucii
as base ball pitcher would throw d
r,,rye is one of the great Developments
that Marconi claims. More than tlat,
he saws that his extensive eXperll1lelltS
With micro-waves have definitely proved
that they are not subject 10 tne sanle
atmospheric and diurnal dlsturpaliCee
that often render the longer "ases
useless; in other words, lot WnaC iIa
son no one yet knows. tne[e - ie''
Earlv in 1882 Marconi announced
that transmitting on 81 centlmeters'
~ less than three-ffths of one meter.
he had established reliable telephonlsc C
Communications between the "Eiletra'
enchored in the Mediterranean. ana
,,oint in Sardinia. about ITO mics
aWav we'll beyond the horizon, IN
addition. he had established a rellap!e
radionhone system between the Vat-
can in Rome and the papal summer
home at Catelgondolfo, 20 miles away,
using similar ultra-short waves: Ine
Mower used in these experiments was
less than is employed in a small eiec-
trio light bulb.
Other Engineers Successful.
II would be unfair to say that Mar
coni has been alone in these expert
,nents and developments. In 1act: en-,
oineers 6f the American international
Telephone G. Telegraph Co. Spanneo
the English Channel on even shorter
waves being highly successful with 10
centimeters hree-twentieths OF
roeterl and establishing system OF
Communications used in connectlon
With British cross channel flying serv-
ices on waves of about that frequency.
The I. T. g. T. system, however, ooes
not. embrace "Wave bendlng peyollu
the horizon. which may be the answer
to long-distance transmission on tne
ultra shorts along With the Repeater
system that the Radio CorporStlon VI
America. which enjoys the Dement'S o!
oil Marconi developments, recently toio
the Federal Radio Commission 1t mas
nerfected. The I. T. & t. calls us
ultra shorts ''micro-rays" and uses
special audion tube generating ire
oi,encies at the rate of two billion per
second. whose oscillations are leo
through an aerial less than one men
IN Iength-not taller than a common
nin-wtich are concentrated by com.
i,ination of mirrors into a flne pencu
Of rays.
All this gives some idea of the course
the future of radio will pursue, with
countless wave lengths made aVallaple
for neX U-cS ard Tor the relic- OF tIH
world congestion that now exists IN tfie
ether There are these VINO oeNeVe
that giant power Will one day be
transmitted by radio and that every
day telephony will be carried on via
radio channels, but Marconi apparently
doesn't contemplate this almost un-
IMAGINABLE development.
VIII Revolutionze Radio.
4 Il idle to expect all these won
defs to be realized at once, but there
can be no doubt that the ultra-short
waves will revolutionize radio even as
Marconis wireless revolutionized mari
time. international and mass COM
munication Nevertheless, slowly but
surely the men of radio science, en-
couraged by their governments, Will
have their way. 1t was in 1873, Just
GO years ago. that Maxwell pronounced
his theory IA years later Heinrich
Hertz conducted his startling expert
ments; in 1895 Marconi put wireless to
practical use. demonstrating his inven-
tiou to the dubious military Of Europe
and America during the next half dozen
years or so.
Even Edison, who himself frst MT
upon the electronic tube in 1883-the
tube that DR.. Lee De Forest was to
1orfact to plare himself along with