The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1935-01-30
Where Is TelevisiOn?
New York T'imes)

Last weeks announcement that en-.
gineers OF the Bell Telephone Labor
atories had developed q wire within
Z wire" whereby it becomes possible
to send the equivalent Of 200 differ
ent telephone message currents
through q single circuit was coupled
with the statement that great pro-
blem In television had been solved.
The hope was thus aroused that the
time had come when we may sec q
face In San Francisco. Engineers
know better. The new "coaxial cir
cult" as 1t Is technically known,
makes its appearance in advance OF
its time. True, it seems suitable for
linking dozens Of television broad
casting stations together. But where
Is television? Ever since 1928 we
have been assured that it is "juSt
around the corner" There it per-
sists in hiding until principles OF
which we are not even aware are dis
covered.
AS yet television Is limited to sta
tions with q normal range Of thirty
miles provided no high structure in
tervenes between tranSmitter and re-
ceiver, and this because the waves
that carry images must be quasi-op-
teal. In other words. they are so
short that, like light, they are un-
able to pierce skyscrapers. Hence the
elevations at which most stations are
installed. The difficulty Is one OF
meditation, by which the engineers
mean q process Of molding or Sculp-
turing waves to suit the voice or the
image to be conveyed. To telegraph,
we have but to interrupt q train OF
waves for shorter or longer periods
q crude form OF incubation which
gives us the dots and dastes Of the
Morse CODE When We telephone,
each wave In train must be electri.
cally sculptured to assume a shape
that corresponds with that Of parti-
cular vowel or consonant. Thousands
Of waves a second must thus be shap-
ed. In television the process must
occur In the minutest fraction Of q
second. The electrical modulating or
sculpturing instrument must be fin
er than the wave. It Is impossible to
carve a cameo with q chisel. SINH
larly, In television there must be
waves enough in . second to sculp-
ture or modulate II we are to see q
flow Of complicated images. To send
out waves at q frequently Of 1000 900
q second--that adopted for most au-
dible broadcasting-is Of no help at
NJ fhQnn
to sculpture. Hence the 10000, 900
quasi optical waves a second now sent
out by television transmitters. Elec-
tSical chisels can carve these into the
necessary forms 50 that when trans
lated into light they become recog-
nizable as people or things. But the
range is limited.
There are also economic difficulties.
When television comes q new drama
or other feature at least every week
and possibly every night would be de-
manded. The expense would be ap-
palling. The television Of news events
to interlard plays and vaudeville
sketches It out Of the question. Cor
ouatious, inaugurations and similar
practicable events might be sent
through space or over wires. But the
unexpected occurrences that are daily
recorded In . incorporation these
there can b no preparation. Yet
despite all these obstacles, who can
doubt that television will some day
supplement our present means OF
electrical communication? Never
was an invention so eagerly awaited.