Evening star., 1942-10-05
By Wide World.

| 0y Wloe world.
NEW YORK, Oct. 5.-Engineer-
ing skill has nudged aside barriers
Of time and space to give Americans
q pictorial glimpse Of war in far
places with two marvels Of modern
science-the cablephoto and the ra-
diophoto.
Within a comparatively short
time after bombing raid on Lon
don, tank attack In the Egyptian
/ desert, or the landing of troops in
Australia, pictures of the action are
transmitted to the United States.
They are picked out Of the ether
or from electrical impulses pouring
through undersea cables. Within q
few minutes after reception in the
United States, the pictures are
flashed by Associated Press Wire
photo to newspapers in every part
OF the country.
Many newspaper readers have
been puzzled by seeing pictures of
battle scenes In print only a few
hours after action thousands Of
miles away. Part of the secret lies
in the word "cablephoto" or "ra-
diophoto'' at the bottom of the pic
lures.
War naturally has increased the
transmission of pictures by cable
and radio. When there is any par
ticularly dramatic action abroad
such as the commando raid on
Dieppe, the New York receiving sta
tions of the Western Union Tele-
graph Co. and RCA Communications
Inc. are hives of activity.
Pioneered in 1920,
In the pioneer method of trans
Atlantic picture transmission, pic
lures were sent over Western Union
cables through an adaptation Of the
standard telegraph code. In 1920
the pictures taken at the interna-
tional yacht races were sent from
New York to London. The method
was perfected by 1922 and was used
commercially between London and
New York from August, 1925, until
July, 1896. Transmission was rela-
lively slow and the results were in
ferior judged by modern standards.
Western Unions modern cable
photo operations got under way
commercially in 1899 after engineer
ing experts achieved method of
cable transmission greatly reducing
the sending time and minimizing
the effects of static or other earth
disturbances even though the cable
circuit from London to New York
includes 5000 miles of ocean cable
and 315 miles of land lines.
Transmission of both radiophotos
and cablephotos Is a highly syn
chronized process, the major differ
ence lying in the fact that cable
photos travel by wire and RADIO
photos by radio waves through the
air.
In sending a picture from London,
by cable or by radio, a picture is
placed on cylinder in a sending
machine. The cylinder rotates in
synchronization with a similar CYL
inder in New York in which there is
an unexposed Photographic film.
Picture Is Scanned"
AS the London cylinder revolves,
the picture is scanned" by a small,
spot of light which is reflected on
photo-electrio cell. The lights and
shadows on the picture are trans
lated into electrical impulses which
vary in intensity with the whites,
grays and blacks on the picture
In New York the electric impulses
transmitted through the air or
pushed through the cable by ampli-
fiers at strategic intermediary points
ARE converted to light which varies
in intensity with the impulses and
exposes the Photographic film.
In ust 20 minutes by cable or 10
minutes by radio after London starts
sending, the Aim is exposed in New
York and rushed to a dark room for