We are discovering the future of communication through the trials and errors of the past. One can only realize the future once one has a security of the past.
James W. McDonough, from Chicago, Illinois, was one of the first inventors to de-throne Bell. McDonough was a manufacturer, who had a hobby of experimenting with electricity to create sound. He invented the Teleloge on April 10, 1876 and applied for a patent. McDonough was not as fortunate as some of the inventors. His patent had to be sent to Patent Post Office Hearing, which took eight years.
The major setback with McDonough's invention was not the actual receiver, but his transmitter. The transmitter was indentical to Reis. He also followed in Reis's foot steps by making the same mistakes and reffering to it as the circuit breaker. Both men had not been familiarized with the microphone mode.
It is very interesting when people have the same ideas, but one person gets a patent where the other gets nothing. Many of the invetors were facing the same problems.
"In the United States, in interference actions, the patent goes to the inventor who can prove priority of conception, not necessarily to the one who was first to file" (Evenson).
Works Cited: Evenson, Edward A. "The McDonoughTelephone Transmitter." Antique Telephone History Website. 14 June 2009 .
Alexander Graham Bell was an electrical mastermind. He was always looking for a challenge even after many inventions. Another one of his famous inventions was the liquid transmitter. The working theory of Bell's Liquid transmitter is pretty straightforward. A wire that is connected to the bottom of the parchment diaphragm is supposed to slightly touch the water. The purpose was to create an electrical current with a very small amount of acid. The words would be spoken on the top of the diaphragm causing it to flex up and down. By doing that the attached wire has more or less contact with the water, therefore to transform the circuit resistance.The example below is a demonstration of that.
This Information Revolution was a dramatic change taking place in the last half of the 20th century. This uprising created jobs from the high technology and highly skilled professions to the technologically low-skill jobs. Beginning with the invention of the integrated circuit or computer chip, our lives have ultimately been revolutionized. These chips run our appliances, provide calculators, computers, and other electronic devices that control our world. Thus, the birth of the Internet had finally come. This information superhighway has permitted people to communicate using computers all around the globe.
E-mail has come a long way over the years and has surely made an impact on society. From the earliest stages of simple window boxes and unified fonts to the various options upon options that we have today, our world of technology has evolved immensely and made communication more accommodating and accessible.
During World War One, carrier pigeons were used to relay messages. Communication was very important during the war. These birds were used to report progress, request supplies, and even call for help. Carrier pigeons flew on their own while the message was placed in a small container attached to the bird’s leg. Each field commander had his own small group of pigeons that he relied on. Others flew aboard airplanes, while some even wore cameras to take pictures of the enemy. At the beginning of the war, the American troops had 600 carrier pigeons. The most famous bird was named Cher Ami. He flew multiple missions, while his most important took place on October 4, 1918. Major Whittlesey and his men were trapped on the side of a hill. They were completely surrounded by the enemy. Many of the men were killed the first day, almost 300 total. He sent out all of his birds to express his dire need of help. After all the other birds were killed, Whittlesey sent up his last hope, Cher Ami, with a note containing his location and need. He watched as the Germans fired relentlessly at Cher. Miraculously, he seemed to dodge the bullets and continued to fly 25 miles to his destination. Upon delivering his last message, he sadly died as a result of his many war wounds. He saved the mens lives and was named a hero of World War One. Carrier pigeons were the most reliable form of contact among troops during the war. Telegraphs, the only other form of communicating, would not function in these settings. They could not run wires across the battle front. As time progressed, and technology advanced the armed forces have found better means of communication, and the use of carrier pigeons has since faded out.
This commericial aired during the 2008 SuperBowl. Check it Out
Before Alexander Graham Bell many other inventors had comparable ideas. The image above is an instrument that was created by Phillip Reis. He was a physics instructor from Friedrichsdorf, Germany. When this receiver was invented everyone had the idea that it was another type of electro-magnetic receiver, but that was not the case. The receiver functioned by a hidden experiment was called magnetostriction. This reaction happens when an iron rod becomes longer or shorter when under the influence of a magnetic field. The receiver above was used for a telephone transmitter. It uses elevated levels of current, but not responsive as the common electro-magnetic receiver, but able to be understood on a call.
The picture you see above is the original telegraph transmitter and receiver manufactured by Samuel Morse in 1837. This device happens to be the first working mechanism to convert and transform information into an electrical form and transmit that information accurately over long distances. The words "What hath God wrought!" resounded in the ears of many as the world famous message sent for the first successful time using the telegraph. The dots and dashes were communicated between the U.S. Capitol in Washington and Mount Clare Depot in Baltimore May 28, 1844. Ironically enough, telegrams are still used today, even in a world that has moved so fast in accommodating technology and Hi-tech equipment such as mobile phones, internet, email, etc.
It’s unbelievable how much we have advanced in technology. Whenever people think of the first telephone, they think of the crank wall telephone. The ability to have a conversation with others cross country was far from being reached in the early 1700’s. That is until two brilliant inventors, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell, designed the first telephone which looked nothing like it does today.
Both men were extremely gifted and wanted their idea patented. One clearly got his idea patented within hours of the other inventor. It was the famous Alexander Graham Bell, who was the first, to receive a patent for the most basic operating telephone. After such victory, Bell and Gray entered into a legal conflict, which concluded in Bell winning.
On June 2, 1875, Bell discovers that he can use a wire to hear voices. But it wasn’t until March 10, 1976 when Bell not only created the birth of the telephone, but at the same time destroyed the telegraph. Shortly after, he was able to hear the first voice.
Alexander Graham Bell was a sharp man and incredible creator. The communication potential he was able to achieve has significantly changed the world. With his invention he created the ability to utilize electricity. Bells telephone was able to outperform any system at the time. This invention made it easy for the world to communicate.
