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Home  Early History of Electrical Communication The Invention of the Electromagnetic Telegraph |
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The Invention of the Electromagnetic TelegraphMorse was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in April, 1791, and was graduated from Yale University in 1810. He was interested in both science and art. In fact, it was while returning from a study of art in Europe that Morse conceived the principle of his telegraph. On board the ship in October, 1832, a fellow passenger showed Morse an electromagnet and performed a number of experiments with it. Also, Morse learned that the speed of electricity was considered almost instantaneous.
He concluded that, if he could arrange a satisfactory detecting device, signals could be rapidly transmitted between distant points. In an early instrument shown in Fig. 1, Morse had a stylus attached to a movable armature which was actuated by the pull of an electromagnet. The stylus traced a record of the dot and dash code impulses on a moving piece of paper. About 1835, Morse privately demonstrated his telegraph and obtained the backing of Gale and Vail. These men obtained financial aid and later made improvements. The early sending swritch was operated by drawing beneath it either a notched bar or a bar in which pegs were arranged in accordance with a code. After traversing a few miles of line, the received currents were too weak to operate the receiving apparatus. Morse, with the aid of Gale and Henry, devised the relay system shown in Fig. 2. The received currents passed through a coil, and an armature was actuated, closing a battery circuit and sending over the outgoing line an impulse from this local battery many times more intense than the signal received.
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Last Update: 2011-04-25