Wireless Telegraphy
Signor Marconi, by means of his system of wireless telegraphy, has at length succeeded in transmitting the equivalent of the letter “s” from Europe to America. A glance at the work of the young inventor, however, will show that his success is not yet insured.
His system—indeed, we might say all systems—of wireless telegraphy depends upon the properties of luminiferous ether—that mysterious medium that is supposed to exist in every known substance. The discharge of an electric spark produces in this ether a bubble-like wave which radiates in all directions. It is upon the reception and recording, at Newfoundland, of this wave, produced at England, that the success of Marconi’s experiment depends.
Even to the ordinary mind, such a proposition presents innumerable difficulties. One of the most apparent would be the confusion arising from two sets of signals operated in the same locality. But just as we can throw all the rays of a search-light in one direction, Marconi reflects these waves of ether toward his receiving station.
Perhaps one of the real drawbacks of this system would be the expense of maintaining a current of sufficient voltage to signal long distances. Nevertheless, we feel confident that, whether it be from the brain of Marconi or Tesla, or the united efforts of Orling and Armstrong, wireless telegraphy is insured to the future.