It will thus be seen that there is an entire abolition of ground connection, which, Professor Braun claims, practically avoids all atmospheric disturbances.[59] The details of the receiving arrangement are as follows:—The coherer tube consists of an ebonite tube containing hard steel particles of a uniform size, placed in the adjustable space between two polished steel electrodes. It is found that with this steel coherer, a small amount of magnetism in the particles increases its sensitiveness, and to obtain this, a ring magnet is employed in connection with a coherer tube. Receiving apparatus arranged on this system is said to have been used for telegraphing between Heligoland and Cuxhaven, a distance of thirty-six miles.
All the immense experience, however, gained by Mr. Marconi and those who have worked with his system, is in favour of using the earth connection. There is no doubt that Hertzian wave telegraphy can be conducted over short distances by means of totally insulated aerials, but for long distances the earth connection is essential, for the reasons that have been explained previously.
There are many of the details of the receiving arrangements which remain to be considered. If the communication is received by a telegraphic instrument like the Morse printer, which requires a current of anything like ten milliamperes to work it, then an important element in the receiving arrangement is the relay. The relay that is generally used is a modified form of the Siemens polarised relay, which is so adjusted as to make a single contact. For marine work on board ship, it is essential that this relay shall be balanced so that variations in position shall not affect it. Sometimes the relay is hung in gimbals like a compass, and at other times suspended from a support by elastic bands, so as to avoid jolting. In any case, the relay must be so adjusted that no change of position will cause it to close the circuit of the telegraphic printer or recorder. Its sensibility ought to be such that it is actuated by a tenth of a milliampere, and, if possible, even by less. The alteration of sensibility in the ordinary contact form of relay is the pressure that is necessary to bring the platinum points of the circuit closer together, so as to pass the minimum current which will work the telegraph printer.
The important matter, however, in connection with the use of the relay in Hertzian wave telegraphy, is that it should be capable of adjustment without extraordinary skill. It is no use to put into the hands of an operator a relay which requires abnormal dexterity to make it work at all.
It remains, then, to consider some of the questions connected with practical Hertzian wave telegraphy and the problem of the limitation of communication. These matters at the present moment very much occupy the public attention, and many conflicting opinions are expressed concerning them.
It may be observed at the outset that the difficulty of dealing with the subject as freely as many desire is that Hertzian wave telegraphy is no longer merely a subject of scientific investigation, but has developed into a business and involves, therefore, other interests than the simple advancement of scientific knowledge. We can, however, discuss in a general manner some of the scientific problems which present themselves for solution. The first of these is the independence of communication between stations. It is desirable, at the outset, to clear up a little misunderstanding. There is a great difference between preventing the reception of communication when it is not desired by the recipient, and preventing it when it is the object of the latter to overhear if he can. It is, therefore, necessary to distinguish between isolation and overhearing. We may say that a station is isolated when it is not affected by Hertzian waves other than those it desires to receive; but that a station overhears when it can, if it chooses, pick up communications not intended for it, or cannot help receiving them against its will.
This distinction is a perfectly fair one. Any telegraph or telephone wire can be tapped, if it is desired, but unless there is some fault on the line, no station will receive a message against its desires. Moreover, it may be noted that there are penalties attached to tapping a telegraph wire, and at present there are none connected with the misappropriation of an ether wave.
We shall, therefore, consider in the first place the methods so far proposed for preventing any given receiver from being affected by Hertzian waves sent out from other stations, except that of those from which it is desired to receive them. The first method is that which has been called the method of electrical syntony, and consists in adjusting the electrical capacity and inductance of the various open and closed circuits of the receiving and transmitting stations to be put in communication so that they have the same electrical time-period.[60]