While
we often think of the telephone having the greatest impact on modern
telecommunications, the invention of the radio by Guglielmo Marconi far
surpassed it. A German physicist named
Heinrich Hertz actually discovered radio waves, proving that electromagnetic
waves could be sent from Earth all the way into space long before anyone took
one giant leap for all mankind. Hertz
never made any money off his discovery and died before it actually became a
profitable venture.
Marconi
had read about Hertz in the paper and realized he could use what had come to be
known as Hertzian waves to create the first wireless telegraph. By 1895 his experiments allowed him to send
wireless signals for over one mile. His
native Italy would not fund Marconi’s experiments but England was more than
willing, investing in its commercial development.
By
1898 the first wireless factory had opened, capable of successfully sending
fully coded wireless transmissions over a distance of almost sixty miles. As more and more ships started to use his
technology, Marconi created specific dedicated circuits that could be tuned for
wireless transmission and, in so doing, isolate all other transmissions to
provide an uninterrupted concentrated signal.
By 1901 a signal could be transmitted successfully across the Atlantic
Ocean.
Marconi’s
wireless transmitter was even used on the ill-fated Titanic voyage. While rescuers could not reach the survivors
in time to save Leonardo DiCaprio from an icy death, signals transmitted using
the technology helped save hundreds of others, including the eventual rescue of
Kate Winslet. My heart will carry on
until next time….
