Telephone
Aldis Isaac
The Background
In the late 1800s, the telegraph was the most common and efficient way of communicating with each other. However, the art of telegraphing slowed down the flow of communication especially over longer distances. This type of communication did not allow the exchange of information to be efficient in businesses. Thus, a new invention was needed and this would be very pertinent, so that communication could be more effective and efficient.
“The professor-inventor, who had thus rescued the tiny foundling of science, was a young Scottish American… his name, now known as widely as the telephone itself, was Alexander Graham Bell”.[1] Bell was known as a teacher of acoustics but he was very inspired to learn about the ability of electricity. The idea of the unknown telephone was the first adventure that Bell was interested in, with the combination of electricity and wires. He knew that he was creating something incredible and that it was something that electricity was never known to be able to do.
The Turning Point
“The word telephone is derived from two Greek words, tele [means] distant and phone [means] voice, and so may be applied to any instrument which enables us to hear the voice at further distance than it can be heard by ordinary means”.[2] As time progressed, Bell worked tirelessly to find a way for the easy transmission of speech, after he had discovered the concept of the telephone. “Bell sought something revolutionary to transmit the sound of the human voice”.[3] Bell wanted to combine his acoustic abilities and the use of the telegraph. “This fact that an electro-magnet would set a tuning-fork humming was new to Bell and very attractive…if a tuning-fork could be made to sing by a magnet or an electrified wire, why would it not be possible to make a musical telegraph”.[4] This process was not easy and it took lots of trials and failures to finally succeed in transforming from the telegraph to the telephone. “Bell began experimenting with different objects and a surgeon suggested that he used a real ear from a dead body; Bell was intrigued by the idea and watched closely the vibrations of the drum as he spoke into the ear”[5].
“On the memorable hot afternoon in June, 1875, the full TWANG of the clock-spring came over wire and the telephone was born”.[6] The telephone was now in existence and it quickly became popular around the nation. The flow of communication had now vastly sped up over longer distances and this enabled many citizens to exchange information more effectively and efficiently.
The Effects on Humanity
The telephone holds a lot of significance in the way humanity communicates globally. In the period of the telegraph, it took messages a very long time to get to the sender and then to receive a feedback from the receiver. There was a delay in communication and this caused communication to be slowed down. However, the telephone was one of the greatest inventions involved with the way people communicate. Messages are now being sent the same day, hour and even minute with an instant response that very same day, hour or minute. There has been an elimination of the third person to carry the message and therefore this is much cheaper to the sender and receiver of the message.
“In speaking of the uses of the telephone there is no need to say anything about the many and various purposes for which it may be employed commercially, but I may just ask what we would not sometimes give to hold converse with dear ones who have been long absent from us, and to hear their sweet voice”.[7] The telephone was really impressive especially because humanity was capable of staying in touch more and communicating more without having to leave the comfort of their homes. The telephone did not only affect the domestic arena but the commercial arena as well; businesses were now able to exchange information with customers and other businesses more swiftly. This was a way to cut costs and still generate profits. Therefore, communication was made more effective, efficient and faster with the artistic invention of the telephone.
[1] Herbert Casson. The History of the Telephone. August, 2008. Pg.13
[2] Samuel Garner. The Telephone: Its History, Construction and Uses. 1878. Pg. 5
[3] Joan Brodsky Schur. “Teaching With Documents: Alexander Graham’s Bell Patent for the Telephone and Thomas Edison’d Patent for the Electric Lamp”. Pg. 1
[4] Casson. The History of the Telephone. 2008. Pg. 17
[5] Casson. The History of the Telephone. 2008. Pg. 26
[6] Casson. The History of the Telephone. 2008. Pg. 31
[7] Samuel Garner. The Telephone. 1878. Pg. 20
Bibliography
Casson, Herbert. The History of the Telephone. A. C. McClurg and Co. Chicago, Illinois. 2008. 11-42.
Garner, Samuel. The Telephone: Its History, Construction and Uses. Simpkin, Marshall and Co. London. 1878. 4-24.
Mackay, James. Alexander Graham Bell: A Life. John Wiley and Sons Inc. New York. 1997.
Schultz, Kevin M. HIST3, Volume 2: History since 1865. Wadsworth. Boston, Massachusetts. 2010. 295-296.
Schur, Joan Brodsky. Teaching With Documents: Alexander Graham’s Bell Patent for the Telephone and Thomas Edison’d Patent for the
Electric Lamp. New York, New York. 1.
Aldis Isaac
The Background
In the late 1800s, the telegraph was the most common and efficient way of communicating with each other. However, the art of telegraphing slowed down the flow of communication especially over longer distances. This type of communication did not allow the exchange of information to be efficient in businesses. Thus, a new invention was needed and this would be very pertinent, so that communication could be more effective and efficient.
“The professor-inventor, who had thus rescued the tiny foundling of science, was a young Scottish American… his name, now known as widely as the telephone itself, was Alexander Graham Bell”.[1] Bell was known as a teacher of acoustics but he was very inspired to learn about the ability of electricity. The idea of the unknown telephone was the first adventure that Bell was interested in, with the combination of electricity and wires. He knew that he was creating something incredible and that it was something that electricity was never known to be able to do.
The Turning Point
“The word telephone is derived from two Greek words, tele [means] distant and phone [means] voice, and so may be applied to any instrument which enables us to hear the voice at further distance than it can be heard by ordinary means”.[2] As time progressed, Bell worked tirelessly to find a way for the easy transmission of speech, after he had discovered the concept of the telephone. “Bell sought something revolutionary to transmit the sound of the human voice”.[3] Bell wanted to combine his acoustic abilities and the use of the telegraph. “This fact that an electro-magnet would set a tuning-fork humming was new to Bell and very attractive…if a tuning-fork could be made to sing by a magnet or an electrified wire, why would it not be possible to make a musical telegraph”.[4] This process was not easy and it took lots of trials and failures to finally succeed in transforming from the telegraph to the telephone. “Bell began experimenting with different objects and a surgeon suggested that he used a real ear from a dead body; Bell was intrigued by the idea and watched closely the vibrations of the drum as he spoke into the ear”[5].
“On the memorable hot afternoon in June, 1875, the full TWANG of the clock-spring came over wire and the telephone was born”.[6] The telephone was now in existence and it quickly became popular around the nation. The flow of communication had now vastly sped up over longer distances and this enabled many citizens to exchange information more effectively and efficiently.
The Effects on Humanity
The telephone holds a lot of significance in the way humanity communicates globally. In the period of the telegraph, it took messages a very long time to get to the sender and then to receive a feedback from the receiver. There was a delay in communication and this caused communication to be slowed down. However, the telephone was one of the greatest inventions involved with the way people communicate. Messages are now being sent the same day, hour and even minute with an instant response that very same day, hour or minute. There has been an elimination of the third person to carry the message and therefore this is much cheaper to the sender and receiver of the message.
“In speaking of the uses of the telephone there is no need to say anything about the many and various purposes for which it may be employed commercially, but I may just ask what we would not sometimes give to hold converse with dear ones who have been long absent from us, and to hear their sweet voice”.[7] The telephone was really impressive especially because humanity was capable of staying in touch more and communicating more without having to leave the comfort of their homes. The telephone did not only affect the domestic arena but the commercial arena as well; businesses were now able to exchange information with customers and other businesses more swiftly. This was a way to cut costs and still generate profits. Therefore, communication was made more effective, efficient and faster with the artistic invention of the telephone.
[1] Herbert Casson. The History of the Telephone. August, 2008. Pg.13
[2] Samuel Garner. The Telephone: Its History, Construction and Uses. 1878. Pg. 5
[3] Joan Brodsky Schur. “Teaching With Documents: Alexander Graham’s Bell Patent for the Telephone and Thomas Edison’d Patent for the Electric Lamp”. Pg. 1
[4] Casson. The History of the Telephone. 2008. Pg. 17
[5] Casson. The History of the Telephone. 2008. Pg. 26
[6] Casson. The History of the Telephone. 2008. Pg. 31
[7] Samuel Garner. The Telephone. 1878. Pg. 20
Bibliography
Casson, Herbert. The History of the Telephone. A. C. McClurg and Co. Chicago, Illinois. 2008. 11-42.
Garner, Samuel. The Telephone: Its History, Construction and Uses. Simpkin, Marshall and Co. London. 1878. 4-24.
Mackay, James. Alexander Graham Bell: A Life. John Wiley and Sons Inc. New York. 1997.
Schultz, Kevin M. HIST3, Volume 2: History since 1865. Wadsworth. Boston, Massachusetts. 2010. 295-296.
Schur, Joan Brodsky. Teaching With Documents: Alexander Graham’s Bell Patent for the Telephone and Thomas Edison’d Patent for the
Electric Lamp. New York, New York. 1.