17. Telecommunications, the best possible use of electronics
The electromagnetic telegraph spelt the end of semaphore towers, smoke signals and carrier pigeons. From the moment that Samuel Morse failed to test his electrical telegraph, but nonetheless devised the iconic ‘Morse Code’, global communication has never been the same. Sending an electrical impulse down a copper line, and forming it around a simple code of dots and dashes presaged the electronic age with uncanny accuracy. This binary system allowed for practical communication over long distances, and as such it revolutionized everything from warfare to travel.
The first trans-Atlantic cable line was successfully completed in July 1866, and before long, international cable systems were linking Europe with Africa, Asia and Australia, commencing the age of the ‘telegram’. Alexander Graham Bell, of course, was the first to test drive a conventional telephone, and by the turn of the century, the telephone was ubiquitous throughout the world.
It required a heavy outlay of infrastructure, but it gradually shrunk the world. Before long we had the radio, and soon the television, all thanks to the work in wireless technology pioneered by Guglielmo Marconi. FM, AM became a fact of life, and WWII sparked an explosion of creative innovation. The post WWII period saw a telephone in every home, a TV in every corner, and computerization…
Yes indeed, without telecommunications, where would we be?
