The Telegraph It consisted of a device that transmitted coded messages through electrical signals. To do this, he used radio communications or wire lines. This device is considered the first means of electrical communication and its use was very important during the warlike confrontations..
For some prominent authors such as Alexandre Théophile Vandermonde (1735-1796), the invention of the telegraph symbolized a democratizing revolution. This conception was due to the fact that the device could communicate to many people over great distances, which allowed each one to express their wishes and opinions..
However, the well-known sociologist Armand Mattelart (1936) denied this conception. The author claimed that the telegraph did not have a true democratizing approach because it generally employed encrypted code. In addition, the State denied the open and free use of the device to citizens in order to maintain internal security..
As of 1985, the telegraph began to lose importance as a means of communication. This was due to the fact that short message services were introduced during this period. In addition, the use of email and mobile telephony was eventually established. This resulted in the closure of the telegraphic services of companies such as Western Union..
Despite this, the telegraph stood out as a form of communication for more than a century (from the late 18th century to the late 20th century) and contributed to later advances in wireless connections. The last company to provide telegraphic services was the Indian company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, which closed this product in 2013.
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Since the origins of humanity, man has had the need to communicate remotely quickly, either to prevent attacks or to know the consequences and development of battles.
Previously, the available medium consisted solely of light and sound, which could only be perceived by hearing and sight. Therefore, societies used fire at night and smoke during the day to send a message..
Consequently, the information transmitted was very brief. It only allowed to confirm events, so it was not possible to communicate the circumstances in which a certain event had developed.
For example, in the tragedy Agamemnon (458 BC) written by Aeschylus, it is narrated how the conqueror's wife learned of the fall of Troy that same night thanks to a bonfire lit by a traveler over several mountains until reaching the palace where the woman resided..
In 1753, the first proposal for what could be an electric telegraph was published. This article was published by Scots Magazine and it explained how a set of threads, stretched horizontally between two places, could be used to convey a message. This post was simply signed as C.M.
Subsequently, George Louis Lesage proposed in 1774 a plan similar to that of C.M. However, the threads had to be underground, so the author established that they had to be inserted into a ceramic tube that had divisions for each of the threads; this would avoid the influence of atmospheric electricity.
Two years later, Charles Agustín de Coulomb invented a torsion balance. This experiment made it possible to accurately measure the force of electric charges, proving that this force was proportional to the individual charges, while it was inversely proportional to the distance that separated them..
Thanks to this principle, in 1787 Lomond suggested a system that used a single thread where the letters were identified by the displacement produced by the different electrical forces that were sent.
After this, other personalities such as Luigi Galvani and Dr. Francisco Salvá proposed telegraphs based on static electricity, however, all these models continued to have the disadvantage of atmospheric influence.
The revolution in France had a notable influence on the creation of regular telegraphy. This was due to the fact that the French could not coordinate their allied forces due to the lack of communication between them..
Consequently, in 1790 Claude Chappe together with his brothers began to design a communication system that would satisfy the needs of the French nation. By then, attempts at electric telegraphs had already been made, however, Chappe decided to go for optical telegraphy.
This telegraphy used the use of spyglasses to send messages, which were encrypted. The images produced by the spyglasses could be visible at a maximum distance of twelve kilometers.
In 1830, the first public railway circulated, which connected Manchester with Liverpool. Its impact on communications was revolutionary, as it allowed people to travel in the same time it took for information to arrive through the optical telegraph..
For this reason, it became essential to achieve a more efficient telegraph that also allowed to regulate rail traffic and notify the arrival of trains. This new phenomenon inspired Baron Schilling to introduce the use of five needles with the aim of passing electric current through the magnetized needle..
Schilling's telegraph was a step forward in the development of this apparatus. Following this, a series of needle telegraphs designed by prominent inventors such as William Fothergill Cooke were manufactured..
Below is a brief chronology of the development of the telegraph:
As mentioned in previous paragraphs, Schilling was one of the forerunners in the development of the telegraph. In 1832, he built an electromagnetic telegraph, which consisted of a board of sixteen black and white keys which sent a series of characters.
On the other hand, the receiving apparatus consisted of six needles whose change of direction decoded the characters.
In 1833, these two scientists and friends managed to install one of the first telegraph lines on the rooftops of the city of Göttingen (Germany). This line covered 1,200 meters and allowed the union of the astronomical observatory with the university of the city.
In 1836, the scientist David Alter built the first electric telegraph on the American continent; This was nicknamed Elderton.
Although the inventor confirmed its operation in front of a number of witnesses, this telegraph could never become a practical device. Hence, it was overshadowed by the Morse telegraph, which emerged on the same date..
In 1836, Samuel Morse made a very stout but simple device: it was a pencil that drew in a straight line when it did not have electrical flow. On the other hand, when there was an electric current the pencil -connected to a pendulum- formed a line.
After some adjustments, Morse was able to create the famous code that bears his name with the help of machinist Alfred Vail. Morse code is a binary system that forms characters through three symbols: space, period and dash..
In 1856, Hughes built a telegraph printing system. This device consisted of a 28-key keyboard (with certain similarities to those of the typewriter), where each press was equivalent to sending a signal that allowed a wheel to print the corresponding character.
Hughes was unable to market the invention in his country, as Morse obtained a patent for his telegraph. However, he managed to sell the idea to Carlos Luis Napoleón Bonaparte (known as Napoleon III).
This device had the particularity that it surpassed Samuel Morse's invention in terms of speed, since it transmitted up to sixty words in a minute, while Morse's only twenty-five.
By the 1850s, the telegraph had managed to spread throughout most of Europe and North America. However, the use of submarine lines had not yet been perfected, which were interrupted when they reached the shores of the ocean..
Subsequently, a successful cable was laid across the Strait of Calais. This prompted scientists to build a network of submarine lines linking Africa to Europe, along with the intermediate set of islands..
The telegraph was a device that used electrical pulses to send coded messages through a cable to a receiver, which decoded the message.
The telegraph could not transmit other data or voices; it only used the coded pulses to send the content. The most famous coding system used by telegraphs was that designed by Samuel Morse.
Generally, Morse telegraphs had a lever that connected two stacks placed at a short distance.
Likewise, the fulcrum of said lever was connected to the line that conducted the pulsations. When the lever was pressed briefly, the current from the batteries marked a point; On the other hand, if the pressure was longer, a line was marked.
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