Historical Events in the Development of Telecommunication Technologies

1727 Experimenters sent an electrical 1844 Public use of telegraph lines began
impulse along a wire thread over a distance
of more than 0.25 km. 1846 Royal E. House invented the printing
telegraph. It was a primitive system that
1791 Claude Chappe invented the required two operators to send a message. It
semaphore telegraph. It was used to send an only lasted a few years.
optical image over a distance of almost 700
km in less than one hour. 1848 The Associated Press was
established to pool telegraphic expenses.
1819 Hans Oersted reported the deflection
of a pivoted, magnetized needle by an 1854 The telegraph was first used by the
electric current. Anglo-French military to maintain contact
between troops and their command
1831 Michael Faraday showed that headquarters during the Crimean war.
vibrations of a piece of iron or steel could be
converted into electrical impulses. The fact 1856 Two submarine cables were laid
that vibrations such as those produced by the from Newfoundland to Canada.
human voice or any sound for that matter, 1866 Two submarine cables were laid
can be registered by a piece of metal and from Ireland to Newfoundland
converted to electrical impulses, and vice
versa, is what makes I possible for 1874 Thomas Edison designed the
telephones to ‘carry the voice’, or for stereo quadruplex, enabling eight telegraph
speakers to convert an electrical current operators to handle four messages
from a stereo receiver into sound. simultaneously, two in each direction, all on
the same line.
1832 Samuel Morse developed ideas to
use electromagnets in telegraphy 1875 C.R. Carey designed a primitive kind
of television system. The system was not
1835 Samuel Morse developed the Morse practical for wide use.
Code as a series of dots and dashes
1876 Alexander Graham Bell was granted
1837 The English inventors, Cooke and a patent for the telephone
Wheatstone, demonstrated the use of a five-
needle electric telegraph for the railroad in 1878 The first commercial telephone
England. switching station was set up in Connecticut.
Irt served 21 telephones
1837 Samuel Morse demonstrated his first
telegraph key and filed a patent for it. 1778 The typewriter was adapted to the
telegraph office.
1842 Samuel Morse oversaw the laying of
the first underwater cable in New York 1880 Telephones were becoming generally
Harbor available to the public

1843 The first telegraph line was built. It

ran between Baltimore, Maryland and
Washington- a total distance of 60 km.
1884 Paul Nipkow was granted the first 1948 The first commercial operation of
patent for a television device in Germany. television systems began in the United
Nipkow could not afford to develop his States.
television scanner very far, and his patent
lapsed. 1950 RCA received approval from the
Federal Communications Commission for
1896 The Italian inventor Guglielmo their development of a color television that
Marconi sent the first recorded message was compatible with existing systems.
through space by electromagnetic waves, i.e.
radio waves 1957 The world’s first human made
satellite was put into orbit by the Soviet
1900 Strong copper wire was developed. Union
Prior to this, all wires were made of iron,
which rusted quickly and did not conduct 1962 Telstar was launched. It was the first
electricity as well as copper. active satellite that functioned as a
microwave transmitter and receiver. It
1901 Marconi succeeded in transmitting transmitted live telephone and television
and receiving wireless signals between conversations over the Atlantic. It was only
Newfoundland and Cornwall, England. used fro several months before becoming
outdated
1903 Donald Murray of England
introduced a scheme that involved punching 1963 Syncom II, the first geosynchronous
holes in paper tape to send a message. satellite (a satellite that orbits the Earth at
This was the forerunner of the more the speed of the Earth’s rotation, thus
common teleprinters, such as the teletype. remaining continuously over one spot on
1906 Lee de Forest invented the three- Earth) was positioned over the Atlantic
element vacuum tube, which became useful Ocean.
as an amplifier in a telephone repeating
1964 Syncom III transmitted the first
system.
sustained television picture, the opening of
1923 Vladymir K. Zworykin patented the the Olympic Games in Tokyo, from across
iconoscope, an electronic scanning vacuum the Pacific.
tube. Tubes like these were soon to be
incorporated into television. 1969 The sending of the Apollo 11
spacecraft to the Moon. On July 20, Neil
1926 Teletype machines became widely Armstrong stepped off the lunar landing
used in North America.
module and transmitted his message to
1927 John Baird demonstrated a complete Earth: “That’s one small step for man; one
television system that used mechanical giant leap for mankind”.
scanning of the objects. The pictures
produced were very poor. 1972 Canada became the first country to
establish a geosynchronous domestic
1939 NBC of New York gave public satellite system (TELESAT) for television
demonstrations of television transmissions at programming. With increasing technology,
the World’s Fair. the sizes of receiving dishes were being
1946 High frequency microwave radio reduced. This enables an explosion in the
links were introduced. number of receiver stations around the world
as both radio and television industries Electromagnetic waves -can travel in
became active users of satellites. vacuum and in material media.
1981 Deployment of the Canadarm, a Direction of Propagation
remote manipulator system used on thje
Transverse Waves - particles of the medium
space shuttle. It is used to place, repair,and
are vibrating perpendicularly to the direction
retrieve communication satellites in space.
of wave propagation. Made up of alternating
1986 Voyager 2 transmits satellite hills and valleys. The top of the hill is called
information and images of the Planet Uranus crest while the bottom of the valley is called
to Earth trough. Crest is the position of maximum
upward displacement from equilibrium
1988 World’s first transoceanic optic fiber
position. Trough is the position of maximum
submarine cable is laid from New Jersey to
downward displacement from equilibrium
France, a distance of 6500 km.
position.
Waves and Optics_3
Longitudinal Waves - particles of the
Wave- a disturbance traveling through a medium vibrate parallel to the direction of
medium or in vacuum. wave propagation. Composed of
compressions and rarefactions.
Wave Pulse - A single unrepeated Compressions are where particles of
disturbance. medium are closer together. Rarefactions
Wave Train- A succession of periodic where they are farther apart. Compression
disturbances. corresponds to crest in transverse waves and
rarefaction to trough. Sound waves are
Characteristics of Wave longitudinal waves.
Waves a characterized in terms of Some waves have both longitudinal and
frequency, wavelength, speed, and transverse properties.
amplitude.
Seismic waves or waves generated by an
Frequency of wave source is the number of earthquake or explosion are classified into
waves it produces per unit time. It also two: body waves and surface waves.
refers to how often the particles of a medium
vibrate when a wave passes through it. The Body waves travel through the earth’s
unit for frequency is the hertz (Hz). interior and are divided into primary wave
or P wave and secondary or S wave. P
The period (T) of a wave is the time it takes waves are longitudinal while S waves are
for a particle in a medium to make one transverse.
complete vibrational cycle. It is the
reciprocal of frequency. A period is Surface waves, as the name suggests travel
expressed in units of time, usually seconds. at the surface. Surface waves are further
classified into Love waves and Rayleigh
Classification of Waves waves.
Mechanical wave - require a material
medium to propagate.
Love waves were named after A.E. H. Love They all propagate through vacuum (or air)
and were the fastest surface wave. Rayleigh with the same speed equal to 3 x108m/s
wave, named after Lord Rayleigh.
In 1862, James Clerk Maxwell predicted the
The UST Main building, designed by Fr. existence of electromagnetic waves.
Roque Ruano, is the first earthquake However, it was until 1887 through the
resistant building in the Philippines. The efforts of Heinrich Hertz when those waves
building is made up 40 separate structures, (except light) were observed to exist.
with four to six piers strongly tied together,
Radio waves are the longest of all
and seismic gap of an inch filled with lose
electromagnetic waves, ranging from 10-1m
cement to accommodate any movement in
to 104m.They were discovered by Heinrich
case of an earthquake.
Hertz in 1887. They are produced by
Waves and Optics_4 electronic devices like LC oscillators. The
sun and the planet Jupiter are extraterrestrial
The wavelength is the horizontal length of
sources of radio waves.
one cycle of the wave. The wavelength is
also the horizontal They are divided into:
distance between two successive crests, two a) long waves
successive troughs, or any two successive
b) medium waves used by AM stations
equivalent points on the wave.
c) VHF (very high frequency) used by FM
Amplitude A is the maximum excursion of a
stations
particle of the medium (i.e., the Slinky) in
which the wave exists from the particle’s d) ULF (ultra-high frequency) used by
undisturbed position. The amplitude is the police radio communications military
distance between a crest, or highest point on aircraft and television transmissions.
the wave pattern, and the undisturbed
position; it is also the distance between a Microwaves are extremely high frequency
trough, or lowest point on the wave pattern, radio waves.
and the undisturbed position. James Clerk Maxwell was credited for
Waves and Optics_5 discovering microwaves in 1864. They have
short wave lengths: from 10-4m to 10-1m
Electromagnetic waves are produced by and very easily absorbed by water
oscillating electric charges with the electric molecules. That is why they are used in
field and magnetic field vibrating microwave ovens. Microwaves are known to
perpendicularly with each other and to the cause cataract so don’t get the habit of
direction of wave propagation. pressing your face against a microwave oven
to see if the food is cooked already.
The electric field and magnetic field of an
Microwaves from mobile phones are
electromagnetic wave are perpendicular to
believed to affect parts of the brain. Some
each other and to the direction of motion of
people are frightened that waves coming out
wave. E stands for electric field; B stands
of their cell phones might cook their brains.
for magnetic field and c for the velocity of
So, make your calls short!
electromagnetic wave.
Infrared rays have longer wavelengths than
red. Their wavelengths range from 7 x 10-
7m - 10-3m. Sir William Herschel
rays burns
identified these rays about 1800. Infrared
rays are also known as heat waves. The our skin and
produces
danger of too much exposure to infrared
rays will lead to overheating (but of
course!). Infrared rays are used in remote
controls for televisions, burglar alarm
systems and night visions. Physiotherapists the so
-called sun
use heat lamp to heal sports injury.
Visible Light is the part of the

tan. UV rays
electromagnetic spectrum visible to our
unaided eye. It extends from the short-wave
violet (λ = 4 x 10-7m) to the long wavered
(λ =7.6 x 10-7m).
Johann Wilhelm Ritter discovered the
can also
ultraviolet rays (UV for short). UV rays
have wavelengths ranging from 6x 10-10m
cause skin
to 4 x 10-7m. A major source of ultra violet
rays is the sun. Special lamps also emit UV
rays. UV rays are used to detect forged bank
cancer.
notes. UV rays also make visible the
security marker ink that we use for our
 Despite
signatures in our bankbook. It is also a good
source of vitamin D. It is a common practice
to expose babies to sunlight in the morning
these uses,
for their bones to get stronger. UV rays are
also used to sterilize medical equipment’s.
too much
 Despite exposure to
these uses, ultraviolet
too much rays burns
exposure to our skin and
ultraviolet produces
 the so can also
-called sun cause skin
tan. UV rays cancer.
Despite these uses, too much exposure to
can also ultraviolet rays burns our skin and produces
the so -called sun tan. UV rays can also

cause skin cause skin cancer. Ultraviolet rays can also

damage the retina. So, be sure that the pair

cancer.
of sunglasses will protect your eyes from
UV rays. When you are wearing sunglasses,
your pupil is dilated. If your glasses are not

 Despite marked “UV protected”, instead of getting

less, you are getting more.

these uses, X-rays or Roentgen rays are thousand times

shorter than the shortest visible light and
have very high frequencies. X- rays have
too much wavelengths ranging from 10-12m to 10-8m.
X -rays are divided into soft and hard. Soft

exposure to X- rays can penetrate soft substances like

flesh bones, and others. The hard X- rays are

ultraviolet
more penetrating than the soft ones and are
used mainly in industries. Aside from taking
photographs of our internal body parts, X-

rays burns rays are also used in airport security checks

to see the inside of your luggage. X rays can

our skin and

cause cancer and damage tissues.
As a young boy, he was drawn to nature and

produces loved to experiment. His schooldays were

quite troublesome. He was even expelled
from Utrecht Technical School for making a
the so caricature of one of his teachers, a “crime”
he did not admit. He was often quoted

-called sun saying “A man must have luck in life to get

anywhere.” Truly enough, this man must be
very lucky for having accidentally
tan. UV rays discovered X-rays while working on cathode
ray tubes. For this discovery, he was
awarded the very first Nobel Prize in property that measures the tensile stiffness
Physics in 1901. of a solid material. It quantifies the
relationship between tensile stress and axial
One of the first X-ray photograph that
strain in the linear elastic region of a
Roentgen produced was that of his wife
material.
hand. Note the wedding ring in her finger.
Waves and Optics_7
Gamma rays are given off by radioactive
materials like Cobalt 60 and Cesium 137.  A mechanical wave capable of
Gamma rays are highly penetrating because producing an auditory sensation
of their very short wavelengths ranging from  Normal range of hearing of humans:
less than 10-14m to 10-10m. Gamma rays 20-20000Hz
are used in industries to detect cracks in  Ultrasound- higher than 20,000Hz
metals. They can cause cancer and even  Infrasound- below 20Hz
mutation. But the irony of it, gamma rays
are used to destroy cancer cells in a process Hearing Range of Animals
called radiotherapy. Paul Villard was given  Dogs can hear from 50-
the credit for discovering gamma rays in 45,000Hz,
1900.
 Cats from 45-85,000 Hz and
Isaac Newton found out that the velocity  Bats, that are essentially blind,
with which a longitudinal wave propagates up to 120,000Hz.
through a medium depends upon the density  Elephants on the other hand are
and elastic modulus of the medium. sensitive to sounds from 5
-10,000Hz.
When the speed of any object surpasses the
speed of sound waves, the speed of Waves and Optics_8
respective object is known as supersonic
Wave Properties of Sound
speed. For example, the speed of bullets, jet
aircrafts, etc. Echo- reflection of sound. Sound persists in
the human ear for about 0.10s. The human
Speed of a longitudinal wave is directly
ear can distinguish the echo from the
proportional to the square root of the
original sound only if they arrived at the ear
absolute temperature. Furthermore, the
at least 0.1s apart. Otherwise, they blend in
smaller the molecular mass, the greater the
the hearing mechanism as a single sound.
speed of the wave propagation.
Sonar an acronym for Sound Navigation
Ranging an underwater system for detecting
In general, a longitudinal wave travels and locating objects by means of echo.
fastest in solids and slowest in gases.
Robert Ballard was a deep-sea explorer with
Waves and Optics_6 a dream to find the Titanic. The US Navy
asked Ballard to find and photograph two
Speed of Sound
sunken submarines in the Atlantic on a
Young's modulus or the modulus of secret mission. As well as using sonar,
elasticity in tension, is a mechanical Ballard searched for the Titanic's trail of
debris. He estimated that it would be over Resonance it is when an object vibrates at
2km long. its natural frequency upon receiving an
impulse from a source that is vibrating at the
Diffraction is the bending of sound around
same natural frequency as that of an object.
obstacles. Diffraction of sound can be easily
observed when the width of the opening or Doppler Effect apparent change in the
the size of an obstacle is nearly the same frequency of sound due to motion of source
order as the wavelength of sound. of sound and/ or observer.
Interference is the combination of two or He performed a unique experiment to verify
more waves passing through a medium at the apparent change in pitch of sound due to
the same time. motion of source and/or observer. He
experimented for two days using two groups
Constructive interference occurs when
of musicians. One group played music while
waves that are in the same phase and have
riding in a train. The other group was at rest
same frequency combine.
in another train and observed the change in
When two waves of the same amplitude, pitch of the music being played by the other
same frequency, but are completely out of group of musicians as the latter moved
phase meet, the result is destructive toward and away from them.
interference.
Refraction occurs whenever sound passes
from one medium into another where it
changes its velocity. Stationary Observer; Source in Motion
During daytime, the air near the ground is If a source of sound moves towards a
warmer than the air above. Since the stationary observer, the wavelength
velocity of sound in air increases with decreases. If the source moves away from a
temperature, sound slows down as it travels stationary observer, the wavelength
through the warmer air near the ground to increases.
the cooler air above. The result is the
bending of sound waves away from the
ground. Under this condition, sound does
not seem to travel far.
At night, the situation is reversed. The air is
now cooler near the ground than the air
above. As a result, sound speeds up in going
from the cooler air near the ground to the
warmer air above. This has the effect of
bending sound down towards the earth,
reaching a farther distance. Thus, at night
we can hear distant sounds better than
during the day.