WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY 



tion by my system. Were this so, a very important 

 limitation would be imposed upon the practical useful- 

 ness of the system ; but by the introduction of improve- 

 ments and radical modifications in the system, and by a 

 systematical application of the principles of electrical 

 resonance, this objection has, in a very great measure, 

 been overcome." 



THE PRACTICAL STATUS OF WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY 



On December 21, 1902, three entire messages, of con- 

 siderable length, were sent between Poldhu and the 

 Table Head station on Cape Breton Island, these being 

 the first complete messages ever sent across the Atlantic. 

 Four weeks later congratulatory messages between King 

 Edward VII and President Roosevelt were exchanged, 

 establishing officially the possibility of practical wireless 

 telegraphy at long distances. 



Some of the conclusions reached by Marconi in his 

 extensive experiments are both interesting and in- 

 structive. He finds that wireless telegraphy is much 

 more effective over marine areas than over ordinary land 

 surfaces, the relative distance to which such messages 

 may be sent being in the proportion of about two to one. 

 He finds, furthermore, that atmospheric conditions, such 

 as ordinary rain- or snow-storms, high winds, etc., do 

 not seriously affect the wireless signals, although, of 

 course, electrical storms are disastrous to them. Air- 

 wires fixed upon poles about two hundred feet in 

 height give the most uniformly satisfactory results; but 

 strangely enough there is no advantage in placing the 



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