THE
POPULAR SCIENCE
MONTHLY
JUNE, 1903.
| HERTZIAN WAVE WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. I.[1] |
By Dr. J. A. FLEMING, F.R.S.,
PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON.
THE immense public interest which has been aroused of late years in the subject of telegraphy without connecting wires has undoubtedly been stimulated by the achievements of Mr. Marconi in effecting communication over great distances by means of Hertzian waves. The periodicals and daily journals, which are the chief avenues through which information reaches the public, whilst eager to describe in a» sensational manner these wonderful applications of electrical principles, have done little to convey an intelligible explanation of them. Hence it appeared probable that a service would be rendered by an endeavor to present an account of the present condition of electric wave telegraphy in a manner acceptable to those unversed in the advanced technicalities of the subject, but acquainted at least with the elements of electrical science. It is the purpose of these articles to attempt this task. We shall, however, limit the discussion to an account of the scientific principles underlying the operation of this particular form of wireless telegraphy, omitting, as far as possible, references to mere questions of priority and development.
The practical problem of electric wave wireless telegraphy, which has been variously called Hertzian wave telegraphy, Marconi teleg-
- ↑ This series of articles is based on the Cantor lectures delivered before the Society of Arts, London, in March, 1903. The lectures were attended by many of the leading British scientific men and electrical engineers, and attracted wide attention as the most complete and authoritative statement hitherto made of wireless telegraphy. In writing the articles for The Popular Science Monthly, the author has omitted advanced technicalities in order that the substance may be suitable for the general reader.—Editor.
