The invention of radio was developed thanks in part to the telegraph and telephone. The first radio signal sent and received was by Guglielmo Marconi in Italy in 1895. In 1899, he sent the first wireless signal across the English Channel and two years later sent a transatlantic radiotelegraph message from New England to Newfoundland. The radio waves same dot-dash messages used in the telegraph is the basis for radio-telegraphy. Radio was originally used as a way to communicate from land to ships at sea and for emergency rescues at sea. Before the Navy adopted a wireless system in 1902, they used visual signals and homing pigeons as a way to communicate. By 1906, the weather bureau experimented with radio-telegraphy in order to speed up notification of weather conditions. Lee Deforest invention of the space telegraphy resulted in the development of AM radio that allowed the broadcast of multiple radio stations. During World War I in 1917, the U.S. government and Navy controlled all radio developments and patents to prevent enemy spies its use. After the war ended in 1919, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was established to distribute all future radio patents. True radio broadcasting began in 1920 with Westinghouse’s broadcast of the Harding-Cox election and eventually a daily schedule of radio programs. In 1922, the first two-way radio conversation occurred between Deal Beach, New Jersey and the S.S. America stationed 400 miles away. By 1929, the high seas public radiotelephone service could communicate up to 1,500 miles away. In 1933, Edwin Howard Armstrong invented the frequently-modulated or FM radio which improved audio signals of radio by controlling the noise static. Radio technology continued with Bell Labs invention of the transistor in 1947 and a Japanese company, Sony introduced the transistor radio in 1954 (picture at top). By 1965, individual FM stations could broadcast simultaneously through the FM antenna system from one source that was erected from the Empire state Building in New York City.
http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/radio_2.htm
http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/radio_2.htm
This post intrigues me because it relates to my own theme about Military Technology. I find this quote from your blog to be particularly interesting: “During World War I in 1917, the U.S. government and Navy controlled all radio developments and patents to prevent enemy spies its use. After the war ended in 1919, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was established to distribute all future radio patents.”
ReplyDeleteOne has to wonder how much progression would have been missed had the world’s military leaders decided not to push for progress on things like the radio. Would progress have been delayed for a few years, or longer? Maybe it wouldn’t have had as big of an effect as I am thinking. The radio was and still is a focal point of human society, so I feel this is an important aspect to look at.
This was a very important part of the evolution of telecommunications. This gave people a way of communicating without having to use the telephone. It also gave a way to mass broadcast a message to anyone that had a radio.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't long after the radio was invented that it was used for entertainment. Music was played through the radio, sports broadcasting, and news were able to be listened to and you didn't have to read the paper or buy albums. They thought that this was going to kill the music industry at one point. But really, this made it stronger.