Page 241 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1542 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

The ideas that conquer the race most rapidly and arouse the
wildest enthusiasm are precisely the ideas that are most
insane. This has been true since the first “advanced” gorilla
put on underwear, cultivated a frown and began his first

King, J. (1981). The biology of race. Berkeley: University of California military needs. Nations that made effective use of radio
Press. (especially at sea) enjoyed a decided advantage over
Mosse, G. (1964). The crisis of German ideology: Intellectual origins of the
Third Reich. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. other countries. Japan beat the Russian fleet in 1904 at
Pagden, A. (1982). The fall of natural man. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge the Battle of Tsushima in part because of superior radio
University Press.
Vaughn, A. (1995). Roots of American racism. New York: Oxford Uni- communications; British signaling failures at the Battle of
versity Press. Jutland in 1916 were due in considerable part to con-
fused radio messages.
To transmit voice or music signals (wireless telephony
as opposed to telegraphy) requires more complex
Radio continuous-wave equipment that developed only slowly

in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Regi-
adio, or wireless, technology developed in the late nald Fessenden (1866–1932), a Canadian working in
Rnineteenth century and became the basis of a wide- the United States, was one of the first to realize this
spread broadcasting medium beginning in industrial important distinction and sought to develop the needed
countries during the 1920s. By the early twenty-first transmitter. Lee De Forest (1873–1961) had by 1906
century, analogue AM and FM radio service was available developed his Audion, an improved vacuum tube which,
in nearly every nation, and digital services were rapidly it was eventually discovered, allowed amplification of
developing. (Note that although radio can refer to any electrical signals, and thus more effective transmitters and
electromagnetic radiation, in this article the term is used receivers. Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890–1954) devel-
for broadcasting and related services but not, for exam- oped several important wireless circuits that made effec-
ple, for television broadcasting signals, radar, or mobile tive radio receivers possible. Patent fights among these
phone service.) and other inventors often delayed radio’s progress. Few
of them had radio broadcasting in mind.
Wireless Innovation
The first theoretical prediction of a wireless means of Early U.S. Radio
transmitting information was made by James Clerk Broadcasting
Maxwell (1831–1879) in the 1860s in Britain.The Ger- What was probably the world’s first broadcast (that is, a
man physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894) proved noncode transmission sent out to all who cared to listen)
Maxwell correct with small-scale experiments in the late took place Christmas Eve of 1906 at Brant Rock, Mass-
1880s, but took the idea no further.The Italian inventor achusetts, south of Boston. Fessenden, using equipment
Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937) began experimenta- of his own design, transmitted voice and music signals to
tion in the mid-1890s, and by the end of the decade had a small audience of amateur (“ham”) and government or
moved to Britain and interested the government and mil- shipboard radio operators. Though he repeated the feat
itary in potential applications of wireless. In 1901 he a week later, he did not establish a continuing service.
transmitted the Morse code signal for the letter “S” across Others, including Lee De Forest offered occasional broad-
the North Atlantic. By then other experimenters had casts, but again did not offer a regular service.That role
begun work in Germany, the United States, Russia, and fell to Charles D. Herrold (1875–1948), who in about
elsewhere. 1909 began what is probably the world’s first regularly
Wireless telegraphy was first used to communicate scheduled radio broadcast service in San Jose, California.
with (and between) ships at sea and also for long dis- It expanded and continued until early 1917, when U.S.
tance (often transoceanic) links. Before and during World entry into World War I brought most private radio usage
War I, wireless telegraphy was also applied to navy and to a halt.