Inventions Of The Early 19th Century Essays - Rubber, Telegraphy

Inventions of the Early 19th Century ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FILE CONTAINED: INVENT.TXT ACTUAL TOPIC: Inventions of the early nineteenth century. AUTHOR AND RESEARCHER: Big Brother @ The Works (617) 861-8976 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This file was originally researched and typed by Big Brother. All material used in the file is original and unplagerized, so these files are SAFE to use AS-IS with no modifications other than specifics to cover the actual required topic for school. Because school can be a BITCH, these files have been prepared to aide you in your research, and are not intended to be actually turned in AS-IS, but many of you will turn them in since they are worry free files... don't fuck up your life, study and get good grades, then get a good job, make some money, marry someone you love, and live happily ever after... ...because, after all - Big Brother is Watching You! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Big Brother's Guide to School The Dreaded Reports actual examples........... START OF FILE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INVENTIONS OF THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY The art of inventing has been around since remedies have been needed and solutions have been required to make our lives easier and more enjoyable. From the time our forefathers colonized the shores of a new land, up till the time of the modern day super-conductor: people have created devices and made discoveries on our behalf to make life easier for everyone. Before the early nineteenth century communications were inadequate. The limitations of our hearing meant that distant events were known long after they had occurred. Systems of communication existed which were quicker then the speed of a messenger - smoke signals, fires lit on hills, signalling flags. But these methods could only be used for communicating in code with pre-established sayings rather than out-right communication. These methods also required certain meteorological or geographical conditions in order to function properly. In the nineteenth century conditions were present that made the need for new forms of communications indispensable. Industrial society needed a method of communicating information quickly, safely and accurately. Artist-inventor Samuel F.B. Morse holds credit for devising American's first commercially successful electromagnetic telegraph (patented in January 1836). The telegraph was a device used to electrically send signals over a wire for long distances allowing an established communication link to be made from one city to another. (And everything in-between.) The basic principle of the telegraph was the opening and closing of an electrical circuit supplied by a battery: the variations of the current in the electromagnet would attract or repel a small arm connected to a pencil which would trace zigzag signs onto a strip of paper running under the arm at a constant speed. This early plan didn't offer great practical possibilities, mainly because the batteries then available could not produce a current strong enough to push the signal great distances. As an artist and sculptor, Morse had the personal qualities to succeed as inventor of the telegraph: intelligence, persistence, and a willingness to learn. What he lacked was: knowledge of recent scientific developments, adequate funds, mechanical ability, and political influence. Like all successful inventors of the nineteenth century, Morse exploited his strengths and worked on his weaknesses. Morse used Professor Leonard D. Gale's suggestions of improving both his battery and electromagnet by following the suggestions of Joseph Henry. Together they incorporated Henry's suggestions and stepped up the distance they could send messages from fifty feet to ten miles. This invention, no less important than the telegraph itself, was the so- called relay system, widely used today for automatic controls and adjustments. Morse introduced a series of electromagnets along the line, each of which opened and shut the switch of a successive electric circuit, supplied by it's own battery. At the same time Morse improved the transmitting and receiving devices and perfected the well-know signalling system based on dots and dashes, which is still in use today. The first telegraph line, connecting Baltimore to New York, was inaugurated in 1844. Before this however, on May 24th, 1843 wires were strung between Washington and Baltimore where Morse sent the first message from the Supreme Court room in Washington to Alfred Vail, Morse's assistant who was in Baltimore at a railroad depot (41 miles away): "What hath God wrought?" On May 29th, 1844 word flashed by wire from the democratic convention in Baltimore that James K. Polk had been nominated for the Presidency. People were fascinated by the "Magic key" and it was decided that the telegraph would be used for now to report congressional doings. By 1848 every state east of the Mississippi except Florida was served be the