What Is A Telegraph?
The machine used to transmit messages in the form of electrical impulses from one end and at the other end it is converted into data is called a Telegraph. Cablegram or telegram is the name of the message sent via telegraph. From 1800s to 1900s, the major mode of communication was telegraphy. But it was ultimately replaced by the internet and the telephone.
In late 1700s, the earliest version of telegraph was developed and it was mainly a thought exercise. However, during 1800s, the telegraph was actually made. In 1837, a reliable electric telegraph was developed by Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse and they patented it also.
Although the credit of invention of telegraph is given to Samuel Morse but before Morse, there were others inventors who had patented different versions of telegraph. Alfred Vail is considered to be the brain behind telegraph but it was popularized by Morse who developed a workable and easily learned alphabet which could be transmitted via telegraph.
Earlier, in order to exchange messages, a series of wires are connected in telegraph machines. The message is keyed in Morse alphabet by the operator and on the other end message is received in form of clicks which are caused due to a bar which struck another bar. Before passing the message to the recipient, the message is transcribed by the operator who hears the message by listening to the pattern of clicks.
With the advent of wireless technology in late 1800s, radio waves were used for transmitting telegraph messages. A drastic change was observed due to wireless telegraphy as people were able to send messages rapidly without using telegraph cables. This also enabled things like ship to ship communication.
But now, telegraph is obsolete and in 2006, the last telegram was sent by Western Union which is also a telegraph company. Due to large fall in demand of telegram, various other companies have also stopped offering these services. However, telegrams still creates curiosity among people because of the odd language used in telegrams. Shorthand language was developed by telegraph operators to make the transmission process faster.
Category: Technology