When Space Talks and Sings

When Space Talks and Sings By Carl F. Eyring, Professor of Physics, Brigham Young University Just recently I spent an evening at our Radio Station, 6APL, Physics Department, Brigham Young University. The "hear- ing" was splendid. The ether, the carrier of wireless waves, was teeming with messages. The wires that stretch out from the building — the antennae, were throbbing with electromag- netic waves. We wished to hear these messages, so we connected the antennae to the receiving apparatus. (See Figure I.) Select- ing a combination of "honey comb" coil, and adjusting a con- denser, we were able to hear a large station on the Atlantic coast sending its dots and dashes, a message in code, to a similar sta- tion in Germany. With smaller coils and a new adjustment of the condenser, a ship on the Pacific could be heard sending out its dots and dashes. A further adjustment revealed that a Naval Base was sending out a weather report to the ships at sea. But all this had to be interpreted by a young man who knew the International Morse code. Was it not possible to hear spoken messages, the human voice in speech and in song? Yes, indeed, for with the movement of a few levers and a very careful adjustment of inductances and capacities, we were able to hear a man in Denver announce that he would broadcast into our "ether space" a musical selection played on a phonograph. In a moment the strains of a symphony orchestra rang out in the telephone receivers. We heard music almost as well ren- dered as if we had listened to a phonograph in our own home. This was not all, later in the evening two California sta- tions began with a concert. Their wavelengths were different, so we were able to hear one, then the other. In fact, it just happened that they were so timed in sending that with a slight change in the adjustment of the apparatus, we could hear the music from one while the other was changing records, and vice versa. Then came the treat of the evening. The brilliant, sweet notes of Galli-Curci sounded in our ears The reproduction lacked little of being as clear and perfect as if the record had been played in our Radio Room. Could it be possible that the phonograph was a thousand miles away? As I listened to this wonderful singer rendering such a beautiful song, I was led to ponder on the achievements of man. Through scientific research

630 IMPROVEMENT ERA and inspiration from the Creator he has been able to produce, if not a miracle, at least the awe-inspiring! Galli-Curci was not in California rendering the beautiful song. Her voice at some time in the past had made an imprint on a disc. From this disc was made a matrix and this in turn was used to make discs identical with the first. Into the town of Los Altos, California, such a record was shipped. The "voice" of a prima donna was sent by express, placed on shelves* sold over counters, carefully stored away in a cabinet, brought out and placed on the revolving table of a phonograph and, on this particular evening of the late winter of 1922, sent through a wireless telephone into "ether space" to be picked up by any radio instrument sufficiently sensitive and properly tuned. How can a dead, cold, hard rubber-like disc radiate life, melody and inspiration? Vibrating vocal cords, vibrating air, and vibrating ear drums make up the physical part of a song. A large number of vibrations per second means a high note, a small number, a low note. The quality of the note is deter- mined by the wave form. (See Figure 2.) The vibrations cease with the song, the air makes no permanent record of the wave. But let the prima donna sing into an instrument (quite similar to the phonograph, consisting of a horn, diaphragm, and needle) that will preserve the tracks of the vibrations, and it will be possible to store the voice for future hearing. In 1877 Edison, the inventor of the phonograph, successfully recorded such tracks upon tin-foil. Today the wavy track is made on a wax disc. A matrix is then made, and finally from this is made a permanent and hard record, the one familiar to all. Figure 3, a photograph made in our Physics Department, is a seven-times enlargement of a Victor record, "The Swallows," sung by Galli-Curci. The portion seen represents a J^ inch square, near the center of the record. Notice the grooves through which the needle moves; there are about ninety of these to the inch. The groove labeled "S" marks the beginning of the high closing note which has a duration of five grooves. Careful study will reveal the wavy form of the path. A series of marks are placed on the photograph to enable one more easily to see the length of the undulations. As the needle moves forward .02 of an inch in one of these grooves it makes one vibration due to the wave in the track. On this part of the record the needle moves at a rate of about 28 inches per second, hence over 1400 vibrations will be made in a second and the note F sharp above high C will be heard. Notice that the lower grooves are perfectly smooth; this indicates that the song is finished. These fundamental waves, and the slight variations in them

WHEN SPACE TALKS AND SINGS 631 which cannot be seen and which give the characteristic Galli- Curci quality, were breathed into the "mother" record as the great singer poured out her soul in song. It is the faithful re- production of the Galli-Curci quality that gives character and life to radiations from a dead record. But the music we heard came from a record located a thou- sand miles away. How could this be? The undulations of the record groove caused the phonograph needle to vibrate. This vibration was transmitted to the reproducer diaphragm Shett/i of i/mfi/t £ar>e fram te/fttm for* J Sketth of t&re from ti/nlnd fork; SAefcfl of 4 ?~o/je of a f'O/ift w/ft> Ske-fth of a to/te of a cfar'n&f (vitA pi+c* Mt same as Aai. ./f-rcr SkcJtf, ofgfonk of 6 fiu^ian tf0''cc with prtcf) 7Xc fam* as /ki* •£'?»* O-Mejy,/)/, Vy H.t, Dot*ey\ and then with amplification to the air of the room. The dia- phragm of the telephone transmitter picked up the waves and a pulsating electric current, bearing the characteristics of the initial vibrations, was produced in the telephone circuit. This current, on being amplified by a vacuum tube, fed into the sending apparatus and modulated high frequency oscillations produced by a second vacuum tube. Electrical oscillations bear- ing the qualities of the sound vibrations were induced in the

632 IMPROVEMENT ERA sending antenna. From these wires energy in the form of ether waves carrying the characteristics of the sound, was radiated. These waves, traveling with the velocity of light, reached us in less than one two-hundredth of a second. In the same second that the phonograph needle in Los Altos responded to a wave in a record groove, the ear drum of a radio devotee in Provo picked up the vibration. Although the world's beloved tenor, Enrico Caruso, is dead, into many a star light night the strains of such a song as, "O sole Figure III. A seven-times enlargement of a one-lwlf inch square of a Victor records, "The Swallows", sung by Galli-Curci. mio" go out as radiations into "ether space." Throughout the country this music, now ether waves, meets antenna wires stretched into the sky. Electrons that abide there are induced to take up the strains. These feeble vibrations are detected and amplified by vacuum tubes, and rhythmic surges of electricity pass back and forth in the telephone receivers of radio devotees who are enchanted with the music they hear. In this day of radio, man has literally impregnated "ether space" with the buzzing of dots and dashes, the chatter of the human voice, and strains of music. The master hand of science reaches into this apparent confusion of ether waves and picks out the series of waves desired — a weather report, a ser-

WHEN SPACE TALKS AND SINGS 633 mon by a noted preacher, or the song of a beautiful singer. Our "ether space" is a veritable fountain into which liquids of all sorts may be fed and at which the prepared may quaff a favor- ite drink. This is indeed the miracle of the age! Provo, Utah A Warning and a Testimony By Alonzo H. Huntsman There are people who claim to be servants of the Lord; yet, they are sometimes ready to trample their fellow-men under their feet. Such are servants of the evil one. We see some people go to church on Sundays and make impressive speeches, but on week days they try to "beat" their fellow-men. These are the ones of whom the Lord says that they draw near unto me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Then again, we see people who have money stored away in the banks and plenty of property around them, and that claim to be the followers of the Lord, but if any one in need goes to them for a helping hand, they will say, "I can not afford it." They are the ones of whom the Lord says they will hardly enter the kingdom of heaven, because their hearts are where their treasures are; also, because they think more of their riches than they do of those in need. » * * My testimony is that the gospel is as true today as it was when Jesus Christ was on earth. I desire to say, as Paul said, that I love the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation, and by no other means can the soul of man be saved. I know that we, the Latter-day Saints, have the only true gospel — the same that Jesus taught while here on earth. If we do not have a love for one another, how can we have faith in one another? Or, if we do not love one another, how can we love and have faith in the Lord? Love is greater than faith, and without faith in him it is impossible to please him. We must have love before we can have faith, therefore, I say, love is as important as faith. If human beings do not have love how can they ever expect the lamb to love the lion, so that they will by night lie down in peace together? Nations must love each other before they will quit making war upon each other. We, as Latter-day Saints, ought to set the example by having greater love for one another. I say this because some serious evils are growing among us. Some think they are better than others, who are less fortunate in having this world's goods. Why not treat one another as brothers and sisters? Pleasant Grove, Utah